Tesla owners in the United States and Canada have been sharing videos of their cars failing to operate during the massive winter storm which have gripped North American in the last week.
Despite the videos going viral and reaching audiences of tens of millions of people, Tesla founder Elon Musk has yet to comment about the design failures.
The Daily Mail reports that numerous Tesla owners have reported being unable to access their vehicles due to frozen door handles during the cold weather conditions in Canada and the United States. Rachel Modestino, a meteorologist from Ontario, experienced this issue firsthand on December 23 when temperatures reached a low of 5º F and her car’s door latch failed to function.
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Modestino’s situation gained significant attention on social media, as a video she posted of her struggle with the frozen door handle has garnered over 10.1 million views on Twitter. In the tweet accompanying the video, Modestino quipped, “Bet ya didn’t think of ice in the Tesla design.”
Breitbart report: Modestino’s viral tweet sparked a response from both Tesla critics and supporters. Some offered their support and suggestions on how to open the frozen door, including using the car’s accompanying app to remotely unlatch it. Others took the opportunity to criticize Tesla, with one person writing, “You shouldn’t need to use Twitter to learn how to use your expensive car.”
Another stated: “You shouldn’t need a car cover to get into your expensive car. Every other car company has had this figured out for decades but people just keep making excuses for Tesla because they’re in the cult of Elon.”
Regardless of their stance on the brand, many were sympathetic to Modestino’s predicament and the challenges that come with owning a car during extreme winter weather.
Modestino made it known that she was not attempting to criticize Musk, stating: “OKAY, this went off… Not meant to dig Elon (I love my car). Only tweeted because I thought it was a silly flaw for the price.”
Breitbart News recently reported on a Tesla owner named Domenick Nati, a radio host in Virginia, that went viral after posting a video showing his Tesla Model S unable to charge in the cold weather. It was reportedly around 19°F – or -7°C – at the time of the video recording.
Nati claimed that he first tried to charge his car at home but it failed to take on energy. He then traveled to a local Supercharger station where he posted a video of the vehicle failing to charge on TikTok.
Tesla’s electronic door handles have been subject to criticism and safety concerns for years. In May, Breitbart News reported on a Canadian man who was forced to kick out the window of his Tesla to escape it after a battery fire rendered the electronic door handle inoperable.
