Toxic Tesla

[Innula Zenovka]

Reuters: Exclusive: Tesla's brand loyalty collapsed after Musk backed Trump, data shows

 

[Free]

Been a minute since I last posted anything about Cybertrucks.

Tesla owners gut-punched after receiving unexpected notice from insurance company: 'Mind you, zero accidents in my life'

Tesla's reduced production of its Cybertruck is having a ripple effect on owners, some of whom say insurance companies are now canceling policies for the vehicle.

Once one of the world's most-hyped vehicles, sales and production numbers for Tesla's Cybertruck have fallen sharply. In the second quarter of this year, the company sold just 4,306 Cybertrucks, a drop of more than 50% over the same period in 2024.

Now, Torque News reported, some insurance companies are using those numbers to cancel their coverage of the all-electric truck.

One Illinois resident wrote in a Cybertruck owners' Facebook group that his Cybertruck would need to be removed from his policy.

 

[Free]

Tesla denied having fatal crash data until a hacker found it

The data was key evidence in the death of a pedestrian in 2019.

arstechnica.com

That's where the hacker, only identified as @greentheonly, his username on X, came in. Greentheonly told The Washington Post that, "for any reasonable person, it was obvious the data was there."

Apparently, reasonable people do not work for Tesla.

 

[Free]

Who would have thought "self-driving automobile" would be a turn off?

Survey Finds That Self-Driving Is Actively Chasing Buyers Away From Tesla

In a new survey, consumers not only suggested that Tesla's FSD feature is a huge turn-off, but that they think it should be illegal too.

futurism.com

 

[detrius]

Who would have thought "self-driving automobile" would be a turn off?

Survey Finds That Self-Driving Is Actively Chasing Buyers Away From Tesla

In a new survey, consumers not only suggested that Tesla's FSD feature is a huge turn-off, but that they think it should be illegal too.

futurism.com

The Tesla autopilot is essentially like having a chimpanzee permanently glued to the front passenger seat - it might suddenly decide to grab the steering wheel and yank it around, or rip off your face and wear it like a mask.

 

[Free]

This is a combination toxic Tesla/Musk submission.

Tesla Engineer Quits, Roasts Elon Musk in Spectacular Fashion

An engineer who worked Tesla's energy division shared a few words about Elon Musk and his supposed commitment to a greener future.

futurism.com

After a tenure of eight years, a Tesla engineer has quit the company — and directed a seething missive toward his boss, Elon Musk.

"I do need to address the elephant in the room: the main reason I'm leaving is that I think Elon has dealt huge damage to Tesla's mission (and to the health of democratic institutions in several countries)," Giorgio Balestrieri, a staff algorithms engineer who joined in 2017, wrote in a scathing LinkedIn post last week. "Beyond that, Elon's leadership and decision making seem seriously compromised."

 

[detrius]

Trapped Children Die In Tesla Fire After Door Handles Allegedly Wouldn’t Open | Carscoops

A man tried to save the occupants but he was unable to open the doors of the crashed Tesla

www.carscoops.com

 

[Free]

Tesla is heading into multi-billion-dollar iceberg of its own making

Tesla’s ‘Full Self-Driving Supervised’ expansion is back firing as it exposes its shortcomings. Customers left without promised features are growing...

electrek.co

 

[detrius]

 

[Free]

I'd be worried (about myself? about the roads I drive on?) if I needed to buy a car with something called Mad Max mode.

Also, I don't get the use of scare quotes around the name in the media. Tesla literally calls it that.

 

[Soen Eber]

About time he started poking someone who can afford to sue him.

 

[detrius]

Elon Musk's SpaceX and xAI are buying Tesla's unsold Cybertrucks

Hundreds of Tesla Cybertrucks have been spotted being delivered Elon Musk’s private companies, SpaceX and xAI, as Tesla is having...

electrek.co

 

[Free]

Looks like Mad Max mode might be heading to it's Thunderdome.

Tesla's 'Mad Max' Mode is Now Being Investigated by U.S. Regulators

Social media users have complained that Teslas using the mode named after a lead-footed dystopian drifter were exceeding the speed limit.

gizmodo.com

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Reuters: Tesla CEO Musk's partisan politics cost automaker over 1 million EV sales, report shows

 

[Free]

Even some overly rich tech bros are losing interest (and wanting their deposits back!) in Leon's long-delayed promises.

Sam Altman wants a refund for his $50,000 Tesla Roadster deposit

Altman is just the latest in a string of people to want their money back.

arstechnica.com

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Financial Times: Norway’s oil fund to vote against Elon Musk’s $1tn pay deal at Tesla (Evernote link because £wall)

The world’s largest sovereign wealth fund will vote against Tesla chief executive Elon Musk’s $1tn pay package, saying it is worried about the size of the deal.

Norway’s $2.1tn oil fund, which is a top-10 Tesla shareholder with a stake of 1.1 per cent, said on Tuesday that while it appreciated “the significant value created under Mr Musk’s visionary role” it would vote against his performance award.

“We are concerned about the total size of the award, dilution, and lack of mitigation of key person risk — consistent with our views on executive compensation,” it said two days before the electric-car maker’s annual meeting on November 6.

 

[Free]

More good news from Reuters.

Tesla sales resume fall in European markets in October

Tesla's sales plunged in October in a number of European countries including Spain, the Netherlands and Nordic markets in the latest sign that the U.S. electric vehicle maker's struggles on the continent continue.

Tesla had seen sales rise in a number of European markets in September, after falling for most of this year due to increasing competition to its ageing lineup from newer EV models.

The automaker's new car registrations - a proxy for sales - dropped 89% in Sweden, 86% in Denmark, 50% in Norway and 48% in the Netherlands, local industry data showed. Its sales in Spain were down 31% in October, while industry-wide sales of fully-electric and plug-in hybrid models jumped 119%.

In France, however, Tesla posted a small gain in sales for a second consecutive month.

Beh, the French...

 

[Free]

There should be a law...

 

[detrius]

TÜV-Report 2026: Tesla erneut Letzter im Mängel-Report

TÜV-Report 2026: Welche E-Autos in der HU besonders schlecht abschneiden, welche Bauteile oft Mängel haben und wer Gesamtsieger ist

www-adac-de.translate.goog

TÜV Report 2026: Tesla again last in the defect report

The defect rate in mandatory vehicle inspections is rising: Almost one in five cars fails – primarily due to the high average age. For the first time, the TÜV report also comprehensively evaluates electric cars: Some are impressive, but Tesla once again comes in last.

[...]

Worst car of the past ten years.

The best performing car was the Mini Cooper SE with 3.5% of the cars having defects after 2-3 years.

For the Tesla Model 3, that defect rate was 13.1%. The Tesla Model Y was dead last with 17.3%.

 

[detrius]