The Tesla Model X has fallen under a lot of scrutiny lately. Tesla’->ke1842s ambitious development goals initially delayed the launch of the Model X and has causes some pretty wild quality control issues. Even Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, has went so far as to say the company was overzealous in development of the all-electric->ke1030 SUV.->ke145 Problems have ranged from autopilot malfunction to electric door malfunction, and let’s not forget the recall to replace the third-row seats due to a flaw in the locking mechanism for the seatback.

With that said, it comes as no surprise that a Model X->ke4202 owner from California – and his attorney Mark Anderson from Anderson, Ogilvie, & Brewer in San Francisco – have filed a lawsuit requesting full reimbursement of the $161,970 paid for the “Lemon” of a Model X. The car’s owner, Barret Lyon, claims that the doors have slammed shut on him and his wife unexpectedly and that the autopilot system is extremely dangerous in the rain and will veer from lane to lane. Furthermore, Lyon claims that the powered front doors tend to open into other vehicles, the touchscreen display freezes completely, the second row seat will cause the driver’s seat to fold forward, and that the auto park feature doesn’t work 90 percent of the time.

In all fairness, Lyon also owns a handmade Tesla Roadster and an early-edition Model S, both of which he claims to have given him no problems at all. When speaking of the Model X, Lyon said: “It's become clear to me that the car wasn't ready for consumers. The service center is completely unprepared for the kind of problems they're having.”

Considering Tesla has been unable to diagnose and repair the problems, Lyon’s lawsuit is also seeking compensation for his registration fee, damages for break of warranty, California Lemon Violations, and all legal costs associated with the lawsuit.

Continue reading for the full story.

Why it matters

Sure, the Model X has had more than a few problems since it went on sale, but I don’t blame it all on Tesla. There have been plenty of reports of consumers rushing the automaker to get the finished product into their driveway. The Model X was delayed for a reason, and clearly didn’t go through enough testing prior to being delivered. Are these problems bound to plaque all X’s out there? I doubt it – this could be an issue that is limited to early-production models and may even been solved with a simple OTA software update in the future.

I can understand Lyon’s frustration with the situation, but that’s also what happens when you buy a vehicle brand new vehicle from a rather young company. I have a rule of thumb when it comes to brand new vehicles – wait until the second or third year before buying them. It gives the automaker time to work out the kinks. Sure, that should be done prior to releasing a model in the first place, but with the slew of recalls from all manufacturers over the past seven years, that’s just not the world we live in.

Tesla Model X

Read our full review on the Tesla Model X here.