It looks like Tesla Model 3’s can’t even handle a little rain before its rear bumpers fall off.
Imagine buying a brand new car and having the rear bumper fall off not even 30 minutes after leaving the dealership. According to new Tesla Model 3 owner @Ritesh on twitter earlier yesterday (Aug. 12, 2018) that’s exactly what happened. And if you think he was thrashing his Tesla Model 3 around, he wasn’t, Ritesh was just driving on normal, rain-soaked streets like millions of cars do every day. Check out the disheartening photos below.
1/2 hr, bringing Model 3 home, run in to heavy rain on the streets & bumper comes off #devastated @Tesla #help @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/mOh2UAjWWr
— rithesh (@rithesh) August 12, 2018
And this isn’t even the first Tesla Model 3 to have its bumpers ripped off by a little rain. Here’s another owner replying with his tale of woe, Tesla Model 3 sans bumper as well.
Hey that looks like mine! pic.twitter.com/c1zTLGDCBF
— Ben (@Benj1Franks) August 12, 2018
Thankfully, @Benj1Franks surmised the problem.
So here’s the problem: There is shielding on the bottom which should deflect water around the bumper. It is right around the centerline of the tires. That shielding gets torn (it’s a fiberglass type cloth material) then water is diverted to the bumper which acts like a parachute
And referring to a YouTube video of an undercarriage POV inspection of a Tesla Model 3, you can see exactly what this composite shielding looks like.
As mentioned in the video, their’s a fabric/composite-like shielding in the front and the rear that’s supposedly there to block the suspension and drivetrain components from the rain. Why Tesla didn’t use something more durable for rain shielding, like plastic, is beyond me, to be honest.
With new owners paying somewhere around $50,000 and then some for a premium electric car, this is inexcusable.
Tesla’s do come with, at least, an 8-year 100,000-mile limited warranty so hopefully, this owner gets a new paint-matched bumper attached ASAP.
This looks like an issue an over the air update can’t solve, unfortunately.
