Daimler dismantles borrowed Tesla

Daimler has reportedly borrowed a Tesla Model X and dismantled it for research into how the cars are made.

According to Germany’s Der Spiegel, Daimler rented the Model X using car-sharing service Sixt, and took the 100kWh falcon-doored electric SUV all the way to Portugal.

The couple who owned the short-supply Model X monitored the vehicle’s location using Tesla’s on-board GPS system, where it could be seen visiting test tracks near Barcelona – well and truly outside the boundaries of the Sixt rental agreement.

Entrepreneurial Tesla owner Manfred van Rinsum and partner Monika Kindlein were unaware who had rented their Model X until it was returned with five-figures worth of damage, having been disassembled and put back together.

Der Spiegel reports the car, returned in August after seven weeks’ loan, was returned to the Bavarian couple with a damaged tailgate, interior panels stuck back on with tape or left on the floor, and paint damage.

Sixt says it did not know the vehicle would be used on a track, which included traction and vibration testing, but told the German media outlet it paid for the damage, depreciation and appraisal costs for the undisclosed usage.

Appraisal estimates the damage at approximately NZ$26,900, with another NZ$3900+ in depreciation, plus whatever income loss that arises while being repaired.

Sixt billed the unidentified renter, who left a note in the glovebox reading “You parked incorrectly” from the Mercedes-Benz Technology Centre in Sindelfingen, Germany – where the Model X was also tracked being driven on a nearby test track in the same area. Sindelfingen is very close to Daimler’s Stuttgart corporate headquarters.

The Sixt representative who rented the vehicle out, according to Van Rinsum’s story with Der Spiegel, had “Automotive Industry Relations in his email signature.

Daimler replied to enquires from Jalopnik saying, “Renting vehicles for comparison purposes is a common procedure in the automotive industry,” the company says, translated for Jalopnik and Gizmodo.

“In case the rental vehicles are damaged in the course of the rental period, the normal insurance procedure is started and a claim settlement is made. We kindly ask for your understanding that we do not comment on individual vehicle rentals.”
Mercedes-Benz is set to launch its EQC electric SUV in 2019.