NHTSA complaint #11500362

Owner complaint summary

My car is affected by a product defect where Tesla Model 3's which have blind spot monitoring cameras (all model 3s) during a certain time frame have extreme glare at night, preventing the driver from safely using the blind spot monitoring system. The camera is basically unusable, and this is a feature that drivers rely on to safely view their blind spots. I have done lots of research online, and Tesla repeatedly refuses to fix these product defects under warranty. There are tens of thousands (potentially hundreds of thousands) of affected vehicles, and I'm sure that Tesla is trying to avoid a costly recall, so they refuse to admit that this is a major safety issue and say that it is "within spec". If you search "tesla model 3 side camera glare" in Google, you'll find that there are thousands of complains on forums. Tesla fixes some under warranty, and refuses to fix others. I am aware that there was a recall on Model 3 vehicles already due to the rear view camera going out, which the NHTSA deemed a safety issue. I would argue that the defective blind spot cameras are a FAR more significant safety issue, because the rear-view camera is used almost exclusively during slow speed maneuvering into tight spaces, while the blind spot cameras are used on freeways for high-speed (60-70mph) lane changes. I have reached out to Tesla and requested that they fix this under warranty as it is a major safety issue, and they told me that newer production models have had the problem fixed, but that my model year needs to pay to have it fixed by Tesla. I have attached pictures of my conversation with Tesla to this complaint. Please take action against this company, which is putting its customers at risk because they don't want to bear the financial cost of fixing their product design defect.