You might have seen the videos of Michael Reddicopp of Abbotsford, British Columbia (lowlifemike – formerly lowlifeduramax on YouTube) taking his Model 3 Standard Range Plus (SR+) and doing some crazy things with it.
Things like drifting it by force turning off all the safety systems in the vehicle. Or doing multiple tug-of-war challenges with several different pickup trucks. Or installing snow tracks on the rear axle and turning the Model 3 into a semi-snowmobile.
Now it appears his antics have caught up with him, and he’s facing a hefty repair bill from Tesla.
Reddicopp took to Twitter (he has since protected his account) to air his frustrations with Tesla for voiding his warranty and making him pay $4,500 to replace a failed motor.
Tesla apparently cited his snow track video as the reason, saying that the vehicle’s rear drive unit had developed an internal fault as a result of abuse outside of its normal operating parameters.
If one were to read the “Tesla Parts, Body and Paint Repair Limited Warranty” handbook, it’s easy to see why Tesla voided his warranty and is making him pay for the repairs.
“This Tesla Parts, Body & Paint Limited Warranty does not cover any damage or malfunction directly or indirectly caused by, due to, or resulting from, normal wear or deterioration, abuse, misuse, negligence, accident, collision, impact, lack of or improper use, maintenance, storage or transport, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
Failure to contact Tesla upon discovery of a defect covered by this Tesla Parts, Body & Paint Repair Limited Warranty; any repair, alteration or modification to covered Parts, or the installation or use of any Parts or accessories, made by a person or facility not authorized or certified to do so.”
What do you think, should Tesla have voided his warranty? Let us know in the comments below.
