Tesla car revealed to have a rat problem as rodents ate away its cable wirings

Tesla is one of the best-selling electric cars today, even though it is quite expensive. Now, a unique story came up, and it was shared that one owner of the EV car had to spend thousands of dollars more as her unit was damaged by rodents.

Yes, her Tesla car was not involved in any accident that may have caused big damage, but rather, she said that her vehicle’s internal cable wirings were eaten by rats! She tried to ask Tesla for help by covering the cost of damages, but Elon Musk’s company refused her request.

Rats on Tesla cars

According to The New York Post, Tesla’s electric cars are being infested by rodents, and they are chomping down on the wirings. However, despite the fact that customers have spent thousands of dollars on buying their expensive cars, Tesla said it could not cover the damage due to issues with rodents.

It was reported that Sarah Williams, who is a 41-year-old doctor from Manhattan, has been using her 2018 Tesla Model 3 car to get to work in the Bronx. But one day, her vehicle’s air conditioner suddenly stopped working.

She brought her car to a dealership in the New Jersey area, and to her and the mechanics’ surprise, they found the cause as to why the car’s air conditioning had malfunctioned. There were rodents in the Tesla car’s internal parts. Apparently, the pest made its way to the vehicle and started gobbling some of the internal cable wires.

"They opened the glove compartment and a rodent fell out," Williams narrated. "It’s crazy."

Possible cause of the damage

It was noted later that the wires were insulated with soy instead of the usual oil. Some critics claimed that this coating was what attracted the rats to the car.

In any case, Sarah Williams complained that she paid $59,200 for her Tesla, but the company has no interest in helping her. She spent more than $5,000 for the repairs that are taking weeks to complete, but despite these hassles, Tesla still won’t provide any assistance.

"Most auto manufacturers use soybean vs. oil in their wire insulation for newer vehicles because it is less expensive and better for the environment," Jose Solis, Tesla service advisor, told Williams via e-mail. "The use of this material would not be considered a ‘defect’ in design or use, considering there are too many factors outside of Tesla’s control we cannot cover this under a warranty or repair."

It turned out that Tesla is not just the automaker that uses the soy as Honda is also using this. However, the Japanese car company also received the same complaint of a rat damaging the car.

Chicago Sun-Times reported in June that a man filed a lawsuit against Honda for not covering the cost of damage when a rat ate away his car’s wiring. The lawsuit was filed as Honda refused to help and said that damage was an “act of nature.”