For their part, the people behind the website do seem to have legitimate complaints, as it’s not the first time I’ve read several of the complaints issued in the laundry list of issues the group is asking Musk to fix. Though, clearly, not all of these issues affect all customers, or even most customers. However, presumably, at least some of the owners engaging in the hunger strike have had these issues. To wit, that list includes:
The car won’t start in cold weather
Door handles won’t open in cold weather
Intense squeaking noise
Car won’t start in warm weather
“Bubbles” in seats
Loose front seat
Trunk lid filled with rain water
Autopilot does not work properly
Internet is slow and does not work as it ought to
The wipers do not work (well enough)
The car creaks when you pass speed bumps and other bumps in the road
Decorative moldings loosen
The lights do not work properly
The doors stop working properly
Doors that open by themselves
The computer does not work
Yellow edges around the display screens
Windows that do not close completely
Systems reset on their own
Problems charging
Reduced power
Rust problems on new cars (especially Model 3)
Poor paint quality means that the car has to be repainted
You were promised free charging throughout the car’s lifetime, but the new charging stations do not fit the car
Lower battery life than Tesla claims
Problems with the air conditioner
Not all problems are solved when the car is serviced
Tesla promise to contact you, but you do not hear from them
You have to wait on the phone for a long time before Tesla answers
“Norway is by far the number 1 Tesla country in the world,” reads the website, drawing attention to the country’s status as an EV market leader. “We are the canary in the coal mine.”
Whether or not you believe that is up to you. For my part, I feel like a hunger strike is a serious thing — even if it’s only threatened. Besides that, it seems like a pretty excessive answer to a problem that could be easily resolved by buying another car. Sort of like the “If you don’t like what’s on TV, change the channel” argument — you know?
As such, my inclination is to give this one a 60/40 against being a real hunger strike. And, frankly, I’d given it worse odds of being real (close to zero) until Elon started tweeting about the supposed health benefits of fasting, which a Redditor going by u/pdq believes might be an effort to search-optimize the hunger strike.