Several commenters confirmed that Teslas do not have an actual steering lock function, so the issues people have encountered appear to be a failure of the power steering system. According to the support staff the original poster got hold of, when this happens, the steering does function but requires extreme effort. “I could maybe have turned the wheel but I’m a big dude,” said the support agent.
This is something Tesla would likely want to get to the bottom of quickly, as the Model 3 and Model Y are best sellers for the brand.
That said, it hasn’t been without its issues, particularly in the steering department, as several steering wheels literally fell off while driving. This was something Tesla only issued a recall for after an investigation from the NHTSA, which stands in contrast with how Nissan handled an identical scenario with the Ariya in which the Japanese brand performed an investigation and launched a recall rapidly.