NHTSA Complaint #11074328 — 2014 TESLA MODEL S

THE LEFT FRONT FORE LINK BALL JOINT SNAPPED LIKE GLASS DURING NORMAL DRIVING. LUCKILY I WAS GOING AT RELATIVELY LOW SPEED ON A SIDE STREET. THIS ALLOWED THE SUSPENSION TO ALLOW THE WHEEL TO SLAM INTO THE FIREWALL AND IT LOCKED UP CAUSING THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE VEHICLE TO HIT A CURB. AS AN ENGINEER THIS SCARES THE DAYLIGHTS OUT OF ME, AS IF IT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED ON A HIGH SPEED HIGHWAY TURN, THE RESULTS COULD HAVE BEEN DEADLY. EVEN WITHOUT AN UNDERSTANDING OF ADVANCED METALLURGY, IT'S CLEAR THAT A HARDENED STEEL BALL JOINT SHOULD BE STRONGER THEN THE SURROUNDING ALUMINUM ALLOY PARTS ON EITHER SIDE THAT IT ATTACHES TO. IT LOOKS LIKE A GLASS ROD HIT WITH A HAMMER. THIS SAME THING HAPPENED TO ANOTHER 2014 IN OUR FAMILY ABOUT A YEAR AGO, AND I CHALKED IT UP TO RANDOM FAILURE. BUT NOW 2 FAILURES? I HAVE THE ORIGINAL FAILED PART IF NEEDED FOR ANALYSIS. THE REPLACEMENT PART I OBTAINED THROUGH TESLA HAS BEEN RE-ENGINEERED, AND APPEARS TO BE FROM A DIFFERENT SUPPLIER. I WENT AHEAD AND REPLACED BOTH SIDES, AND I STILL HAVE THE NON-FAILED PART ON THE LEFT SIDE. I ATTEMPTED TO CONTACT TESLA ABOUT THIS, AND THEY HAVE NOT RESPONDED TO ME.