“We make the best cars,” he said of Tesla at a New York Times event last month. “Whether you hate me, like me or are indifferent, do you want the best car, or do you not want the best car?”

Even if this were true (and I don’t think it is), I’d buy the second-best car if it comes from a manufacturer that respects consumer rights law in the UK. The example given in that article, of a Tesla in Cambridge that collapsed after being driven only 115 miles on the first day the dude owned it, would have gotten a serious response from any other car manufacturer, because there is actually consumer rights legislation that protects people in these circumstances. Any car component that fails on the first day of ownership (excluding things like tyres, for obvious reasons) will have a presumption in favour of manufacturing defect (or inadequate inspection in the case of second-hand cars) over consumer abuse. If Tesla won’t obey the law, I won’t buy their cars.

I knew those cars were bad, but that article is terrifying. Tesla continuing to use defective parts after knowing that those parts made the wheels fly off cars, and suspension assemblies collapse? That should be criminal. According to the article, China forced them to recall parts, but in the US it was somehow avoided…just astonishing.