Several Tesla Model 3 owners report that the rear bumper of their car has flown off in wet weather conditions. Tesla now admits that this risk exists and if all goes well, the problem must be resolved in production within the foreseeable future.
In various places around the world, but especially in the US, examples of Tesla Model 3s occasionally pop up that have lost their rear bumper. All these cases have one common denominator: water. The bumpers would have flown off in rainy conditions or when driving through a puddle. The cause: the rear bumper does not drain properly, causing water to accumulate in it or splash into the inside of the bumper in one fell swoop. At a certain point the mounting points can no longer handle that and there goes your bumper.
Electrek has now received a document in which Tesla responds to these incidents. “In rare cases, the rear bumper can become detached from the car and fixation points can also be damaged,” they say, immediately following a commitment that repairs after such cases are covered by warranty. Also, in production from May this year, a different bumper would have been added to the Model 3, which should solve the problem. According to Electrek there was then a recess for a towbar in the bumper, so that the water drains faster. An accidental solution, it seems.