11 ms·

How Elon Musk Stole My Car

397 points by louis-paul 11y ago

peter303 11y ago
You probably had case for a lawsuit, but not worth the effort. You story probably lost more business for Telsa than they would have paid you damages. (Maybe they'll sue you for libel)
- vanattab 11y ago
  It likely that this article put whoever told him Elon was driving the car around in some hot water. I would not want to be that guy when Elon reads the headlines. I am not saying Elon is vindictive or anything just that it would be a uncomfortable position to be in. It's likely he thought the buyer would think it was neat that Elon was driving around in the same car he was going to get... if so he was wrong.
  - awakeasleep 11y ago
    I hope Elon personally takes responsibility for this. The person who told the author what was going on is the only person in the story who provided good customer service!
  - dkokelley 11y ago
    I would think that too, but it seemed that because of the testing, the vehicle was no longer available to the customer, and would retire as an R&D vehicle. From the write up, Tesla pre-sold a used vehicle, and then was unable to fulfill the sale. The customer's option seemed to be "find a different car".
    - Vik1ng 11y ago
      And if Elon had actually acknowledged this it would have been much easier for the Owner Advisor to find an alternative and Elon could easily have made the company pay a $20k difference.
  - AndyV91 11y ago
    I mean, I'd be pretty excited to learn Elon had been driving the car. However, they did mention that because of the changes they've made to test the new software he wouldn't be able to receive the car. If the company had just said "We're sorry, here's another car with all the features you wanted" but they didn't they dropped the ball.
  - fredophile 11y ago
    Why would he think it was neat that Elon had driven his car? If I was buying a used car I'd be annoyed that someone else was adding extra mileage to the car I'd purchased.
    - vanattab 11y ago
      I don't know. I would think it was kinda neat because I got alot of respect for Elon but I would also kinda wonder about the extra mileage. EDIT: Message to the down voters I am not saying its rational that I think it would be kinda neat. I am just honest enough with myself to recognize that I am not a purely logical beast.
    - deleted 11y ago
      [deleted]
  - ma2rten 11y ago
    If I was Elon Musk, I would promote that guy and put everyone else in "hot water" for not escalating this issue.
- crispyambulance 11y ago
  A lawsuit for something like this would have been ludicrous. Clearly, the OP was trying to purchase his car through a discount channel which this relatively new company had not completely ironed out. Mistakes happen, people get embarrassed, no one wants to tell Mr Musk "No", and no one wants to be the focal point of a customer complaint which they can't really do anything about. It seems like a screw-up on Tesla's part. Stuff like this happens all the time at good companies and this one has a funny twist but it doesn't signify anything as far as Tesla's ability to deliver, IMHO.
  - brandonmenc 11y ago
    > relatively new company They've been around for 13 years and have been selling cars for coming up on 10. Plenty of time to make sure customers aren't jerked around when making $100k purchases.
    - crispyambulance 11y ago
      They've been selling cars since the first roadster in 2008 and only sold ~500 in their first year. They're still "a baby" when it comes to car companies.
      - mynameisvlad 11y ago
        8 years is still plenty of time to figure out your basic purchasing channels, regardless how long it is compared to other car companies.
- jacquesm 11y ago
  > Maybe they'll sue you for libel Why do you think they would do that? I don't see anything that would come close to the bar that you'd need to meet to be able to sue for libel in the article.
- URSpider94 11y ago
  No, and no. What damages could the plaintiff have shown here? He got his money back, and Tesla kept the car. He had never executed a bill of sale for the car. While what Tesla did looks like horrible customer service, there was no damage here, any more than when you order the daily special at a restaurant and the waiter comes out to tell you it's sold out. As for libel, if he is telling the truth, then in the US, it can not be libelous. The saying goes "truth is an absolute defense against libel" IANAL ...
et2o 11y ago
Yikes. They should give him a better car at the agreed upon price.
- noir_lord 11y ago
  If they have any customer service savvy they'll get ahead of this, public statement apologising and a much better car at the original price. It's easily fixed if they just get ahead of it and then figure out what the hell went wrong and how to prevent it in future. It's like that thing about Doctors getting sued less if they just apologise for screwups, shit happens and most people are understanding if you are honest about it - mealy mouthed platitudes from the "Big Book of Covering Screwups" however annoy people.
  - Laaw 11y ago
    Exactly, I don't think anyone's looking for much beyond a, "Whoa, that was a blunder on our part, let's make this right" from Tesla. Relatively easy fix from a PR perspective, but based on this account of their internal process, I wouldn't be surprised if this gets missed too. They're obviously very good at engineering, which is kind of a classic mistake to then not bother trying to be good at the other stuff, too.
    - dragontamer 11y ago
      > They're obviously very good at engineering Everyone's very good at low volume. I'd say wait for the mass-production model (ie: Model 3) before we judge their engineering skills.
  - mkaziz 11y ago
    My car insurance tells me to never apologize even if it is my fault because that can be equated with admission of guilt. I imagine Doctors are told the same in regard to malpractice suits.
    - s0rce 11y ago
      In Ontario and apology is not an admission of guilt: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/09a03 https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/09a03 Seems like a good idea.
sithadmin 11y ago
>"[The Tesla Owner Advisor] called me to explain he had a call in with the Office of the CEO at Tesla and was working with his team in Tesla to resolve a problem that had come up — their CEO, Elon Musk, had taken my car and was using it as his personal vehicle to test a new version of autopilot. Even worse, he said he could see all the calls I had made into the Orlando delivery center this past week, and no one was taking my calls because no one knew what to do." The fact that a customer-facing resource is airing information about internal process screwups directly to a customer is indicative that something is very wrong with service management at Tesla; this is a bush-league customer service mistake. Not only is the customer being informed that there is a apparently a massive issue with the pipeline for delivering product to customer, but they're also indicating that there's clearly nobody enforcing ownership or accountability for reported issues.
- noir_lord 11y ago
  Two seperate issues there, 1) I don't see a problem with a honest CSR 2) yeah there is no way that a car that had been allocated to a customer should be taken even by the CEO. Honesty is rarely an issue, the lack of accountability is.
  - dkokelley 11y ago
    There's an important distinction between an "honest" CSR and an oversharing CSR. The response of a CSR to a complaint should be "I'm sorry this happened. Here's how I will make it right". Occasionally it's OK to say "we made mistake X", but don't try to excuse the issue. Generally, the customer does not care or want to know exactly what went wrong. If I order a burger from a restaurant and it comes out wrong, I expect the establishment to apologize and quickly provide me another burger. I don't need to know that someone called in sick and there is a football team that swamped their lunch hour while they were short-staffed. Those are the restaurants problems, not mine.
    - ghaff 11y ago
      >There's an important distinction between an "honest" CSR and an oversharing CSR. It seems an appropriate response to this (not uncommon in different contexts) situation would have been to say something like: "It turns out that even though the car you purchased was listed as available in our inventory system, it's not." At which point, the CSR should have been empowered to do something along the lines of offering an equivalent or better car for the same price and expediting delivery.
jpeg_hero 11y ago
Lol, guy angling for a free car. Sorry your discount scheme didn't work out. Pay retail like the majority of the retail public.
- dkokelley 11y ago
  I'm sorry your comment is being buried, because I think you do bring up a good point. This was not the usual Tesla process for purchases. The author wanted an "inventory" car at a discount. Now because Tesla offers this option, they are responsible for fulfilling the process, and the author's concerns do seem valid. However, this is not the usual process for purchasing a Tesla, so it's likely that this is not the usual experience for the "full retail" customers. The CEO taking your car from the "inventory Tesla purchase program" is an edge case of an edge case, so it makes sense that nobody knew what to do. The process still needs to be fixed though.
  - dangrossman 11y ago
    This isn't a special process. "Buy New Today", "Buy Pre-Owned Today" (which is where the showroom models are) and "Custom Order" are in the same top-level menu on Tesla's website, which is where you buy their cars, whether you're at home or in a showroom at their computer. Whichever you click, you choose a car, make a deposit right there, and are given an order confirmation and an account. It's the same process, and you have the same "full retail experience", no matter which of the three pages you started your order at. He even included screenshots of his account in the "My Tesla" portal, just like any other customer that ordered a car from them.
    - dkokelley 11y ago
      While the "Buy Pre-Owned Today" option is given equal weight on the website, I specifically am referring to what happens on the back end. When you buy new, a new car is configured to your liking. I have to imagine Tesla's fulfillment operations are arranged primarily around this case (take new "shell" car, install customer-selected options, deliver to customer). It's the same process only in what the customer sees. And I'll agree that the customer should get a similar experience from a similar process. Tesla seems to have failed in this case. However, it's clearly not the same process on Tesla's end. Selling an inventory car is a subset of the pre-owned car sales process, and selling a specific inventory car that was somehow (erroneously?) available for R&D is a very specific case. Has the car been made road ready? Have they removed any beta features that are not for the public? This is a special process. However, since Tesla offers the option, it is their responsibility to ensure they can deliver.
Retric 11y ago
I read this as: "I tried to save money and it backfired." They have actual sales channels with real support, by sidestepping that and your stuck in weird internal processes. IMO, paying full price and just buying fewer things massively simplifies most processes. PS: That's not to say Tesla did a good job. Just that edge cases are often fragile and it's a good idea to weigh your time vs. the actual savings.
- dangrossman 11y ago
  The showroom inventory is an actual sales channel. It's not some back channel insider process. It's behind the "Buy Pre-Owned Today" link on Tesla's public website. https://www.teslamotors.com/models/preowned https://www.teslamotors.com/models/preowned The site has one top-level menu where you can choose new, pre-owned or custom to start your order. Everyone's in the same system.
  - Retric 11y ago
    There is generally a big internal difference between cars that are used by a customer and cars used by the company. Dealerships often deal with this for their internal loaner cars used when someone is getting repairs vs. there normal inventory. He was buying a car that was likely at a transmission point where the company was still using it but it had entered there sales channel early.
- Laaw 11y ago
  This is an actual sales channel. It's an offering for the company, there should be (better) infrastructure around it. All that being said, Elon Musk shouldn't have been given the car by this staff when he asked for a car to test with. That's a systems mistake that can be fixed.
- steego 11y ago
  It's especially entertaining how he tries to apply his very unique sidestepping effort to the rest of their operations as if he's warning potential buyers and investors alike. I wonder how many people have had to listen to this drawn out story.
Shivetya 11y ago
While many bemoan the dealership models it is a dealership I once used to get something done when all else seem to fail. There are far more good ones than bad and big companies can effectively and afford to ignore a single consumer, even a vocal one. So while there are some benefits of dealing directly with a manufacturer it can also be insane at time how tone deaf they can be. Dealers suffer this at times too but larger ones know the game and better yet know the people to call. I had a North American rep calling me direct on my issue and it was resolved. Once Tesla ever moves into a large volume car I don't see how they will keep up the image they portray. Its not that simple. Whats worse here is that they have people who saw what was going on and it wasn't run up the flagpole fast instead they tried to up sell the customer!!! Get real guys.
knowaveragejoe 11y ago
> Tesla is pioneering two things at once, (a) a luxury full-EV segment for passenger vehicles, and (b) bypassing the traditional dealer network and selling directly to consumers. Since I never got my car, I can’t speak to (a). But, because (b) is so horribly broken, I don’t think (a) can succeed. How on earth does this person's experience point to the non-dealership model being broken? Has this person never dealt with a shitty dealership?
- snowwrestler 11y ago
  Tesla is climbing uphill against an entrenched dealer network. In order to succeed, Tesla needs to be much better than dealers. Any time the message becomes "but the incumbents are just as bad," the innovator is falling behind.
  - greglindahl 11y ago
    97% of Tesla owners would buy another Tesla[1]. Doesn't sound like they're screwing up overall, because that's an amazingly high %. 1: http://www.consumerreports.org/cars/tesla-reliability-doesnt-match-its-high-performance http://www.consumerreports.org/cars/tesla-reliability-doesnt... "Despite the problems, our data show that Tesla owner satisfaction is still very high: Ninety-seven percent of owners said they would definitely buy their car again. It appears that Tesla has been responsive to replacing faulty motors, differentials, brakes, and infotainment systems, all with a minimum of fuss to owners."
- dragontamer 11y ago
  When you have a shitty dealership, you drive somewhere else in town to buy a car. I went to five different dealerships when I bought my car. Three of them were shitty / scumbags. The last two were good, and one offered me a better price. The benefit of the dealership model is that customer service is decentralized, and different dealerships even offer different levels of customer service. Some offer free tuneups for life for example (and seem to factor that into the cost of the car). I went for a dealership with a lower price, since I expect to do my own oil changes / basic maintenance.
technofiend 11y ago
Had this been "Elon took my car and told his company to give me a heavily discounted one in exchange" then presumably this article would have been filled with praise for their customer service. What a missed opportunity. Instead of feeling like you are gambling on a potential upgrade my perception is now I'd be gambling on a potential loss / failure-to-deliver if I bought a used car from Tesla. It's only one datapoint, but it's the only data point I have.
- orik 11y ago
  Seriously. They should have given him a even nicer car for the same cost as he agreed to initially.
  - serge2k 11y ago
    Obvious answer is give him a new one for the same price. You have to eat 20k, but it saves the customer and a bunch of bad press about how your customer service is awful and Elon Musk might decide to take you car for reasons. How do they not have a dedicated test fleet?
- jjoe 11y ago
  Had this been "Elon took my car and told his company to give me a heavily discounted one in exchange" then presumably this article would have been filled with praise for their customer service. What a missed opportunity. Were it the case, we'd have never heard anything from this customer. Happy customers rarely make the news.
  - spott 11y ago
    eh, REALLY HAPPY customers frequently make social media like reddit and here. There are all sorts of stories of "company I love screwed up and really came through!" Hell, apple gets all sorts of these comments when they do some out of apple care thing.
- mikeash 11y ago
  At least it wasn't a loss, besides time and mental anguish. But yes, it's extremely weird that they didn't just immediately apologize and offer him a nice discount on a different car.
thecosas 11y ago
The best customer service 1) identifies and resolves the client's problem and then 2) tries to identify what went wrong internally and escalate appropriately. Aligning yourself with the customer, then failing to provide a solution is a rookie move. None of us were on the line with this customer; it's very possible he was prying for details and the CSR was trying to be accommodating with information because they weren't empowered to deliver a good solution.
wiremine 11y ago
My father-in-law works for a Tier 2 auto supplier that works primarily with GM. Elements of this story sounded very similar to how GM operates: no callbacks, lack of empathy, passing the buck, etc. I wonder how deep the similarities go, or if this story is just a really odd edge case.
- Navarr 11y ago
  I imagine this is an odd-edge case being that it's not a typical purchase, but a purchase of a showroom model.
  - wiremine 11y ago
    Yeah, I think that's true. But it still alludes to a broken corporate culture. If nobody can call back because they can't take the bull by the horns, that tells you something. (if it is indeed a true story).
powera 11y ago
This is not the The Atlantic that you've heard of. And i smell a rat. Has anyone else who has purchased a Tesla had even half as many issues? I think this guy just worked things until he got some sales schmuck to make him an offer too good to be true, and then it was. (Note the several weeks to find a car. If Tesla sales are always months of back and forth they have serious problems.)
- Vik1ng 11y ago
  Has anyone else who has purchased a Tesla had even half as many issues? Well, I would hope Elon doesn't use already sold cars as prototype test vehicles on a weekly basis.
- krallja 11y ago
  > This is not the The Atlantic that you've heard of. I've heard of them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic.Net https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic.Net Marty is the founder.
6stringmerc 11y ago
>Tesla has a strange way of communicating with customers I think is best described as customer service vaporware. That is, they spend more time trying to create the illusion of customer service, rather than actually providing it. There is no mechanism for them to get feedback, as I tried to provide, so its difficult to see how they can improve if they don’t know where they are going wrong. Now we find out the unexpected corporate benefit of not having showrooms or physical locations by which to service clients - if they can't walk into your place of business and make a scene, just consider them a happy customer! >In my experience, its a hobby masquerading as a company, and it can probably run as a hobbyist organization for some time. This is the gut feeling I get with every over-the-top announcement by Tesla. Frequently I get down-voted here for griping about the linguistic flourishes in Tesla announcements, but I have my reasons. Sure, creating a neat innovation or clever door opening apparatus is impressive and all, and great for show, but the boring part of pulling it off reliably XX,XXX times is a totally different animal. Also, a corporation where everybody is too on eggshells to point out that the boss lifted a customer's car and they're too scared to engage either the CEO or the customer is, for lack of a better concept, high-school-level drama lameness.
- mikeash 11y ago
  They've built over 100,000 vehicles, built out a massive nationwide charging network (plus a huge network in Europe and a decent-sized one in China), produced the best highway auto-drive system available today, and currently have the best selling car in their price segment in many areas. Yes, clever doors and gimmicks like their new Summon feature aren't worth the hype they put into them, but that's not the only thing they're doing. That's not a hobby company by any stretch of the imagination. Yeah, they have problems. Specifically, communications during the delivery process has always been troublesome for them, and there's no reason it should be. But that doesn't make it a "hobbyist organization." That's just silly. I mean, GM's failed processes meant that their products spontaneously shut off and killed people, and they sat on their hands doing nothing while people were still dying, but we don't call that a "hobbyist organization...."
  - 6stringmerc 11y ago
ck2 11y ago
TIL even millionaires look for discounts on Teslas. What Tesla did wasn't right but very hard to have a pity-party for Marty Puranik.
- dragontamer 11y ago
  > TIL even millionaires look for discounts on Teslas. Read the "Millionaire next door". The vast majority of millionaires in the US are just slightly above-average income folk who live below their income and save appropriately. If anything, the typical millionaire will look for discounts everywhere. On the other hand, the "millionaire next door" doesn't buy Teslas, but instead buys used cars.
  - MisterBastahrd 11y ago
    The vast majority of millionaires like that don't blow 100K on a used car.
  - ck2 11y ago
    Marty is not a "slightly above-average income folk". Started and ran a large dial-up ISP in the 90s and adapted it into a full blown hosting company when dial-up went away the next decade. He's on a few "lists" of successful people and extremely well off which is why it is strange to see someone like that shopping for what had to be only a moderate discount on a used Tesla. Again, none of this excuses what Tesla did, I just find his shopping habits to be a little strange in his bracket. The unlikely day I have that kind of money, the first thing I do is visit a Tesla location and order a Model X
    - dragontamer 11y ago
      How do you think Marty got his business chops? Successful business people are always working to get a discount, more mileage for your money, etc. etc. Whether they are "working" or "leisure", they invest, haggle, look for discounts, and everything. Living successfully is partially a lifestyle choice. If you live it up and party like you're a millionaire, you end up broke like the tons of Hollywood celebrities or lottery winners who don't know how to manage cash. The vast majority of millionaires are humble people who live below their means for their whole life. In part, because humble people who live below their means tend to be good business owners. Having a solid grasp on the value of money is invaluable. That part of his brain doesn't "turn off" because he's buying a car. If anything, its working harder.
Arzh 11y ago
That is a really weird experience. That being said one weird experience doesn't mean a system is "horribly broken." You got into a weird hole, but how many of these problems can really come up.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
jacquesm 11y ago
The only way that I can see this made right is that the guy gets a free Tesla and lifetime-of-the-car free support and repairs on it. Inexcusable.
solaris_2 11y ago
I can understand being frustrated about being given the run-around when you have deposited $4k for a really expensive car but I think this guy(Marty) is an asshole: 1. He posted this on his company blog. Not a personal blog, not medium but on a company blog. I think he's hoping to get some business from the exposure. I'd be planning to leave a company quickly if my boss posts personal rants that are not business related on the company blog. 2. He outed the one rep that told him the truth. He gave the date and the name of the rep that told him Elon was driving the car. Why would you do that?? Perhaps the reason why the other reps kept mum was because they knew Marty was a difficult customer. 3. He goes on about having a new baby, about how his electrician was calling to install some power-ups in his garage. These things are not relevant to the story. Simply tell your electrician the car has not arrived yet. He also mentions that "In 21 years as a founder/CEO of my own company, dealing with Tesla has been the most bizarre and strange experience I’ve had interacting with another organization" That simply cannot be true. Bottom line: Marty thinks the world revolves around him and is really upset Elon doesn't care about him.
- andrewprock 11y ago
  None of the things you mention supports your case that he's an asshole. Your last item, number three, approaches the absurd. Considering how delays will affect those who work for you does not make you an asshole. Likewise, mentioning that you're going to be having a child also does not make you an asshole.
- travisby 11y ago
  Power-ups in the garage... for charging his Tesla? Sounds relevant.
lectrick 11y ago
You don't need the dual charger. Source: Owner of a non-dual-charger who has literally never missed it. I charge at 30mi/hr off a 220v dryer connection in my garage, what's not to like?
RubberShoes 11y ago
#firstworldproblems
malchow 11y ago
These problems suggest more to me about the immaturity of Tesla's Inventory Car channel than about its customer support in general. There may be one person spending 20% of his time on the loaner car sales channel at Tesla.
_lce0 11y ago
This needs to end with Elon Musk delivering by himself a brand-new top-model car, with him saying: "sorry I took your car, now you'll get mine"
devy 11y ago
Has the OP tried to reach out to Tesla / Elon Musk on Twitter at all? I don't know other channels, but Elon Mush is Twitter A LOT!
zekevermillion 11y ago
This is an interesting anecdote about an extremely unlikely scenario, and one that hopefully you could laugh off if you're in a position to spend $100k on a luxury car.
- x1798DE 11y ago
  I think most people in a position to spend $100k on a luxury car would not laugh off a breach of contract worth approximately $20k.
  - zekevermillion 11y ago
    I would rather be able to say "Elon Musk stole my Tesla" than "I paid $100k for a luxury car". But then, I am not in a position to say either of those things, so perhaps my perspective would change.
agentgt 11y ago
I wonder if Elon will respond with reasons given what happened to the New York times guy: https://www.teslamotors.com/blog/most-peculiar-test-drive https://www.teslamotors.com/blog/most-peculiar-test-drive Of course I have doubts the reporter was accurate but I do believe this guys complaint sounds legit.
FussyZeus 11y ago
This sounds like a completely innocent foulup (Musk taking the car, probably without checking if it was sold) that was then handled in just the worst way possible and snowballed into a ridiculous saga. You cannot just NOT ANSWER a customer when you don't know what to do. You take it to your superior, who takes it to theirs, who takes it to theirs. Simply not answering the phone and hoping this guy would just be ok with losing 4 thousand dollars is certifiably insane, and whoever decided that should be the course of action should be fired. That is NOT how you handle a customer. At the very least he should've been offered either the car as is with a discount, or a similar model for the same price. I'm sure he would've been happy with either option, but the Tesla customer service staff utterly failed him. The existence of a sales channel is utterly irrelevant. He contracted with the sales rep to buy THAT car at THAT price, that's what was agreed and Tesla did not deliver. THEY need to make it work, not him.
jdenning 11y ago
I was thinking about buying a (edit: new) Tesla recently, and my main concern was that one might have a difficult experience receiving the car after paying a deposit well in advance. Tesla - if you're reading this, this guy's experience has convinced me; I won't be considering buying a Tesla again until you can buy one and drive off with it that day.
- giarc 11y ago
  >I won't be considering buying a Tesla again until you can buy one and drive off with it that day. Do you really want this? If this were true, you would be buying a car that x number of people have test driven. It will come with 100+km on the odometer already. If I'm spending $100k on a car, I'd rather a brand new vehicle that was driven onto the truck, and off of the truck and by no one else.
  - Domenic_S 11y ago
    Why wouldn't they have a test-drive fleet (like they currently have) and keep the plastic on the new cars?
    - giarc 11y ago
      Then they would have to keep stock at the 'dealerships'. They will soon have 3 models, with various configurations. Allowing enough selection for someone to "drive off that day" with a car would require expansion of the dealerships.
RankingMember 11y ago
Reading this made it feel like everyone at Tesla is afraid of Elon Musk, which hopefully is not the case. Not being able to talk honestly to a CEO (or anyone) is how things fester.
- dba7dba 11y ago
  Pretty sure most people at Tesla/SpaceX ARE afraid of Elon. Especially if you have MBA :), which most senior people in a sales organization probably have.
brandon272 11y ago
Seems silly to chalk Tesla up to a "hobby masquerading as a company" based on a single interaction buying (or trying to buy) a vehicle that is not even sold as part of their typical sales and delivery channel. What would this person's experience had been if they weren't seeking a special discount deal and just ordered one normally? The only concerning part in the article is the explanation by Kevin that the reason he couldn't get through to anyone wasn't because no one was available, but rather that they saw him calling and refused to answer because they didn't want to deal with him.
zachware 11y ago
I once ordered 100 Model S's at one time (Google it) then later took delivery of 12 Model S's at one time. Here's what I can tell you. Tesla's system for selling one new car to one person at one time is very, very good. Tesla's system for doing anything other than one car to one person at one time is not good. When we initially placed our 100 unit order we got 100 confirmation emails timed suspiciously as though some poor person was entering the details one at a time. Their owner's website couldn't handle 100 unique vehicles tied to one user. When we took delivery we had to go through a bunch of human processes 12 unique times. The people seemed incapable of batching tasks like signing title paperwork. We went through the routine for each car twelve times. All of their systems are built to do one thing very well. So this guy asked Tesla to do something it is not built to do and sell him a loaner car. And the systems broke. All of them. In Tesla systems (operational and technological) everything is built to do one thing. Yes, it stinks that some people at Tesla acted dumbly in response to this. But overall, don't forget. People are components of a system. There are no programs in the Tesla system to handle any of the variables this situation threw at it, starting with what the guy wanted Tesla to do. When you deliberately ask a system to do something it isn't designed to do you shouldn't be surprised when it breaks.
joeevans1000 11y ago
This all sounds uncannily similar to my attempt to buy a used Falcon 9 from them. They kept promising delivery to my drone barge, and each delivery attempt turned into a whole runaround, each and every time. Every time the Falcon arrived with more use than what I was led to believe. The one correct delivery was hundreds of miles off on the mainland. The kicker is that I've heard Elon is using that one for himself. No one answering my calls... and no response. I did reach a technician who was very apologetic about the botched deliveries, but he didn't seem to want to escalate the matter up the management chain for some reason.
tlow 11y ago
I'm still waiting to hear if: 1. This story is verified legitimate and then if so 2. Where's Tesla's response?
rdl 11y ago
Pretty amazing how organizational incompetence took what could have been a minor inconvenience or even a positive (your car gets driven by Elon for 50-100km is probably a plus, if it is already used) to a pissed off customer. Otoh, I'd far prefer a company screw over a rich guy who is the very definition of an equal party to contract/informed consumer. The "buy here pay here" used car dealers catering to poor, relatively uninformed, and powerless consumers do things far worse than this as routine business practice.

397 points by louis-paul 11y ago

You probably had case for a lawsuit, but not worth the effort. You story probably lost more business for Telsa than they would have paid you damages. (Maybe they'll sue you for libel)

vanattab 11y ago
It likely that this article put whoever told him Elon was driving the car around in some hot water. I would not want to be that guy when Elon reads the headlines. I am not saying Elon is vindictive or anything just that it would be a uncomfortable position to be in. It's likely he thought the buyer would think it was neat that Elon was driving around in the same car he was going to get... if so he was wrong.
- awakeasleep 11y ago
  I hope Elon personally takes responsibility for this. The person who told the author what was going on is the only person in the story who provided good customer service!
- dkokelley 11y ago
  I would think that too, but it seemed that because of the testing, the vehicle was no longer available to the customer, and would retire as an R&D vehicle. From the write up, Tesla pre-sold a used vehicle, and then was unable to fulfill the sale. The customer's option seemed to be "find a different car".
  - Vik1ng 11y ago
    And if Elon had actually acknowledged this it would have been much easier for the Owner Advisor to find an alternative and Elon could easily have made the company pay a $20k difference.
- AndyV91 11y ago
  I mean, I'd be pretty excited to learn Elon had been driving the car. However, they did mention that because of the changes they've made to test the new software he wouldn't be able to receive the car. If the company had just said "We're sorry, here's another car with all the features you wanted" but they didn't they dropped the ball.
- fredophile 11y ago
  Why would he think it was neat that Elon had driven his car? If I was buying a used car I'd be annoyed that someone else was adding extra mileage to the car I'd purchased.
  - vanattab 11y ago
    I don't know. I would think it was kinda neat because I got alot of respect for Elon but I would also kinda wonder about the extra mileage. EDIT: Message to the down voters I am not saying its rational that I think it would be kinda neat. I am just honest enough with myself to recognize that I am not a purely logical beast.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
- ma2rten 11y ago
  If I was Elon Musk, I would promote that guy and put everyone else in "hot water" for not escalating this issue.
crispyambulance 11y ago
A lawsuit for something like this would have been ludicrous. Clearly, the OP was trying to purchase his car through a discount channel which this relatively new company had not completely ironed out. Mistakes happen, people get embarrassed, no one wants to tell Mr Musk "No", and no one wants to be the focal point of a customer complaint which they can't really do anything about. It seems like a screw-up on Tesla's part. Stuff like this happens all the time at good companies and this one has a funny twist but it doesn't signify anything as far as Tesla's ability to deliver, IMHO.
- brandonmenc 11y ago
  > relatively new company They've been around for 13 years and have been selling cars for coming up on 10. Plenty of time to make sure customers aren't jerked around when making $100k purchases.
  - crispyambulance 11y ago
    They've been selling cars since the first roadster in 2008 and only sold ~500 in their first year. They're still "a baby" when it comes to car companies.
    - mynameisvlad 11y ago
      8 years is still plenty of time to figure out your basic purchasing channels, regardless how long it is compared to other car companies.
jacquesm 11y ago
> Maybe they'll sue you for libel Why do you think they would do that? I don't see anything that would come close to the bar that you'd need to meet to be able to sue for libel in the article.
URSpider94 11y ago
No, and no. What damages could the plaintiff have shown here? He got his money back, and Tesla kept the car. He had never executed a bill of sale for the car. While what Tesla did looks like horrible customer service, there was no damage here, any more than when you order the daily special at a restaurant and the waiter comes out to tell you it's sold out. As for libel, if he is telling the truth, then in the US, it can not be libelous. The saying goes "truth is an absolute defense against libel" IANAL ...

et2o 11y ago

Yikes. They should give him a better car at the agreed upon price.

noir_lord 11y ago
If they have any customer service savvy they'll get ahead of this, public statement apologising and a much better car at the original price. It's easily fixed if they just get ahead of it and then figure out what the hell went wrong and how to prevent it in future. It's like that thing about Doctors getting sued less if they just apologise for screwups, shit happens and most people are understanding if you are honest about it - mealy mouthed platitudes from the "Big Book of Covering Screwups" however annoy people.
- Laaw 11y ago
  Exactly, I don't think anyone's looking for much beyond a, "Whoa, that was a blunder on our part, let's make this right" from Tesla. Relatively easy fix from a PR perspective, but based on this account of their internal process, I wouldn't be surprised if this gets missed too. They're obviously very good at engineering, which is kind of a classic mistake to then not bother trying to be good at the other stuff, too.
  - dragontamer 11y ago
    > They're obviously very good at engineering Everyone's very good at low volume. I'd say wait for the mass-production model (ie: Model 3) before we judge their engineering skills.
- mkaziz 11y ago
  My car insurance tells me to never apologize even if it is my fault because that can be equated with admission of guilt. I imagine Doctors are told the same in regard to malpractice suits.
  - s0rce 11y ago
    In Ontario and apology is not an admission of guilt: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/09a03 https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/09a03 Seems like a good idea.

sithadmin 11y ago

>"[The Tesla Owner Advisor] called me to explain he had a call in with the Office of the CEO at Tesla and was working with his team in Tesla to resolve a problem that had come up — their CEO, Elon Musk, had taken my car and was using it as his personal vehicle to test a new version of autopilot. Even worse, he said he could see all the calls I had made into the Orlando delivery center this past week, and no one was taking my calls because no one knew what to do." The fact that a customer-facing resource is airing information about internal process screwups directly to a customer is indicative that something is very wrong with service management at Tesla; this is a bush-league customer service mistake. Not only is the customer being informed that there is a apparently a massive issue with the pipeline for delivering product to customer, but they're also indicating that there's clearly nobody enforcing ownership or accountability for reported issues.

noir_lord 11y ago
Two seperate issues there, 1) I don't see a problem with a honest CSR 2) yeah there is no way that a car that had been allocated to a customer should be taken even by the CEO. Honesty is rarely an issue, the lack of accountability is.
- dkokelley 11y ago
  There's an important distinction between an "honest" CSR and an oversharing CSR. The response of a CSR to a complaint should be "I'm sorry this happened. Here's how I will make it right". Occasionally it's OK to say "we made mistake X", but don't try to excuse the issue. Generally, the customer does not care or want to know exactly what went wrong. If I order a burger from a restaurant and it comes out wrong, I expect the establishment to apologize and quickly provide me another burger. I don't need to know that someone called in sick and there is a football team that swamped their lunch hour while they were short-staffed. Those are the restaurants problems, not mine.
  - ghaff 11y ago
    >There's an important distinction between an "honest" CSR and an oversharing CSR. It seems an appropriate response to this (not uncommon in different contexts) situation would have been to say something like: "It turns out that even though the car you purchased was listed as available in our inventory system, it's not." At which point, the CSR should have been empowered to do something along the lines of offering an equivalent or better car for the same price and expediting delivery.

jpeg_hero 11y ago

Lol, guy angling for a free car. Sorry your discount scheme didn't work out. Pay retail like the majority of the retail public.

dkokelley 11y ago
I'm sorry your comment is being buried, because I think you do bring up a good point. This was not the usual Tesla process for purchases. The author wanted an "inventory" car at a discount. Now because Tesla offers this option, they are responsible for fulfilling the process, and the author's concerns do seem valid. However, this is not the usual process for purchasing a Tesla, so it's likely that this is not the usual experience for the "full retail" customers. The CEO taking your car from the "inventory Tesla purchase program" is an edge case of an edge case, so it makes sense that nobody knew what to do. The process still needs to be fixed though.
- dangrossman 11y ago
  This isn't a special process. "Buy New Today", "Buy Pre-Owned Today" (which is where the showroom models are) and "Custom Order" are in the same top-level menu on Tesla's website, which is where you buy their cars, whether you're at home or in a showroom at their computer. Whichever you click, you choose a car, make a deposit right there, and are given an order confirmation and an account. It's the same process, and you have the same "full retail experience", no matter which of the three pages you started your order at. He even included screenshots of his account in the "My Tesla" portal, just like any other customer that ordered a car from them.
  - dkokelley 11y ago
    While the "Buy Pre-Owned Today" option is given equal weight on the website, I specifically am referring to what happens on the back end. When you buy new, a new car is configured to your liking. I have to imagine Tesla's fulfillment operations are arranged primarily around this case (take new "shell" car, install customer-selected options, deliver to customer). It's the same process only in what the customer sees. And I'll agree that the customer should get a similar experience from a similar process. Tesla seems to have failed in this case. However, it's clearly not the same process on Tesla's end. Selling an inventory car is a subset of the pre-owned car sales process, and selling a specific inventory car that was somehow (erroneously?) available for R&D is a very specific case. Has the car been made road ready? Have they removed any beta features that are not for the public? This is a special process. However, since Tesla offers the option, it is their responsibility to ensure they can deliver.

Retric 11y ago

I read this as: "I tried to save money and it backfired." They have actual sales channels with real support, by sidestepping that and your stuck in weird internal processes. IMO, paying full price and just buying fewer things massively simplifies most processes. PS: That's not to say Tesla did a good job. Just that edge cases are often fragile and it's a good idea to weigh your time vs. the actual savings.

dangrossman 11y ago
The showroom inventory is an actual sales channel. It's not some back channel insider process. It's behind the "Buy Pre-Owned Today" link on Tesla's public website. https://www.teslamotors.com/models/preowned https://www.teslamotors.com/models/preowned The site has one top-level menu where you can choose new, pre-owned or custom to start your order. Everyone's in the same system.
- Retric 11y ago
  There is generally a big internal difference between cars that are used by a customer and cars used by the company. Dealerships often deal with this for their internal loaner cars used when someone is getting repairs vs. there normal inventory. He was buying a car that was likely at a transmission point where the company was still using it but it had entered there sales channel early.
Laaw 11y ago
This is an actual sales channel. It's an offering for the company, there should be (better) infrastructure around it. All that being said, Elon Musk shouldn't have been given the car by this staff when he asked for a car to test with. That's a systems mistake that can be fixed.
steego 11y ago
It's especially entertaining how he tries to apply his very unique sidestepping effort to the rest of their operations as if he's warning potential buyers and investors alike. I wonder how many people have had to listen to this drawn out story.

Shivetya 11y ago

While many bemoan the dealership models it is a dealership I once used to get something done when all else seem to fail. There are far more good ones than bad and big companies can effectively and afford to ignore a single consumer, even a vocal one. So while there are some benefits of dealing directly with a manufacturer it can also be insane at time how tone deaf they can be. Dealers suffer this at times too but larger ones know the game and better yet know the people to call. I had a North American rep calling me direct on my issue and it was resolved. Once Tesla ever moves into a large volume car I don't see how they will keep up the image they portray. Its not that simple. Whats worse here is that they have people who saw what was going on and it wasn't run up the flagpole fast instead they tried to up sell the customer!!! Get real guys.

knowaveragejoe 11y ago

> Tesla is pioneering two things at once, (a) a luxury full-EV segment for passenger vehicles, and (b) bypassing the traditional dealer network and selling directly to consumers. Since I never got my car, I can’t speak to (a). But, because (b) is so horribly broken, I don’t think (a) can succeed. How on earth does this person's experience point to the non-dealership model being broken? Has this person never dealt with a shitty dealership?

snowwrestler 11y ago
Tesla is climbing uphill against an entrenched dealer network. In order to succeed, Tesla needs to be much better than dealers. Any time the message becomes "but the incumbents are just as bad," the innovator is falling behind.
- greglindahl 11y ago
  97% of Tesla owners would buy another Tesla[1]. Doesn't sound like they're screwing up overall, because that's an amazingly high %. 1: http://www.consumerreports.org/cars/tesla-reliability-doesnt-match-its-high-performance http://www.consumerreports.org/cars/tesla-reliability-doesnt... "Despite the problems, our data show that Tesla owner satisfaction is still very high: Ninety-seven percent of owners said they would definitely buy their car again. It appears that Tesla has been responsive to replacing faulty motors, differentials, brakes, and infotainment systems, all with a minimum of fuss to owners."
dragontamer 11y ago
When you have a shitty dealership, you drive somewhere else in town to buy a car. I went to five different dealerships when I bought my car. Three of them were shitty / scumbags. The last two were good, and one offered me a better price. The benefit of the dealership model is that customer service is decentralized, and different dealerships even offer different levels of customer service. Some offer free tuneups for life for example (and seem to factor that into the cost of the car). I went for a dealership with a lower price, since I expect to do my own oil changes / basic maintenance.

technofiend 11y ago

Had this been "Elon took my car and told his company to give me a heavily discounted one in exchange" then presumably this article would have been filled with praise for their customer service. What a missed opportunity. Instead of feeling like you are gambling on a potential upgrade my perception is now I'd be gambling on a potential loss / failure-to-deliver if I bought a used car from Tesla. It's only one datapoint, but it's the only data point I have.

orik 11y ago
Seriously. They should have given him a even nicer car for the same cost as he agreed to initially.
- serge2k 11y ago
  Obvious answer is give him a new one for the same price. You have to eat 20k, but it saves the customer and a bunch of bad press about how your customer service is awful and Elon Musk might decide to take you car for reasons. How do they not have a dedicated test fleet?
jjoe 11y ago
Had this been "Elon took my car and told his company to give me a heavily discounted one in exchange" then presumably this article would have been filled with praise for their customer service. What a missed opportunity. Were it the case, we'd have never heard anything from this customer. Happy customers rarely make the news.
- spott 11y ago
  eh, REALLY HAPPY customers frequently make social media like reddit and here. There are all sorts of stories of "company I love screwed up and really came through!" Hell, apple gets all sorts of these comments when they do some out of apple care thing.
mikeash 11y ago
At least it wasn't a loss, besides time and mental anguish. But yes, it's extremely weird that they didn't just immediately apologize and offer him a nice discount on a different car.

thecosas 11y ago

The best customer service 1) identifies and resolves the client's problem and then 2) tries to identify what went wrong internally and escalate appropriately. Aligning yourself with the customer, then failing to provide a solution is a rookie move. None of us were on the line with this customer; it's very possible he was prying for details and the CSR was trying to be accommodating with information because they weren't empowered to deliver a good solution.

wiremine 11y ago

My father-in-law works for a Tier 2 auto supplier that works primarily with GM. Elements of this story sounded very similar to how GM operates: no callbacks, lack of empathy, passing the buck, etc. I wonder how deep the similarities go, or if this story is just a really odd edge case.

Navarr 11y ago
I imagine this is an odd-edge case being that it's not a typical purchase, but a purchase of a showroom model.
- wiremine 11y ago
  Yeah, I think that's true. But it still alludes to a broken corporate culture. If nobody can call back because they can't take the bull by the horns, that tells you something. (if it is indeed a true story).

powera 11y ago

This is not the The Atlantic that you've heard of. And i smell a rat. Has anyone else who has purchased a Tesla had even half as many issues? I think this guy just worked things until he got some sales schmuck to make him an offer too good to be true, and then it was. (Note the several weeks to find a car. If Tesla sales are always months of back and forth they have serious problems.)

Vik1ng 11y ago
Has anyone else who has purchased a Tesla had even half as many issues? Well, I would hope Elon doesn't use already sold cars as prototype test vehicles on a weekly basis.
krallja 11y ago
> This is not the The Atlantic that you've heard of. I've heard of them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic.Net https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic.Net Marty is the founder.

6stringmerc 11y ago

>Tesla has a strange way of communicating with customers I think is best described as customer service vaporware. That is, they spend more time trying to create the illusion of customer service, rather than actually providing it. There is no mechanism for them to get feedback, as I tried to provide, so its difficult to see how they can improve if they don’t know where they are going wrong. Now we find out the unexpected corporate benefit of not having showrooms or physical locations by which to service clients - if they can't walk into your place of business and make a scene, just consider them a happy customer! >In my experience, its a hobby masquerading as a company, and it can probably run as a hobbyist organization for some time. This is the gut feeling I get with every over-the-top announcement by Tesla. Frequently I get down-voted here for griping about the linguistic flourishes in Tesla announcements, but I have my reasons. Sure, creating a neat innovation or clever door opening apparatus is impressive and all, and great for show, but the boring part of pulling it off reliably XX,XXX times is a totally different animal. Also, a corporation where everybody is too on eggshells to point out that the boss lifted a customer's car and they're too scared to engage either the CEO or the customer is, for lack of a better concept, high-school-level drama lameness.

mikeash 11y ago
They've built over 100,000 vehicles, built out a massive nationwide charging network (plus a huge network in Europe and a decent-sized one in China), produced the best highway auto-drive system available today, and currently have the best selling car in their price segment in many areas. Yes, clever doors and gimmicks like their new Summon feature aren't worth the hype they put into them, but that's not the only thing they're doing. That's not a hobby company by any stretch of the imagination. Yeah, they have problems. Specifically, communications during the delivery process has always been troublesome for them, and there's no reason it should be. But that doesn't make it a "hobbyist organization." That's just silly. I mean, GM's failed processes meant that their products spontaneously shut off and killed people, and they sat on their hands doing nothing while people were still dying, but we don't call that a "hobbyist organization...."
- 6stringmerc 11y ago

ck2 11y ago

TIL even millionaires look for discounts on Teslas. What Tesla did wasn't right but very hard to have a pity-party for Marty Puranik.

dragontamer 11y ago
> TIL even millionaires look for discounts on Teslas. Read the "Millionaire next door". The vast majority of millionaires in the US are just slightly above-average income folk who live below their income and save appropriately. If anything, the typical millionaire will look for discounts everywhere. On the other hand, the "millionaire next door" doesn't buy Teslas, but instead buys used cars.
- MisterBastahrd 11y ago
  The vast majority of millionaires like that don't blow 100K on a used car.
- ck2 11y ago
  Marty is not a "slightly above-average income folk". Started and ran a large dial-up ISP in the 90s and adapted it into a full blown hosting company when dial-up went away the next decade. He's on a few "lists" of successful people and extremely well off which is why it is strange to see someone like that shopping for what had to be only a moderate discount on a used Tesla. Again, none of this excuses what Tesla did, I just find his shopping habits to be a little strange in his bracket. The unlikely day I have that kind of money, the first thing I do is visit a Tesla location and order a Model X
  - dragontamer 11y ago
    How do you think Marty got his business chops? Successful business people are always working to get a discount, more mileage for your money, etc. etc. Whether they are "working" or "leisure", they invest, haggle, look for discounts, and everything. Living successfully is partially a lifestyle choice. If you live it up and party like you're a millionaire, you end up broke like the tons of Hollywood celebrities or lottery winners who don't know how to manage cash. The vast majority of millionaires are humble people who live below their means for their whole life. In part, because humble people who live below their means tend to be good business owners. Having a solid grasp on the value of money is invaluable. That part of his brain doesn't "turn off" because he's buying a car. If anything, its working harder.

Arzh 11y ago

That is a really weird experience. That being said one weird experience doesn't mean a system is "horribly broken." You got into a weird hole, but how many of these problems can really come up.

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

jacquesm 11y ago

The only way that I can see this made right is that the guy gets a free Tesla and lifetime-of-the-car free support and repairs on it. Inexcusable.

solaris_2 11y ago

I can understand being frustrated about being given the run-around when you have deposited $4k for a really expensive car but I think this guy(Marty) is an asshole: 1. He posted this on his company blog. Not a personal blog, not medium but on a company blog. I think he's hoping to get some business from the exposure. I'd be planning to leave a company quickly if my boss posts personal rants that are not business related on the company blog. 2. He outed the one rep that told him the truth. He gave the date and the name of the rep that told him Elon was driving the car. Why would you do that?? Perhaps the reason why the other reps kept mum was because they knew Marty was a difficult customer. 3. He goes on about having a new baby, about how his electrician was calling to install some power-ups in his garage. These things are not relevant to the story. Simply tell your electrician the car has not arrived yet. He also mentions that "In 21 years as a founder/CEO of my own company, dealing with Tesla has been the most bizarre and strange experience I’ve had interacting with another organization" That simply cannot be true. Bottom line: Marty thinks the world revolves around him and is really upset Elon doesn't care about him.

andrewprock 11y ago
None of the things you mention supports your case that he's an asshole. Your last item, number three, approaches the absurd. Considering how delays will affect those who work for you does not make you an asshole. Likewise, mentioning that you're going to be having a child also does not make you an asshole.
travisby 11y ago
Power-ups in the garage... for charging his Tesla? Sounds relevant.

lectrick 11y ago

You don't need the dual charger. Source: Owner of a non-dual-charger who has literally never missed it. I charge at 30mi/hr off a 220v dryer connection in my garage, what's not to like?

RubberShoes 11y ago

#firstworldproblems

malchow 11y ago

These problems suggest more to me about the immaturity of Tesla's Inventory Car channel than about its customer support in general. There may be one person spending 20% of his time on the loaner car sales channel at Tesla.

_lce0 11y ago

This needs to end with Elon Musk delivering by himself a brand-new top-model car, with him saying: "sorry I took your car, now you'll get mine"

devy 11y ago

Has the OP tried to reach out to Tesla / Elon Musk on Twitter at all? I don't know other channels, but Elon Mush is Twitter A LOT!

zekevermillion 11y ago

This is an interesting anecdote about an extremely unlikely scenario, and one that hopefully you could laugh off if you're in a position to spend $100k on a luxury car.

x1798DE 11y ago
I think most people in a position to spend $100k on a luxury car would not laugh off a breach of contract worth approximately $20k.
- zekevermillion 11y ago
  I would rather be able to say "Elon Musk stole my Tesla" than "I paid $100k for a luxury car". But then, I am not in a position to say either of those things, so perhaps my perspective would change.

agentgt 11y ago

I wonder if Elon will respond with reasons given what happened to the New York times guy: https://www.teslamotors.com/blog/most-peculiar-test-drive https://www.teslamotors.com/blog/most-peculiar-test-drive Of course I have doubts the reporter was accurate but I do believe this guys complaint sounds legit.

FussyZeus 11y ago

This sounds like a completely innocent foulup (Musk taking the car, probably without checking if it was sold) that was then handled in just the worst way possible and snowballed into a ridiculous saga. You cannot just NOT ANSWER a customer when you don't know what to do. You take it to your superior, who takes it to theirs, who takes it to theirs. Simply not answering the phone and hoping this guy would just be ok with losing 4 thousand dollars is certifiably insane, and whoever decided that should be the course of action should be fired. That is NOT how you handle a customer. At the very least he should've been offered either the car as is with a discount, or a similar model for the same price. I'm sure he would've been happy with either option, but the Tesla customer service staff utterly failed him. The existence of a sales channel is utterly irrelevant. He contracted with the sales rep to buy THAT car at THAT price, that's what was agreed and Tesla did not deliver. THEY need to make it work, not him.

jdenning 11y ago

I was thinking about buying a (edit: new) Tesla recently, and my main concern was that one might have a difficult experience receiving the car after paying a deposit well in advance. Tesla - if you're reading this, this guy's experience has convinced me; I won't be considering buying a Tesla again until you can buy one and drive off with it that day.

giarc 11y ago
>I won't be considering buying a Tesla again until you can buy one and drive off with it that day. Do you really want this? If this were true, you would be buying a car that x number of people have test driven. It will come with 100+km on the odometer already. If I'm spending $100k on a car, I'd rather a brand new vehicle that was driven onto the truck, and off of the truck and by no one else.
- Domenic_S 11y ago
  Why wouldn't they have a test-drive fleet (like they currently have) and keep the plastic on the new cars?
  - giarc 11y ago
    Then they would have to keep stock at the 'dealerships'. They will soon have 3 models, with various configurations. Allowing enough selection for someone to "drive off that day" with a car would require expansion of the dealerships.

RankingMember 11y ago

Reading this made it feel like everyone at Tesla is afraid of Elon Musk, which hopefully is not the case. Not being able to talk honestly to a CEO (or anyone) is how things fester.

dba7dba 11y ago
Pretty sure most people at Tesla/SpaceX ARE afraid of Elon. Especially if you have MBA :), which most senior people in a sales organization probably have.

brandon272 11y ago

Seems silly to chalk Tesla up to a "hobby masquerading as a company" based on a single interaction buying (or trying to buy) a vehicle that is not even sold as part of their typical sales and delivery channel. What would this person's experience had been if they weren't seeking a special discount deal and just ordered one normally? The only concerning part in the article is the explanation by Kevin that the reason he couldn't get through to anyone wasn't because no one was available, but rather that they saw him calling and refused to answer because they didn't want to deal with him.

zachware 11y ago

I once ordered 100 Model S's at one time (Google it) then later took delivery of 12 Model S's at one time. Here's what I can tell you. Tesla's system for selling one new car to one person at one time is very, very good. Tesla's system for doing anything other than one car to one person at one time is not good. When we initially placed our 100 unit order we got 100 confirmation emails timed suspiciously as though some poor person was entering the details one at a time. Their owner's website couldn't handle 100 unique vehicles tied to one user. When we took delivery we had to go through a bunch of human processes 12 unique times. The people seemed incapable of batching tasks like signing title paperwork. We went through the routine for each car twelve times. All of their systems are built to do one thing very well. So this guy asked Tesla to do something it is not built to do and sell him a loaner car. And the systems broke. All of them. In Tesla systems (operational and technological) everything is built to do one thing. Yes, it stinks that some people at Tesla acted dumbly in response to this. But overall, don't forget. People are components of a system. There are no programs in the Tesla system to handle any of the variables this situation threw at it, starting with what the guy wanted Tesla to do. When you deliberately ask a system to do something it isn't designed to do you shouldn't be surprised when it breaks.

joeevans1000 11y ago

This all sounds uncannily similar to my attempt to buy a used Falcon 9 from them. They kept promising delivery to my drone barge, and each delivery attempt turned into a whole runaround, each and every time. Every time the Falcon arrived with more use than what I was led to believe. The one correct delivery was hundreds of miles off on the mainland. The kicker is that I've heard Elon is using that one for himself. No one answering my calls... and no response. I did reach a technician who was very apologetic about the botched deliveries, but he didn't seem to want to escalate the matter up the management chain for some reason.

tlow 11y ago

I'm still waiting to hear if: 1. This story is verified legitimate and then if so 2. Where's Tesla's response?

rdl 11y ago

Pretty amazing how organizational incompetence took what could have been a minor inconvenience or even a positive (your car gets driven by Elon for 50-100km is probably a plus, if it is already used) to a pissed off customer. Otoh, I'd far prefer a company screw over a rich guy who is the very definition of an equal party to contract/informed consumer. The "buy here pay here" used car dealers catering to poor, relatively uninformed, and powerless consumers do things far worse than this as routine business practice.