'This is some cheap baloney': New Tesla owner is left outraged after the airbag in his $90,000 car falls off in his hands right after he purchased it
A new Tesla owner has shared his outrage after learning the flashy car he paid nearly $90,000 for came with a faulty airbag that fell off into his hands moments after he bought it.
Public school teacher Ricco Kimbrough, documented his experience of buying his $89,190 Tesla Model S Plaid in a series of videos posted to TikTok on Wednesday.
At first, the videos show Kimbrough - alongside his two parakeets, Romeo and Juliet - trying out all the new features as he listens to rap music, showing off the Tesla's popular touch-screen center console.
But by the fifth video, he notices the airbag was not attached to the steering wheel properly.
'Hey yo, so I'm just in my new Tesla, and I found a flaw already about this Tesla,' he tells his TikTok followers. 'My airbag literally just came out.'
'Like what is up with this Tesla? This is not acceptable. My airbag literally just came out. This is some cheap baloney.'
Kimbrough filmed the moment he discovered the airbag in his new car's steering wheel was not properly attached
Kimbrough called the airbags 'some cheap baloney' in his TikTok videos
Eventually, he filmed himself going back to the dealership to discuss the issue, and said the dealership would fix it
In subsequent videos, Kimbrough seems to get increasingly frustrated, saying that the airbag is 'not even connected to my steering wheel,' and is 'literally just hanging out like this.'
'They told me that Tesla is the safest car,' he said. 'This is not the safest car.'
'I just got it - I just got my car,' he added, showing off his receipt.
By the 11th video he posted of the experience, he said he decided to go back into the dealership, telling his followers as he is walking: 'You got to look your cars over thoroughly ... this is unacceptable.'
He is then seen leaving the store, saying the dealership would take care of the issue, and in another video, he said he was trying out another Tesla on the lot that did not appear to have an issue with the airbag.
'When you get your Tesla, just look it over guys,' Kimbrough said, 'because having an airbag coming out the car, that's just not acceptable.'
In his final video of the experience, he films himself driving away, once again reminding people to thoroughly inspect their Teslas before driving them off the lot because 'They definitely don't have them all put together - they're like LEGOs.'
Kimbrough seemed excited in his TikTok videos to pick up his new Model S on Wednesday
He even brought his two pet parakeets along for the ride to the Tesla dealership
But this is not the first time the electric vehicle company faced scrutiny for its apparent shoddy manufacturing.
In 2017, a Tesla owner named Tyler Martin posted a 25-minute YouTube detailing every issue he had with his new Model S.
In the since-deleted video, he said the driver-side mirror would only unfold partially, his door trim did not line up properly, his rear passenger side door had a weird delay between the handle being pulled and the door actually opening and his steering wheel would be crooked when he was driving straight, according to Jalopnik.
He also said he heard a constant rattle from the rear passenger-side door, a defective windshield with little horizontal lines streaked over it, and a weird yellow line through the display.
Tesla released the new Model S Plaid earlier this month, amid increased scrutiny over the company's autopilot hardware and software
The cars have also faced increased scrutiny over its autopilot hardware and software, with regulators from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration releasing a list of 30 investigations into Tesla crashes involving an 'advanced driver assistance system' since 2016.
Ten people have died in these crashes, The Guardian reports, and of the 30 crashes the NHTSA has ruled out the autopilot as a cause in just three cases.
It has opened an additional eight investigations into these crashes since March.
Still, Car and Driver magazine asserts the Tesla Model S cars are safe, based on decent crash-test results.
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