People are sharing videos of their Tesla vehicles malfunctioning in the extreme cold, another side effect of a particularly severe winter storm that wreaked havoc across much of the country during the holidays.
Meteorologist Rachel Modestino got the ball rolling after she tagged billionaire and Tesla chief executive Elon Musk in a post on Twitter which includes a video of her failure to open her vehicle's driver-side door.
The reason?
The latch—which must be popped out of the door to use—had frozen shut.
Modestino was eventually able to enter her vehicle by using a companion app.
Twitter users suggested she could use her Tesla app to preheat her car.
But Modestino wasn't alone in her struggle.
TikTok user Domenick Nati uploaded a video in which he noted that his Tesla would not charge in the cold weather, which left him stranded on Christmas Eve.
The video includes a shot of Nati's dashboard, which showed an outside temperature of 19 degrees and 19 miles remaining before his battery would die.
Nati was unable to successfully charge his car at a charging station and his other attempts to charge his battery also failed. In the end, Tesla was able to tow his vehicle and provide him with a Tesla Model 3 while his is being serviced.
Both videos garnered millions of views in short order and prompted many to criticize what they said is Telsa's poor design.
The stories of Teslas experiencing major malfunctioning in the freezing weather is another headache for Musk, whose behavior since he officially acquired Twitter has adversely impacted Tesla's stock price.
Musk has continued to share inflammatory tweets and attack his critics while spreading misinformation on the social media platform, behavior that has spooked Tesla investors. This week, news outlets reported that shares in Tesla plummeted to a 52-week low of $113 by midday, December 27.
Additionally, the automotive company confirmed it would be reducing production at its factory in Shanghai, China by next month, a development that came after Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren launched an inquiry into the harm Musk has caused to Tesla's investors since using Twitter as his "private plaything."
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