ELON MUSK: ‘Fraudulent’ safety complaints are being filed against Tesla

Elon Musk.Larry Busacca/Getty Images for The New York Times

Tesla CEO Elon Musk suggests “fraudulent” complaints are being submitted to the US government about its Model S cars.

The claim stems from a complaint about a Model S vehicle that reportedly had suspension trouble.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) got involved Thursday, saying it was “examining the potential suspension issue on the Tesla Model S, and is seeking additional information from vehicle owners and the company.”

The government agency later found that there was no issue concerning the Model S suspension.

Musk affirmed that finding in a tweet on Friday, saying “NHTSA confirmed today that they found no safety concern with the Model S suspension and have no further need for data from us on this matter.”

NHTSA said, since October, it has received more than 30 complaints about Tesla suspension parts breaking, according to The New York Times.

Musk tweeted his concerns about the veracity of some of the claims. The CEO said “of greater concern: 37 of 40 suspension complaints to NHTSA were fraudulent, i.e. false location or vehicle identification numbers were used.”

He went further, suggesting that the complaints were submitted in order to “create the false impression of a safety issue where none existed. [Question] is why?”

Earlier this week, Tesla was accused of routinely asking its customers to sign repair non-disclosure agreements, allegedly preventing them from speaking publicly about repairs made to their cars.

Tesla denied that claim in a blog post on its website.