The Tesla Model Y crossover appeared to be grappling with serious production glitches as reports of complaints about manufacturing defects have reached a troubling level. The issues identified by a significant number of buyers were serious enough that many of them rejected the delivery of the brand new vehicles.
Among the flaws that buyers grumbled about is the substandard paint job, alignment issues that resulted in road noise during driving, soiled or damaged interiors, broken seat belts, and seats that were not attached securely. The problems that come out have exceeded the expectations for a vehicle on its first year of mass production that Tesla CEO Elon Musk was forced to admit that the Model Y is far from perfect at the moment.
According to ArsTechnica, Musk had urged workers on the assembly line to do more in ensuring that the Model Y units rolling out of the factory will meet the premium quality expected by customers. The company chief also conceded that the electric crossover, which retails for $60,990, is hampered by "production and supply chain ramp challenges."
It should be noted that the same problems plagued the launch of the Model 3 sedan in 2017, which Tesla solved eventually by making key adjustments in the mass-production process like incorporating manual tweaks to the generally automated assembly line.
The report said the Model Y production process is nearly identical to that of the Model 3 so it came as a surprise that the issues surfaced anew. It was safe to assume that Tesla learned the lesson three years ago, and improvements should have been implemented.
As Tesla has yet to correct the problematic situation, earlier Model Y owners have decided to help out by drawing out a checklist for would-be buyers. It's highly recommended to be guided by the list, which is to probe for the identified defects before accepting deliveries of the crossover.
The slip, according to Electrek, is Tesla wanting to deliver good results for the company's quarterly report. The rush, as expected, created a disappointing result.
"The automaker is still trying to deliver the Model Y vehicles with defects in order to save their quarter. This is not a good look for Tesla," the report said.
It's quite obvious that Tesla had decided to ramp up the volume assembly of the Model Y, but the move led to a glaring trade-off. The company missed the mark in terms of quality and will need to deal now with the repercussions.
Electrek said reports of Model Y deliveries with defects have been rising, and Tesla should be alarmed. Buyers of these vehicles have mostly refused to take the units, and for those who did accept, many returned the EVs immediately, and rightly so.
