Transmission supplier sues Tesla

http://openaccess1.sanmateocourt.org/getpdf/viewpdf.asp?courtcode=A&imagekey=0000025425

Above is the link to Magna's complaint - filed in February.

The caption in the CNET article says, "The Tesla Courtster." What's a courtster?

We'll see how it pans out. From reading the court documents, it seems that Tesla didn't follow the contract with Magna, which was to give it 30 days after notification if Magna didn't meet requirements so Magna could fix the problem, but since it's the complaint of course it will sound that way; we'll see who's right or wrong when the trial pans out. $5.6 million is a pretty good amount, even bigger than the $875,000 for the Fisker trial. It won't make Tesla bankrupt even if they had to pay it, but it's still not good publicity.

doug said:

The caption in the CNET article says, "The Tesla Courtster." What's a courtster?

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Never heard of that in my life.

Isn't there a time limit on Tesla's reply? I thought the response typically had to come within thirty days. There seems to be no further documents on file, or at least no further scanned files:

http://openaccess1.sanmateocourt.or...e=A&casetype=CIV - Unlimited Civil&limit=&dsn=

Pretty sure "courtster" is just a poor attempt at poking fun at the amount of litigation going on over at Tesla. Not really very funny at all. But then this whole report is kind of dodgy. It really doesn't explain the thrust of the suit at all, and kind of glosses over most of the background.

I also thought it was funny to say "News of the suit follows on the heels of a suit filed by Tesla against Fisker Automotive." I mean, I guess so, if "news of the suit" means "this story" not "the public case filing" which happened 6 weeks before the Fisker one (rather than on its heels). Clearly what it means was that nobody had bothered to go down to the San Mateo courthouse to see what Tesla had on the docket until the Fisker story broke.

Anyway, glad someone did eventually find it. This is certainly an interesting case, or it would be if there were some more filings...

Brent said:

Isn't there a time limit on Tesla's reply? I thought the response typically had to come within thirty days. There seems to be no further documents on file, or at least no further scanned files:

http://openaccess1.sanmateocourt.or...e=A&casetype=CIV - Unlimited Civil&limit=&dsn=

Click to expand...

The answer is due 30 days after SERVICE of the summons. The summons was filed on April 3, which I can't tell if it was served then or not. If Tesla fails to file their answer in that 30 days after service, then they're at risk for a default. But trust me, they won't miss that deadline.

Ouch

The two-speed transmission just won't lie down. Interesting that Magna claim that they recommended a single-speed solution.

siry responds

Tesla Birth Watch 43: Magna Sues Tesla Over Transmission | The Truth About Cars

Siry responds in comment #9.

With regard to the Magna issue, siry says, "The reliability issues were with the Magna unit only. We’ve established the fact that the units delivered were not working well so that led to a disagreement between the parties as to what was owed on the contract. These types of disagreements sometimes end up in court."

I think the interesting thing Siry said was that the fourth car would be with him to Monaco next weekend. That means that if I can count Martins car should be finished and swimming across the atlantic onboard a ship (or possible waiting at some dock somewhere). And this means the rate is around 1-2 weeks per car atm.

Cobos

Cobos said:

I think the interesting thing Siry said was that the fourth car would be with him to Monaco next weekend. That means that if I can count Martins car should be finished and swimming across the atlantic onboard a ship (or possible waiting at some dock somewhere). And this means the rate is around 1-2 weeks per car atm.

Cobos

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Yes, this is covered in this thread.

http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/news-articles-events/1099-some-delivery-info-siry-ttac-article.html

Daryl said, "The Xtrac transmission never had reliability issues. It has proven rock solid over the years and for that reason we are using an Xtrac box for our interim transmission."

Anyone know what transmission was Tesla using back in October of 2006? Recall that NBC Today Show video when the transmission failed? (vid can be found here) I remember thinking that was pretty embarrassing, but it also exciting since it was the first professional video of the car. Anyhow, I wonder if they had switched to the Magna transmission by then.