Tesla has leveled accusations against Reuters, asserting that the news agency fabricated a story about the electric vehicle manufacturer deceiving customers to facilitate repairs not covered under warranty. The contentious article, titled ‘Tesla blamed drivers for failures of parts it long knew were defective,’ alleges that Tesla misled customers into believing they were responsible for problems requiring repair, while the company was purportedly aware that these issues were common defects. Reuters reportedly supported its claims with anecdotal evidence from customers and cited service communications as evidence.
Expressing skepticism towards Reuters’ coverage of Tesla, especially after a prior incident where the news agency allegedly edited an article and misrepresented the correction, critics argue that the claims against Tesla rely on the interpretation of standard service notices within the company. These notices, intended to disseminate information among Tesla’s service centers and proactively address potential issues, may not necessarily indicate a widespread defect.
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In an unusual move, Tesla responded to the allegations through a detailed post on the platform X. Notably, Tesla has been reticent to engage with news articles since dismantling its PR department in 2020. The automaker’s decision to break its silence may be attributed to the severity of the accusations. It’s worth noting that Tesla claims Reuters contacted them before publishing the article, but Tesla only opted to respond post-publication.
Reuters published an article that leads with a wildly misleading headline and is riddled with incomplete and demonstrably incorrect information.
This latest piece vaguely and nonsensically suggests there are thousands upon thousands of disgruntled Tesla customers. It’s…
— Tesla (@Tesla) December 27, 2023
Tesla vehemently refuted the Reuters story, labeling it as “manufactured” and asserting that it is “demonstrably incorrect.” The automaker criticized the article for its misleading headline and purportedly inaccurate information. Tesla challenged the notion that there are widespread dissatisfied customers, emphasizing that its customer retention is among the best in the industry. The company went further to claim that it possesses “telemetry” data indicating a collision in the primary incident highlighted in the article, as opposed to a simple defect as asserted by the vehicle owner.
Tesla argued that the article wrongly conflated a non-safety, noise-related issue with unrelated service actions. The automaker maintained its commitment to truthfulness and transparency with global safety regulators, rejecting any insinuation to the contrary as plainly inaccurate. This public dispute underscores the increasingly complex relationship between Tesla and the media, with both sides offering conflicting narratives on the integrity of information and the company’s practices.
Source: Electrek
