It was huge news when German rental company Nextmove announced its intention to lease 100 Tesla Model 3 for its fleet, but as it turns out - the €5 million ($5.5 million) deal was canceled.
*The video above is available with English subtitles.
UPDATE: Tesla reached out to us with a statement. The automaker reiterated that the order wasn't canceled, but that Nextmove simply stopped accepting further deliveries. The Tesla spokesperson believes that the decision wasn't just related to quality issues, but rather an unrelated dispute that occurred in the past. The spokesperson shared:
“Tesla’s vehicle quality has reached record highs, and our data does not indicate any unusual vehicle quality issues that are specific to Germany or anywhere else in the world. Although there is always a small chance that a car may occasionally encounter blemishes during final transport to a customer, that is not unique to Tesla and we address those issues quickly for anyone impacted. We are also in the process of scaling up service centers globally, including a more than 50% increase in Mobile Service vehicles and a five-fold increase in Mobile Service coverage just this year in Europe.
We set an extremely high bar for our cars, which is why any customer who is unhappy with theirs can return it for a full refund up to seven days after purchase. Our customer satisfaction data shows that German customers have largely been satisfied with their vehicles, including the quality and condition of their cars upon delivery.”
Initially, Nextmove received 15 Tesla Model 3 in Spring 2019, but according to the company, those cars were plagued with issues. Nextmove said that only one in four Model 3 was without defects, while some of the remaining 75% were "even not roadworthy". Besides the defects, nextmove complains also complained about the lack of timely repairs.
"But the powerful wave Moeller expected has collapsed to a trickle. After weeks of back and forth over unfulfilled repair work and quality issues involving the initial 15 sedans that Tesla delivered -- from scratched bumpers to moisture trapped behind the headlights -- the order of the remaining 85 Model 3s was called off."
The list of quality and finish issues include:
- paint defects
- faulty wiring
- scratches on the dashboard
- faulty wheels
- condensation in the headlights
Tesla Model 3 demand remains strong
In such circumstances the deal was canceled:
"The rental company said following a dispute over how to resolve the quality shortcomings, Tesla triggered a refund clause but Tesla disputes that it canceled the order.
Tesla said Nextmove chose not to take delivery of the cars."
"Tesla said it was in the process of resolving the issues and had provided replacement vehicles.
Nextmove uses more than 300 electric cars, including 38 Model S and a dozen Model X. Company owners Stefan Moeller remains a fan of the Model 3, but not a fan of Tesla as an organization.
Hopefully, we will not hear about similar issues too often as it might be the biggest threat to Tesla's expansion.
