After five years of owning a Tesla Model S, Anne Bishop, a NSW mum of three, is demanding a refund from the electric vehicle manufacturer. She claims that despite being the best car she’ll ever own, it has been incredibly unreliable.
Bishop, who purchased a used 2015 Model S from Tesla in 2018, says she started experiencing issues with the vehicle immediately after she bought it.
Over the course of five-and-a-half years, Bishop claims that her vehicle has experienced twelve major mechanical issues and numerous minor ones.
It has also required towing on four occasions. She claims that despite the issues she has experienced with her car, Tesla refuses to take it back.
Since she first got her electric bike in 2008, Bishop has been a passionate supporter of sustainable technology.
In February, she filed a case with the NSW Administrative Tribunal seeking a partial refund from Tesla.
Despite being incredibly reliable, Bishop still insists that she would not buy another car. She says she only uses her car to drive and relies on it to do what it’s designed to do. She describes one particular instance as she had to climb out of the passenger window when the multiple door handles failed.
According to Bishop, her car broke down on the way home from work with her son, who has multiple disabilities, and she had to resort to towing due to another issue with the vehicle’s microcontroller. Despite the issues she has experienced with her car, she is still not souring on Tesla. She purchased a Tesla battery for her house while her husband was going through repairs on his old ICE car.
Although it’s a bit of a leap of faith, Bishop believes that Tesla’s technology has significantly changed the way people travel. She claims that the company’s autopilot feature has saved her and her family lives.
It may need to be supervised, like a toddler with scissors. On occasion, it may try to drive you off-roading for no apparent reason.
In her NCAT complaint, Bishop claims that Tesla has repeatedly misrepresented the Australian Consumer Law. She also claims that the company refuses to provide adequate documentation regarding the vehicle’s maintenance and has kept a lot of communication unwritten.
Despite her belief in Tesla’s vision of the future, Bishop claims that she would not have bought a car if she knew that it was unreliable and could potentially be fraudulent. According to her, a panel beater discovered that rodents had been nesting in her vehicle after she had minor scratches on her car.
In her complaint, Bishop claims that she did not believe that Tesla was aware of this issue before it was delivered to her car. She’s seeking a refund of her $8500 repair bill and a partial refund of her $75,000 purchase.
Mediation efforts on Friday failed, and the case has since been set for a hearing. NCAT has asked Bishop to provide them with an independent report that could cost her around $3000.