{"id":641561,"date":"2026-10-26T06:42:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T06:42:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/641561\/"},"modified":"2026-10-26T06:42:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T06:42:11","slug":"tesla-remotely-disabled-fast-charging-on-damaged-cars-owners-legal-challenges-dismissed-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/641561\/","title":{"rendered":"Tesla remotely disabled fast-charging on damaged cars, owner’s legal challenges dismissed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tesla has pulled the plug on the owner of two second-hand cars it felt weren’t safe to charge, in case the batteries caught fire.<\/p>\n

The US automotive company, which has service centres in New Zealand, activated the “disable” button on the cars’ fast-charging function when it learned the written-off vehicles were destined for repair and would be back on the road.<\/p>\n

Peter Goodricke didn’t know until he opened his Tesla app and software updates switched off the charging function.<\/p>\n

He had bought the damaged Teslas at a Turners auction and apparently missed the fine print in the manufacturer’s unsupported vehicle policy that fast-charging would be disabled until the risk of fire or other damage could be assessed.<\/p>\n

Tesla justified its position by the risk posed by damaged high-voltage batteries.<\/p>\n

In rare cases, a damaged battery could cause a catastrophic fire. Internal damage to battery cells could sometimes be difficult to detect, it said.<\/p>\n

With the vehicles unable to be charged quickly, Goodricke was unhappy at the prospect of having to plug the cars into a regular powerpoint at home, which could take “days”.<\/p>\n

He went to the Disputes Tribunal, which dismissed his claim over alleged breaches of consumer and fair trade laws. He sought a second rehearing against the tribunal’s decision but that too was dismissed.<\/p>\n

Goodricke then went to the High Court, which has dismissed his application for a judicial review of the tribunal’s decisions.<\/p>\n

In doing so, Justice David Boldt acknowledged the case had one “immediately troubling aspect to it”.<\/p>\n

“Tesla, unlike most car manufacturers, retains the ability to reach into individual vehicles long after their sale and make alterations which limit their functionality.<\/p>\n

“That power is remarkable and may be exercised only in the most tightly constrained circumstances.”<\/p>\n

However, he was not persuaded the tribunal referee erred in rejecting Goodricke’s claim.<\/p>\n

Written off, revived, disabled<\/p>\n

Goodricke, an electrical engineer, bought the cars in 2024. Each had been deregistered after being written off by their former owners’ insurers.<\/p>\n

Tesla became aware a salvaged Tesla Model 3 was being sold at auction. A few days later, it learned the New Zealand Transport Agency register listed the vehicle as structurally damaged.<\/p>\n

Tesla designated it an “unsupported vehicle” and transmitted an “over-the-air” update to disable fast-charging capability.<\/p>\n

It did the same a few days later on the second vehicle under its “unsupported vehicle policy”, which prevented a Tesla from being charged on a direct current or supercharger system.<\/p>\n

The Teslas were repaired, inspected and re-registered.<\/p>\n

The vehicles charged normally when Goodricke accessed them using only his key.<\/p>\n

But the software updates downloaded when Goodricke used the Tesla app, immediately disabling the vehicles’ access to any fast-charging network, including Tesla’s proprietary network of “superchargers”.<\/p>\n

Justice Boldt said that for most vehicles, re-registration would have been the end of the story.<\/p>\n

However, in this case, Tesla New Zealand had been monitoring the NZTA register.<\/p>\n

Goodricke wrote to Tesla protesting that it had interfered with his vehicles without his permission.<\/p>\n

Tesla pointed him to its website and unsupported vehicle policy, which defined a vehicle as one the company considered unsafe for service or fast-charging.<\/p>\n

Goodricke argued in the tribunal that Tesla had breached consumer and trade laws by sending updates that reduced his cars’ functionality.<\/p>\n

He claimed Tesla’s failure to disclose the risk of remote disabling before he bought the car had misled him about the vehicles’ ongoing functionality.<\/p>\n

He said it was “unconscionable for Tesla” to require an inspection only it could perform, and which cost more than $1600.<\/p>\n

Tesla NZ general service manager Michael Belenkij said if the test showed the car was safe, the functionality was turned back on.<\/p>\n

The claim was dismissed in September last year when the tribunal ruled for Tesla.<\/p>\n

The referee found the company’s policy was not misleading, deceptive or unconscionable.<\/p>\n

He noted it was publicly available and the onus was on Goodricke, as purchaser of a damaged vehicle, to satisfy himself of the potential implications of buying a car that had been deregistered.<\/p>\n

The tribunal said Tesla had a legitimate interest in ensuring its cars were safe.<\/p>\n

Goodricke applied for a rehearing focused on the tribunal’s alleged failures, but that too was dismissed.<\/p>\n

When the matter reached the High Court, Justice Boldt noted Goodricke had not been legally represented at any stage.<\/p>\n

Goodricke raised multiple grounds of review challenging the merits of the tribunal’s decision.<\/p>\n

He also argued Tesla had unlawfully interfered with his property and committed an act of trespass.<\/p>\n

Justice Boldt said the fundamental rule that a car belonged to its owner, who then assumed responsibility for its safe operation, could only be displaced if there was a clear legal basis to do so.<\/p>\n

Tesla acknowledges boundaries<\/p>\n

Tesla, through its lawyer, acknowledged it had no unilateral right to alter the functionality of a Tesla vehicle once it belonged to someone else, and that it must be able to point to a lawful entitlement to do so.<\/p>\n

The judge said Goodricke’s case depended on his proposition that Tesla publicly maintained that its vehicles would have access to fast-charging networks throughout their working lives, but that proposition was incorrect.<\/p>\n

He said whatever Tesla may say about its vehicles’ general suitability for fast-charging, it made a clear exception for damaged and deregistered vehicles.<\/p>\n

NZME has sought comment from Goodricke.<\/p>\n

* This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Open Justice<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tesla has pulled the plug on the owner of two second-hand cars it felt weren’t safe to charge,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":641562,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[138,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-641561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=641561"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641561\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/641562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=641561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=641561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=641561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}