MEMPHIS, Tenn — A Collierville man says his dream of driving a Tesla turned into a nightmare when his $45,000 car was stolen and wrecked while being serviced at a local Tesla dealership.
Ray Rahman said he only had the car for a couple of weeks when he took it to Telsa to fix a rattling noise in the trunk. He said Telsa sent his vehicle to an electric vehicle body shop, and a 16-year-old drove it off the lot.
“I was told by Tesla that they need authorization from me to track the car,” Rahman said. “I gave that to Tesla and asked what they wanted me to do next. They said you need to file a complaint. I said, Why should I be involved? I gave you guys my car, and it got stolen under your watch.”
Rahman tracked his Tesla to a charging station in Knoxville. Rahman said that’s where the teen crashed the car and when Tesla said he was responsible for the damages.
“They would always say it’s not our fault. We’re not liable for it. You talk to your insurance. Open your insurance claim and get that process started, and let your car be repaired and your insurance lawyers will go after the body shop to recoup the repair costs and everything,” Rahman said.
Rahman said he had been trying to work out something with Tesla for months, and at one point, Tesla offered to buy back his vehicle. However, he said that when he left the country for two weeks, Tesla disabled his loaner car and closed his case.
“They sent me a message on the Tesla app saying we will report the loaner stolen,” Rahman said. “They remotely disabled the loaner, and they said there’s nothing we can do. We are closing the service ticket. There’s nothing we can do with your car. The car was still sitting in the Tesla parking lot damaged.”
WREG tried contacting Telsa to find out what was happening with his case, but we have not heard back from the company. Rahman said his Tesla is back at the EV body shop, and there is a good chance the car will be totaled.
“It’s body damage only, but still a lot of damage, and they totaled the car for no fault of mine for dropping off my car at Tesla,” Rahman said. “There’s no way to report this to a customer service line. Everything goes back to the local service shop.”
The 16-year-old who took the Telsa was charged with motor vehicle theft and driving without a license.
