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It is worth noting that Jon McNeill (Pres. Global Sales and Service) took the time to post on a user forum in direct response to service delays and spoke with a

by w8vY7ER 10y ago

It is worth noting that Jon McNeill (Pres. Global Sales and Service) took the time to post on a user forum in direct response to service delays and spoke with a fair bit of detail about how they are fixing the problem. Whether or not you are a fan, I think everyone can agree that this level of engagement is a strong positive for their cause. https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/posts/2004525/ https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/posts/2004525/

smogcutter 10y ago
That's really interesting. Seems like the answer is they need a lot more third party shops - the problems that McNeill describes sound like the kind of thing that happens when there isn't enough competition. If I'm a model 3 customer, I don't really care about your service record in Palo Alto. What can you do for me in Skokie? Very interested to see how all this plays out. The success or failure of the Model 3 could decide whether Tesla is the next Ford or the next Delorean.
- koreyb 10y ago
  Ford doesn't do batteries, solar, supercharging stations, autopilot tech, etc. Delorean produced 8,583 vehicles. :) But I get your point.
  - radiorental 10y ago
    > autopilot tech On the contrary. They're well along that path. Not sure what solar has to do with cars. And charging stations? Do you think that's profitable secret sauce?
    - jodrellblank 10y ago
      Tesla bought SolarCity http://www.theverge.com/2016/11/21/13698314/tesla-completes-acquisition-solarcity-elon-musk http://www.theverge.com/2016/11/21/13698314/tesla-completes-... - even if they totally flump on cars they still have solar installations, gigafactory (developments), charging stations they could lease and tech/patents they could sell to other EV manufacturers.
      - radiorental 10y ago
        Sorry, Tesla bought struggling Solar City as it needed a complete residential energy storage solution to leverage rebates from energy companies. I.e. the sum of the parts is greater than the whole in terms of final price to consumer. SolarCity was/is $4B in debt at the time of the acquisition. If Tesla's car division fails, solar panels is not the cash cow the company is going to fall back on.
    - koreyb 10y ago
      Let me know when Ford autopilot is available on the street. They did buy Argo, but current Ford projections are saying 2021.. "whether Tesla is the next Ford or the next Delorean" Tesla is neither of these because it is more than a car company. It is vertical integration that incumbents can't match at this point. ? Yes, of course. You must not own an electric car.
      - radiorental 10y ago
        > Yes, of course. You must not own an electric car. You may have responded to me instead of someone else. I own a Leaf, I didn't say "whether Tesla is the next Ford or the next Delorean". I work at an organisation that supplies both Tesla & Ford with the toolchains in which they do all their control design. (And Nvidia for that matter). I'm intimately familiar with what these companies are doing today and are capable off. It's amazing to see what they are producing.
        koreyb 10y ago
        Agreed. "And charging stations? Do you think that's profitable secret sauce?" Would you drive your Leaf from LA to Phoenix in a day? Guessing not. With the superchargers it's one more piece of the TSLA ecosystem.
- greglindahl 10y ago
  The problem McNeill discussed was related to 3rd party body shops. Tesla does not do any body work in its repair centers.
  - koreyb 10y ago
    Yep :)
    - greglindahl 10y ago
      I was responding to smogcutter, not you. Your comment about Ford and Deloran was great, so I didn't need to make that point, and I upvoted you for it.
      - koreyb 10y ago
        My mistake, I read it incorrectly.
  - smogcutter 10y ago
    Right. The point is that soon they'll need a whole lot more of them, and first party repair centers as well. "Sorry, we have trouble with quality control at 3rd party shops" isn't going to cut it for a mass market car. Re: Ford and Delorean, this is not the hill I want to die on. But what I mean is that the batteries, charging stations, etc, all live or die with the cars. If they can successfully create a mass market for consumer EVs, sky's the limit. If not, you can see a future where Detroit eats their lunch and the Model S is a footnote.
    - greglindahl 10y ago
      Uh, what fraction of body shops do aluminum? Model 3 is not like Model S/X. And problems at body shops has nothing to do with problems at first party repair centers. I'm happy to agree that the future is uncertain, but you aren't adding much in the way of fact into the discussion.
      - 10y ago
- dilemma 10y ago
  So they need a network of dealers.

by w8vY7ER 10y ago

smogcutter 10y ago

That's really interesting. Seems like the answer is they need a lot more third party shops - the problems that McNeill describes sound like the kind of thing that happens when there isn't enough competition. If I'm a model 3 customer, I don't really care about your service record in Palo Alto. What can you do for me in Skokie? Very interested to see how all this plays out. The success or failure of the Model 3 could decide whether Tesla is the next Ford or the next Delorean.

koreyb 10y ago
Ford doesn't do batteries, solar, supercharging stations, autopilot tech, etc. Delorean produced 8,583 vehicles. :) But I get your point.
- radiorental 10y ago
  > autopilot tech On the contrary. They're well along that path. Not sure what solar has to do with cars. And charging stations? Do you think that's profitable secret sauce?
  - jodrellblank 10y ago
    Tesla bought SolarCity http://www.theverge.com/2016/11/21/13698314/tesla-completes-acquisition-solarcity-elon-musk http://www.theverge.com/2016/11/21/13698314/tesla-completes-... - even if they totally flump on cars they still have solar installations, gigafactory (developments), charging stations they could lease and tech/patents they could sell to other EV manufacturers.
    - radiorental 10y ago
      Sorry, Tesla bought struggling Solar City as it needed a complete residential energy storage solution to leverage rebates from energy companies. I.e. the sum of the parts is greater than the whole in terms of final price to consumer. SolarCity was/is $4B in debt at the time of the acquisition. If Tesla's car division fails, solar panels is not the cash cow the company is going to fall back on.
  - koreyb 10y ago
    Let me know when Ford autopilot is available on the street. They did buy Argo, but current Ford projections are saying 2021.. "whether Tesla is the next Ford or the next Delorean" Tesla is neither of these because it is more than a car company. It is vertical integration that incumbents can't match at this point. ? Yes, of course. You must not own an electric car.
    - radiorental 10y ago
      > Yes, of course. You must not own an electric car. You may have responded to me instead of someone else. I own a Leaf, I didn't say "whether Tesla is the next Ford or the next Delorean". I work at an organisation that supplies both Tesla & Ford with the toolchains in which they do all their control design. (And Nvidia for that matter). I'm intimately familiar with what these companies are doing today and are capable off. It's amazing to see what they are producing.
      - koreyb 10y ago
        Agreed. "And charging stations? Do you think that's profitable secret sauce?" Would you drive your Leaf from LA to Phoenix in a day? Guessing not. With the superchargers it's one more piece of the TSLA ecosystem.
greglindahl 10y ago
The problem McNeill discussed was related to 3rd party body shops. Tesla does not do any body work in its repair centers.
- koreyb 10y ago
  Yep :)
  - greglindahl 10y ago
    I was responding to smogcutter, not you. Your comment about Ford and Deloran was great, so I didn't need to make that point, and I upvoted you for it.
    - koreyb 10y ago
      My mistake, I read it incorrectly.
- smogcutter 10y ago
  Right. The point is that soon they'll need a whole lot more of them, and first party repair centers as well. "Sorry, we have trouble with quality control at 3rd party shops" isn't going to cut it for a mass market car. Re: Ford and Delorean, this is not the hill I want to die on. But what I mean is that the batteries, charging stations, etc, all live or die with the cars. If they can successfully create a mass market for consumer EVs, sky's the limit. If not, you can see a future where Detroit eats their lunch and the Model S is a footnote.
  - greglindahl 10y ago
    Uh, what fraction of body shops do aluminum? Model 3 is not like Model S/X. And problems at body shops has nothing to do with problems at first party repair centers. I'm happy to agree that the future is uncertain, but you aren't adding much in the way of fact into the discussion.
    - 10y ago
dilemma 10y ago
So they need a network of dealers.