Mario Zelaya, the owner of the 2013 Tesla Model S, who has a 34,000-strong following on the short video app, TikTok, posted a video with a caption that read, “$26K for a new battery. Locked out of car. Recalls are needed.” In the video, he claimed his “piece of trash” Model S died and that the car is locked, stopping him from getting inside. The battery died after less than 75,000 miles were put on the Series S odometer. Zelaya said he purchased the brand new vehicle in 2013 for $140,000 and got it serviced regularly. However, he explained that some models from 2013 and 2014 have issues with fluid from the air conditioning system leaking onto the battery causing it to rust and, eventually, damaging the batteries. When Zelaya contacted another Tesla owner who had similar issues with the car battery, he said that the automaker canceled that owner’s Uber credits while the vehicle was being serviced. “You’re probably thinking I’m full of crap, I’m making this stuff up. I’m not. I got Transport Canada involved and they actually did an investigation on the car,” he said. “Not only did they do an investigation on this car, they’re gonna be doing one that Tesla doesn’t realize is coming up, because I got in touch with another owner who has the exact same problem. Tesla’s trying to sweep it under the rug. They won’t give them any explanation of why their battery died.” He also claimed that the battery is not inspected when Tesla owners get their vehicles serviced, saying Tesla customers have no incentive to do so which is why it’s not done. Zelaya admits that his automobile’s battery is a year outside his warranty period. If he wants to sell the car, he won’t be able to do so due to the fact that he is locked out and his ownership papers are inside the vehicle. He instead spent $30 to get new ownership documents, he claimed. “I’ll never buy another Tesla again,” Zelaya said. “That’s the long way of me saying stay the f*** away from Teslas. They’re brutal cars, brutal manufacturing, and even worse, they’re a 10-year-old company.” In another video posted this week, Zelaya said he sold the car to an interested buyer, who will be picking it up from his driveway. The alleged buyer is then seen removing the car’s front bumper and then subsequently charging the vehicle. “That’s going to be the end of my Tesla journey. It’s out of my life. Keep it out of yours,” he said.
