A glitch in Tesla’s Model X is locking owners out of their cars

Although Tesla has been able to consistently wow consumers every time it’s launched a new electric car, things haven’t been quite so rosy for some customers after they got the keys to their new rides.

The Wall Street Journal reported that some owners found that the falcon-wing doors on their Model X SUVs wouldn’t open – not something you’d expect to see in a high-tech $138,000 car.

TechCrunch noted that Byron Deeter, a VC with Bessemer Venture Partners, experienced numerous issues with his Model X. In his case, the driver-side door wouldn’t stay shut, so he had to drive to a meeting with one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the door handle.

That’s in addition to things like the Autopilot self-driving feature failing, the emergency brake engaging on its own every few feet and the driver-side window refusing to close.

Tesla told TechCrunch in a statement:

While we have seen some issues with early Model X builds, the issues are not widespread, and we are working closely with each owner to respond quickly and proactively to address any problems. We will continue to do so until each customer is fully satisfied. This commitment is one of the reasons why 98 percent of our customers say they will buy another Tesla as their next car.

The problems these customers are facing aren’t life-threatening, but they do put the vehicles out of commission until they’re fixed – and the complaints are piling up.

Brad Ledwith, who received his Model X since the end of last month, explained to WSJ that since he’s leasing it at $1,350 a month and has to wait for two weeks before Tesla’s service center can attend to his car, he’s out $675.

It isn’t the first time the Model X has given Tesla reason to worry. Earlier this month, the company recalled 2,700 SUVs to address a faulty latch that could allow the third row seat to fold over in a crash.

A lot of these issues can be sorted out with a software update delivered over-the-air, but it’s clear that Tesla still has a lot of work to do to ensure its manufacturing is glitch-free – especially since it’s accepted 325,000 pre-orders for its $35,000 Model 3 that it’s set to deliver at the end of 2017.