- The roof leaked from the car and fell on the road behind them while the Chien family was taking their Tesla Model Y home from the dealership, family members said.
- “I saw and the roof moved,” CA Stockton-based cardiologist Walter Chien told Business Insider.
- This is not the first time a customer has complained about Tesla’s quality control.
- Over the past few months, Model Y owners have reported issues ranging from panel gaps to backsets that are not connected to the rest of the car.
- Tesla and Dublin-Amader Plaza Tesla dealerships did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
A California family said the car’s roof was cleaned when they were driving their new Tesla Model Y home from a dealership on Sunday.
“Suddenly, there was a lot of wind; there was a sound of a window opening,” said Nathaniel Cheyenne, 19, in an interview with Business Insider. “And then suddenly it took off.”
Her father, a 63-year-old cardiologist, Walter Chien, was sitting in the back seat while Tesla was trying to get the app out when he heard a blowing sound. “I looked up and the roof moved,” he told Business Insider.
In recent months, Tesla has faced frequent complaints about the quality control of its electric SUV. The drive calls the Model Y a “quality dream,” as buyers have detailed problems ranging from gaps between panels and loose seatbelts to backsets that aren’t connected to the rest of the car. In September, Business Insider reported that the Tesla owner found non-standard parts, such as plastic straps and faux wood, that looked like they were from a “home depot”, rather than their Mod Y cooling unit.
In an internal email leaked in June, Elon Musk addressed quality concerns, telling employees they needed to “reduce the need for improvement” from Model Y manufacturing, according to previous Business Insider reporting. Improvement means that the car needs to be repaired between leaving the product line and delivering to the customer.
After chatting online, Verter Chien said he was expecting some issues on Sunday morning when he, his wife and son picked up the car from a Tesla dealership in Dublin, California. He said he originally noticed there was a gap on the front hood, one side wider than the other, and made arrangements to rectify the issue. His son, Nathaniel, also said he saw a little squeak from the roof as he walked through a parking lot.
“You expect this kind of problem, but you don’t expect the roof to close,” Walter Chien said.
When the family was scattered, he was driving at about 80 miles per hour when it was 80, Nathaniel Chen said. A representative of the California Highway Patrol said they were not aware of any accidents involving parts of cars on the road.
“None of us knew how to react,” Nathaniel Chen said. “We screamed or did nothing. There was initial panic and then we returned in surprising silence.”
The family returned to the dealership in the new White Model Dell Y, where staff apologized, told them they had never seen anything like this before, offered to service the car, and rented the family, Nathaniel Chen said. The Chinese refused to serve Model Y, preferring to give it back in full.
On Monday, Walter Chien said he spoke with a Tesla representative, who said “everything was done right” while producing the car. “For me, it was more relevant,” Chien told Business Insider.
Tesla and the Dublin-Amader Plaza Tesla dealership did not respond to requests for comment.
Now, the family is still deciding whether to accept the offer to choose a different Model Y or Jettison to buy Tesla together.
“It’s on my wife.” Said Walter Chien. He said that when the roof fell off and the car was legally his.
