Tesla Model 3 Loses Bumper After Driving in the Rain

TopSpeed

By Jonathan Lopez

Published Aug 14, 2018

More build issues for the 3?

Another day, another Tesla drama. The latest pertains to the California automaker’s new Model 3 compact, it’s most-affordable, and arguably most-important, offering to date. Apparently, the car is having some trouble holding on to its rear bumper when driving through puddles.

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The Full Story

From massive panel gaps, to failing electronics, to powertrain issues, Tesla has had to deal with plenty of accusations over poor build quality with the Model 3 in the past. This latest issue is a new one, though.

The unplanned exit for the rear bumper was first posted to Twitter by user @rithesh, who apparently lost his car’s tail-end body work a mere 30 minutes into his initial drive home.

“1/2 hr, bringing Model 3 home, run in to heavy rain on the streets & bumper comes off,” said @rithesh, who also posted a picture of his now bumper-less Model 3.

Apparently, Twitter user @Benj1Franks had a similar issue with his Model 3, citing problems with shielding along the lower edge of the vehicle that could tear and act as a “parachute” to scoop up errant water.

For those of you following the Tesla news lately, this shouldn’t be all that surprising, especially when you consider just how quickly the Californian automaker ramped up its production numbers, topping out at over 5,000 Model 3 units in a week.

That said, it’s unclear whether or not this is just a few isolated incidents, or indicative of a larger number of problems with the Model 3.

It’s also worth mentioning that this could very well be a concerted effort to draw negative press for the automaker, as we’ve seen in the past.

The issues come hot on the heels of an announcement that CEO Elon Musk was considering going private with the company.

We’ll update you with the latest as it’s revealed.