Tesla Model S becomes target of safety review over customer complaints

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is reviewing customer complaints over faulty suspension on the Tesla Model S.

Citing a months-long thread on the Tesla Motors Club forum, the Daily Kanban reports that the Model S was fitted with defective suspension control arms, which are susceptible to breakage. If they do break, it could cause the driver to lose control of the car.

The agency initiated the review following a report that one Model S owner was asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement before Tesla would pay half of the $3,100 bill to fix the car's faulty control arms. 

Unsurprisingly, an NHTSA called the agreement "troublesome," according to Reuters.

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Edward Noodlemaker @Tweetermeyer

.@NHTSAgov spokesman Bryan Thomas has issued the following release in response to @DailyKanban's recent Tesla report

12:04 AM - 10 Jun 2016

 
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The NHTSA informed Tesla that "any language implying that consumers should not contact the agency regarding safety concerns is unacceptable." 

Depending on what the agency finds, the next step could be a formal investigation. 

An agency official told Reuters that Tesla "told NHTSA that it was not their intention to dissuade consumers from contacting the agency."

Model S owners are encouraged to alert the NHTSA if they have had any issues with their car’s suspension.

News of the safety review and potential cover-up comes at an inopportune time for Tesla. Earlier Thursday morning, it announced two newer, less expensive variants of the Model S, the 60 and 60D.

One guy taught Amazon's Alexa to summon his Tesla, because why not

Summoning or parking your car with a tap on your phone is no longer cool. You know what's cool? Ordering a gadget to order your car to do your bidding. 

That's the result of a "weekend project" by Tesla Model S owner Jason Goecke, who managedto get Amazon Echo to summon his car out of the garage.

Goecke did the trick by using an unofficial API (Tesla hasn't released a public API at this point), Amazon Echo's voice assistant Alexa and the Go programming language. 

In practice, it looks like this: Goecke tells Alexa "Ask KITT to pull out of the garage," KITT being a reference to cult '80s TV series Knight Rider. As the garage door opens and the Model S slowly glides out, Alexa responds, "I will now pull your Tesla out of the garage; keep an eye on it."

Goecke admits that the system is too much of a security risk as is, and that additional security measures, such as voice biometrics, could be applied to make sure no unwanted third party can boss your Tesla around. 

This is not the first Summon-related hack we've seen. In February, iOS developer Allen Wong created an Apple Watch app which lets you summon or park a Tesla directly from your smartwatch.

Tesla Model S is getting a 75 kWh battery option

Tesla's electric sedan, the Model S, currently comes in two basic variants: The 70D and the 90D, the numbers corresponding with the battery size in each model, 70kWh and 90kWh, respectively.

But a third option will soon become available: The Model S 75D. 

Electrek found that out by digging through the California Air Resource Board (CARB)'s website, and it was later confirmed by a Tesla spokesperson. The Verge got some more details directly from Tesla; a spokesperson said the 75kWh battery would be a $3,000 option for the Model S, with the launch being later this week.

The change is not very surprising for several reasons. Tesla already did something similar with the high-end Model S model, which originally came with an 85kWh battery. Soon after the 90kWh variant was introduced, the Tesla Model S 85 was removed from the lineup. Since the 75kWh battery pack is currently one of the two options available for Tesla's SUV, the Model X (the other is 90kWh), it makes sense for Tesla to simplify things with just two battery options across its range. 

The range on the entry-level Tesla Model S 70 with a rear wheel drive is 234 miles per charge. A battery capacity increase of about 7% could theoretically bring that range to about 250 miles. The all-wheel drive S 70D has a bigger estimated range, 240 miles per hour. The new battery pack could increase that to around 257 miles.