PETALING JAYA, Aug 30 — Upset by their car woes, a group of Tesla owners in Norway say they’re staging a hunger strike until their vehicles are fixed.

Based on their website, the group appears to be directly pleading to Tesla chief executive officer Elon Musk for help.

“We believe that if Elon Musk is made aware of our troubles, he will solve the situation,” the one-page site reads.

“Please help us get his attention.”

It is unclear when the strike will start, or how many people are prepared to go hungry to get Musk’s attention.

The group’s website has a laundry list of car troubles owners say they have been facing, such as: cars not starting in cold weather; cars not starting in hot weather; doors not working properly; charging issues; and poor battery life.

The list of complaints also includes poor customer service, with owners saying that they are frequently put on hold for a "long time” or never getting a call back as promised.

It is still unclear how many people will participate in the proposed hunger strike. — Picture via Twitter/ monstermasten
It is still unclear how many people will participate in the proposed hunger strike. — Picture via Twitter/ monstermasten

The group added that they were “canary in the coal mine”, in reference to Norway having the highest proportion of electric vehicles in the world.

According to a Reuters report from January, almost two thirds of new cars sold in the country were electric ones, with Tesla being the top-selling brand.

As news of the proposed hunger strike circulated on social media, Musk inadvertently added fuel to the fire by making an innocuous tweet about fasting.

“On advice of a good friend, I’ve been fasting periodically & feel healthier,” said Musk in his tweet.

While there’s no evidence that Musk was referring to the strike, some Twitter users began speculating that he was either making a "cruel subtweet”, or that he was attempting to game the platform’s algorithm to drown out news of the strike.

Tesla buyers from all over the world have long complained of quality issues, with videos by disgruntled owners often going viral on social media.

@theredrascal Buying a Tesla? Check this out first #tesla #premium #quality #fail original sound - Asbjørn Rødland