Peter Goodricke thought he’d found a great deal. In August and September of 2024, the New Zealand electrical engineer bought two damaged Tesla Model 3s through a vehicle auction. The insurers of the cars had written them off and deregistered them, believing them to be beyond repair — or at least not worth the expense of doing so.
Goodricke repaired the cars, though, and both passed the inspection required for re-registration. But because the cars had been structurally damaged at one point, the company sent an over-the-air update that disabled fast-charging. The only way to recharge them was with a regular power point, a process that can take days.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) offered to inspect the cars at $1,624 NZD (about $923) apiece. Goodricke instead decided to take the company to court, alleging it had breached the country’s fair trading act. The claim was dismissed. And when he appealed that to the country’s high court, he was not only denied again, but ordered to pay Tesla around $27,000 NZD in court costs (approximately $15,000).
“Tesla, unlike most car manufacturers, retains the ability to reach into individual vehicles long after their sale and make alterations which limit their functionality,” the judge wrote. “That power is remarkable and may be exercised only in the most tightly constrained circumstances.”
Tesla did not respond to a Moneywise request for comment on the case.
Read the fine print
While it was a disappointing conclusion for Goodricke, Tesla has never made a secret of its policies — and that worked in its favor in this case. The company’s Unsupported Vehicle Policy is available on its Website and clearly reads, “Vehicles with clean titles may still be classified as unsupported. Until Tesla can confirm that the vehicle complies with Tesla’s safety standards and vehicle specifications, Tesla does not perform or support repairs involving the high voltage battery systems in the vehicle.”
The concern, the company says, is safety related. Vehicles that Tesla has not confirmed comply with its safety standards could damage a Supercharger or might not be safe to drive, the company says.
While there has been a growing trend of refurbishing salvaged Teslas, the company has not encouraged this, making it challenging for some enthusiasts to find parts and declining hardware upgrades for others. And supercharging (along with third-party fast charging) for salvaged vehicles has been turned off for several years.
Goodricke isn’t the only Pacific Rim resident to find his refurbishment dreams vanquished.
Eight years ago, another New Zealander bought a wrecked Tesla and rebuilt it, only to find out afterward that the car was flagged as unsupported and could not be fast-charged. The driver said Tesla had “stonewalled him at every turn” and eventually paid a U.S. resident to hack his car to let him charge it.
Chris Morris is a US based veteran journalist with more than 35 years of experience at many of the biggest digital news outlets. In addition to his activities as a writer, reporter and editor, Chris is also a frequent moderator and speaker at major conferences, including CES and South by Southwest.
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