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Mercedes-Benz Rents Privately-Owned Tesla Model X for Tests, Nearly Ruins It

The German publication Spiegel runs a story on how Daimler used car renting company Sixt to get its hands on a privately-owned Tesla Model X, probably to benchmark it against its upcoming EQC electric crossover.
NHTSA Tesla Model X safety test 1 photo
Photo: YouTube screenshot
The owners of the Model X, a couple from Oettingen, decided to lend their battery-powered SUV while they went on vacation in Sicily. Sixt was more than happy to help particularly since it already had an interested client, so the two left happy to know their car would earn them some money while they were away.

Upon returning, they noticed their Tesla had been driven way over the maximum allowed number of miles. After checking the GPS tracking, they saw it had been taken as far as Barcelona, Spain, as well as to a test track at Daimler's Sindelfingen facility.

A further inspection revealed the vehicle had also suffered some damage, which the publication says (via Electrek) incurred after Mercedes-Benz had taken the vehicle apart and put it back together. The couple took their grievances to Sixt, who compensated the owners for the extra miles, but directed them toward Daimler for any payment regarding the actual damage (estimated at $95,000, no less).

While using the competition's vehicles for benchmarking is absolutely natural, the way Daimler went about procuring the Model X isn't. Surely the company could afford to buy one, either new or pre-owned, particularly if it knew it was going to run the kind of tests that might void its warranty.

The Model X isn't the most readily available vehicle in Europe - and particularly in Germany - but there's no excuse for Mercedes-Benz not owning one already. If this story gets confirmed, then somebody at the company should lose their job because not only did it end up costing the company more money than it should, but the whole thing also made it look like it's filled with a bunch of amateurs.

On the other hand, in the absence of any official statement from either Tesla or, more importantly, Daimler/Mercedes-Benz, this story could very well be either made up or severely exaggerated. However, if true, we wouldn't be surprised if Mercedes-Benz decided to solve it behind closed doors, making this the last time we ever hear about it.
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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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