Prerak Patel was driving on Route 1 through Woodbridge during the "horrific" incident last weekend, he said in a series of tweets calling out Elon Musk and Tesla. He had owned the car for only six days, he said.
Patel was lucky that no one was behind him and he was able to pull off the road safely, he said.
Scott Kuzma, a spokesman for the Woodbridge Police Department, confirmed the department called for a tow truck for the Tesla near the Garden State Parkway on Sunday, Jan. 29.
"I can confirm that the driver reported the steering wheel detached," Kuzma said, citing the attached incident report.
It's not the first time a Tesla has lost its steering wheel, according to InsideEVs in this May 2020 report.
Meanwhile, Ford recalled 1.4 million cars in 2018 due to steering wheels falling off. The cars with the most at-risk steering wheels were the Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ cars from the 2014-2018 model years.
Neither Tesla nor Patel could be reached for comment by Daily Voice.
See AttachmentClick here to follow Daily Voice Wyckoff-Franklin Lakes and receive free news updates.