Man accidentally purchases Tesla that's banned from all supercharger stations
Hopefully he doesn't get stuck out on the road
One driver had an unfortunate realization shortly after buying his new Tesla vehicle from a used car dealership, as he had accidentally purchased a car that is blocked from using all of the company's superchargers on the road.
By far one of the biggest benefits of switching to Tesla or electric vehicles as a whole is the fuel situation, as not only is it better for the environment but it's also a lot cheaper than traditional gas in almost every scenario.
Tesla owners have shown quite how much they're able to save compared to standard gas-powered cars by charging their vehicles, and some have even had bills that people simply can't believe by exclusively charging at home.
You still need the option to keep your car's power filled up while on the go though, and that's where Tesla's superchargers come in handy. There are over 70,000 supercharger stations located worldwide with many of them being across the United States, so you never need to worry about having a low battery while on a long distance drive.
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That's unless your name is Daniel Boycott though, as he realized quickly that his decision to purchase a Tesla Model 3 from a local used car dealership was one that he'd soon regret.
As reported by the New York Post, Boycott had no issued with the Model 3 initially, and nothing was flagged up during the buying process, so all looked to be good having snagged a great deal.
However, issues immediately cropped up when he first went to charge the car at a nearby supercharger, and it simply didn't work. Thinking (and hoping) it was just an issue with that individual station he tried some others, but they all had the same outcome.
He got in contact with Tesla about the issue, and they informed him that "the car is current unsupported for supercharging and warranties are voided due to [it being a] salvaged vehicle."
This is because Tesla deem any damaged vehicle a safety threat when connecting to its superchargers, and thus it removes them from the network, effectively preventing them from being charged on the go.
The driver did admit that he neglected to look into the vehicle's history report until after he bought it, but upon investigation he noticed that all that was registered was a 'minor accident' with the damage looking relatively small in the provided photos.
This was a bigger issue than Boycott expected though, as the Tesla technician he spoke to indicated that the repair wasn't done well, and that "it was bad enough where they flagged it."
He remains in ongoing negotiations with the local dealership over a resolution, but he claims that the Illinois Secretary of State Police allegedly confirmed that it was never officially labeled as salvaged, potentially giving him a huge hand in negotiations.
Tesla do offer a service where they can inspect the car and get it back on the network so superchargers become an option again, but this can cost several thousand dollars and the driver doesn't think it's worth it.
"You know, I don't want to pay like $10,000 extra on a car that I already agreed to," Boycott explained, and you certainly can't blame him for his frustration.