Lawsuit Says Tesla Painted Over Structural Crack in Model 3

Tesla will have to answer for build quality concerns in a German court, according to the German paper Bild.

A complaint in a regional German court alleges that, while performing a routine tire change on a Model 3, cracks were discovered on the underbody of the car. Tesla allegedly tried to hide these cracks with paint, something that it has been accused of in the past.

The court ordered an independent investigation into the defects. The investigator reportedly confirmed that the damage was serious enough that the car would not pass Germany's rigorous TÜV, the country's general safety inspection. It is atypical for any car to present signs of structural damage without a crash, though we cannot independently confirm that this vehicle has never been in an incident.

It's not the only car with this issue, either. The same court is hearing a second case about a Tesla that was delivered new with scratched and deformed jacking points. According to the paper, Tesla had dismissed this complaint as cosmetic, but the independent investigation ordered by the court found damage to the floor that would cause the new vehicle to fail an inspection primarily designed to catch aging vehicle issues.

The court has not decided either case and it's unclear what possible remedies it is considering, though buybacks are likely on the table for the affected vehicle. The bigger issue for Tesla is that, if these suits succeed, any other cars with build defects will have strong cases against the automaker. We have reached out to the automaker for comment, but it has a consistent track record of ignoring all questions from journalists. If that changes, we will update the post.

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