Connect with us

News

Tesla Taiwan owners seek investigation over alleged battery issues

Credit: Tesla China/Twitter

Published

on

Tesla owners in Taiwan turned to the country’s Consumer Foundation for alleged issues with their electric vehicles’ batteries. On Wednesday, March 16, the Foundation held a press conference with Tesla owners present, discussing some of the findings in their investigation. 

The Consumer Foundation’s Secretary-General, Hsu Tse-yu, stated that several Tesla owners bought their all-electric vehicles to protect the environment. However, a few Tesla owners have stepped forward to report battery issues with their vehicles.

As per the Foundation’s investigation, most owners reporting battery issues own Model X or Model S vehicles manufactured from late 2018 to 2019. 

According to CNA, more than 1,400 late 2018-2019 Model X and Model S vehicles were sold in Taiwan. Most of the issues encountered were related to the vehicles’ batteries, with some owners reporting sudden power loss. In some instances, owners reported seeing their battery meter drop while on the highway, which worried some drivers. 

Advertisement

An organization consisting of over 300 Tesla Taiwan drivers shared information related to the battery issues owners were reporting. One of the organization’s members, named Hu, stated that at least 122 of the vehicles that fit the description previously mentioned had exhibited issues. Meanwhile, 16 specifically mentioned experiencing power loss while driving, and 17 others have had their battery packs either replaced or refurbished. 

The Secretary-General of the Consumers’ Foundation said that some Tesla Taiwan owners who turned to service centers reported that fixing their vehicles’ batteries took a long period of time because parts and some materials had to be ordered abroad. Some owners also claimed that their vehicles’ original battery packs were replaced with refurbished units. Others shared that they needed to go in for repairs at least two or three times. Hsu pointed out that repairs often took months at a time.

The Consumers Foundation urged the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and other consumer protection agencies to investigate alleged battery issues with older Tesla vehicles. The agency also asked agencies to publish the results of their investigations and require Tesla to recall cars if necessary.

In addition, the Consumer Foundation asked agencies to urge Tesla to either replace battery systems with new ones, extend the warranty period, and provide temporary cars while customers are having their vehicles repaired. 

Advertisement

Tesla Taiwan responded to the battery defect reports on the same day the Consumers’ Foundation held its press conference. The company stated that it had no plans to recall cars because battery problems were not systemic and differed depending on the vehicle. 

However, the company does grant a warranty extension equivalent to the wait time for repairs. Tesla also said it provides temporary cars to owners during repairs. It also provides daily vouchers for transportation worth NT$2,000 (about $70), in addition to a discount for future tire replacements. 

Tesla Taiwan stated it would shorten the time it takes to fix vehicles. The company estimated that the wait times for replacements had been shortened to two to three weeks already, and plans are underway to reduce wait times even further. 

The Teslarati team would appreciate hearing from you. If you have any tips, reach out to me at maria@teslarati.com or via Twitter @Writer_01001101.

Advertisement

Maria--aka "M"-- is an experienced writer and book editor. She's written about several topics including health, tech, and politics. As a book editor, she's worked with authors who write Sci-Fi, Romance, and Dark Fantasy. M loves hearing from TESLARATI readers. If you have any tips or article ideas, contact her at maria@teslarati.com or via X, @Writer_01001101.

Advertisement
Comments

Cybertruck

Tesla’s new Cybertruck has delivery date pushed back once again

According to Tesla’s Online Design Studio, the new All-Wheel-Drive Cybertruck will now be delivered in April 2027. Earlier orders are still slated for early this Summer, but orders from here on forward are now officially pushed into next year:

Published

on

(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla’s new Cybertruck offering has had its delivery date pushed back once again. This is now the second time, and deliveries for the newest orders are now pushed well into 2027.

According to Tesla’s Online Design Studio, the new All-Wheel-Drive Cybertruck will now be delivered in April 2027. Earlier orders are still slated for early this Summer, but orders from here on forward are now officially pushed into next year:

Just three days ago, the initial delivery date of June 2026 was pushed back to early Fall, and now, that date has officially moved to April 2027.

The fact that Tesla has had to push back deliveries once again proves one of two things: either Tesla has slow production plans for the new Cybertruck trim, or demand is off the charts.

Judging by how Tesla is already planning to raise the price based on demand in just a few days, it seems like the company knows it is giving a tremendous deal on this spec of Cybertruck, and units are moving quickly.

That points more toward demand and not necessarily to slower production plans, but it is not confirmed.

Tesla Cybertruck’s newest trim will undergo massive change in ten days, Musk says

Tesla is set to hike the price on March 1, so tomorrow will be the final day to grab the new Cybertruck trim for just $59,990.

It features:

  • Dual Motor AWD w/ est. 325 mi of range
  • Powered tonneau cover
  • Bed outlets (2x 120V + 1x 240V) & Powershare capability
  • Coil springs w/ adaptive damping
  • Heated first-row seats w/ textile material that is easy to clean
  • Steer-by-wire & Four Wheel Steering
  • 6’ x 4’ composite bed
  • Towing capacity of up to 7,500 lbs
  • Powered frunk

Interestingly, the price offering is fairly close to what Tesla unveiled back in late 2019.

Continue Reading

Elon Musk

Elon Musk outlines plan for first Starship tower catch attempt

Musk confirmed that Starship V3 Ship 1 (SN1) is headed for ground tests and expressed strong confidence in the updated vehicle design.

Published

on

Credit: SpaceX/X

Elon Musk has clarified when SpaceX will first attempt to catch Starship’s upper stage with its launch tower. The CEO’s update provides the clearest teaser yet for the spacecraft’s recovery roadmap.

Musk shared the details in recent posts on X. In his initial post, Musk confirmed that Starship V3 Ship 1 (SN1) is headed for ground tests and expressed strong confidence in the updated vehicle design.

“Starship V3 SN1 headed for ground tests. I am highly confident that the V3 design will achieve full reusability,” Musk wrote.

In a follow-up post, Musk addressed when SpaceX would attempt to catch the upper stage using the launch tower’s robotic arms. 

Advertisement

“Should note that SpaceX will only try to catch the ship with the tower after two perfect soft landings in the ocean. The risk of the ship breaking up over land needs to be very low,” Musk clarified. 

His remarks suggest that SpaceX is deliberately reducing risk before attempting a tower catch of Starship’s upper stage. Such a milestone would mark a major step towards the full reuse of the Starship system.

SpaceX is currently targeting the first Starship V3 flight of 2026 this coming March. The spacecraft’s V3 iteration is widely viewed as a key milestone in SpaceX’s long-term strategy to make Starship fully reusable. 

Starship V3 features a number of key upgrades over its previous iterations. The vehicle is equipped with SpaceX’s Raptor V3 engines, which are designed to deliver significantly higher thrust than earlier versions while reducing cost and weight. 

Advertisement

The V3 design is also expected to be optimized for manufacturability, a critical step if SpaceX intends to scale the spacecraft’s production toward frequent launches for Starlink, lunar missions, and eventually Mars. 

Continue Reading

News

Tesla FSD (Supervised) could be approved in the Netherlands next month: Musk

Musk shared the update during a recent interview at Giga Berlin.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

Tesla CEO Elon Musk shared that Full Self-Driving (FSD) could receive regulatory approval in the Netherlands as soon as March 20, potentially marking a major step forward for Tesla’s advanced driver-assistance rollout in Europe.

Musk shared the update during a recent interview at Giga Berlin, noting that the date was provided by local authorities.

“Tesla has the most advanced real-world AI, and hopefully, it will be approved soon in Europe. We’re told by the authorities that March 20th, it’ll be approved in the Netherlands,’ what I was told,” Musk stated

“Hopefully, that date remains the same. But I think people in Europe are going to be pretty blown away by how good the Tesla car AI is in being able to drive.”

Advertisement

Tesla’s FSD system relies on vision-based neural networks trained on real-world driving data, allowing vehicles to navigate using cameras and AI rather than traditional sensor-heavy solutions. 

The performance of FSD Supervised has so far been impressive. As per Tesla’s safety report, Full Self-Driving Supervised has already traveled 8.3 billion miles. So far, vehicles operating with FSD Supervised engaged recorded one major collision every 5,300,676 miles. 

In comparison, Teslas driven manually with Active Safety systems recorded one major collision every 2,175,763 miles, while Teslas driven manually without Active Safety recorded one major collision every 855,132 miles. The U.S. average during the same period was one major collision every 660,164 miles.

If approval is granted on March 20, the Netherlands could become the first European market to greenlight Tesla’s latest supervised FSD (Supervised) software under updated regulatory frameworks. Tesla has been working to secure expanded FSD access across Europe, where regulatory standards differ significantly from those in the United States. Approval in the Netherlands would likely serve as a foundation for broader EU adoption, though additional country-level clearances may still be required.

Advertisement
Continue Reading