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The headline doesn't really match the point of the article, which is that they're using half the vehicles for rideshare, thus causing more wear and tear than a

The headline doesn't really match the point of the article, which is that they're using half the vehicles for rideshare, thus causing more wear and tear than a typical rental. Apparently they didn't factor this into their math and had to fess up during their earnings call. The bigger problem is that their Teslas are so expensive to fix. I suspect a lack of replacement parts and/or qualified techs is to blame. Too bad, because if they had better repairability then Tesla would have a real claim to lowest cost-per-mile.

peterder 3y ago
There's a lot of sensor-integrated parts that are difficult or impossible to repair and very expensive to replace.
- wredue 3y ago
  Saturn was also notorious for sensor integrated parts. That didn’t last very long. Tesla has a first mover advantage, but the “sensor integrated parts” has been tested and failed already.
  - m463 3y ago
    Interesting - I remember saturn tried very hard to have plastic panels that would be easy to replace, and was ahead of its time with employee relations. I guess it disappeared.
MDWolinski 3y ago
Yep, we rented a Tesla from Hertz during a recent vacation. Took a small pebble in the window causing a 1-inch spider crack on the lower part of it. Over $1200 repair bill sent to us for it, luckily we had insurance through our credit card.
- Johnny555 3y ago
  That sounds like a typical price for a dealer-replaced window including sensor calibration. If you're willing to skip calibration, cost is about half that - some people say calibration is not strictly necessary, but it's a safety system, I wanted to make sure it's working. This is based on getting my 2020 non-EV car's windshield replaced, the local glass shop said they can do calibrations for many cars, but didn't have the right procedures/equipment for my model.
  - calciphus 3y ago
    Tesla-sized and shaped glass is not available from general glass shops. I had a large crack appear in mine. My insurance and multiple glass shops in the bay area told me it had to be fixed by Tesla. No one else would be able to. Tesla did fix it for free though, because they weren't sure it wasn't an installation issue (no impact point, just a hairline crack running down the glass).
    - Johnny555 3y ago
      Safelite said they can replace a Tesla windshield including calibration for $1300 -- for my non-EV car, it's $1100 for a windshield and calibration.
      - abadpoli 3y ago
        I recently replaced a windshield (plus calibration) for a Honda Accord and it was $350.
    - zubiaur 3y ago
      The model X’s windshield is massive and very hard to make. Only one OEM supplier in Peru was making it. Model 3s any Ys have more “mass minded” designs, not hard to make by third parties for aftermarket.
  - jacquesm 3y ago
    I've had some windshields replaced by a friend of mine who runs a business in this domain and the typical cost of the windshields is on the order of 100 to 200 bucks depending on make & model, and about $50 worth of materials to put it all in according to factory spec. He can do one in an hour and a bit and it's very good money if you have a steady stream of work. He also said that if he was better at sourcing he could probably increase his margins quite a bit still but they're already more than good enough. Dealers will be happy to rip you off on stuff like this, shopping around is always smart. Except when the company has a monopoly (such as in the case of Tesla).
- harambae 3y ago
  This exact same thing happened to me in Hertz Las Vegas (except it was just under a $900 bill... I also had insurance though a credit card) Whatever rock it was, it was large enough to make a loud noise. But I still was surprised at how much of a crack it made. My personal vehicle (BMW) which I've driven over 200x as much has never taken that level of windshield damage on similar roads with occasional rocks. I looked carefully at the Tesla windshield afterwards and had the OEM mark on it, so it didn't appear to be a case where Hertz had already replaced the windshield with a cheaper aftermarket one (like I'd initially suspected).
kotaKat 3y ago
Also, Hertz bought a fuckton of these things before Tesla did some fairly dramatic price drops. They basically doubled their depreciation hit right from that alone before you throw in the rideshare driver population /and/ price them low enough to make them attractive over a shitty econobox attracting... econobox driving behavior in a vehicle with expensive repairs and limited parts availability leading to the fleet being constantly downed for repair.
- csours 3y ago
  Some might know this, but: Rental car companies make their money on re-sales. That is their margin. If the new equivalent drops in price, the margin is gone.
  - matt-attack 3y ago
    How is that possible? They make money on buying new cars in bulk and then selling them as used cars? I’m struggling to understand how flipping a depreciating asset is a profit center.
    - csours 3y ago
      1. Negotiate lower purchase price. 2. Rent the depreciating asset to cover the cost of depreciation. 3. Insurance/financialization
    - Nasrudith 3y ago
      A technicality perhaps? Like if say they buy $40k cars, depreciate it to $30k but earn $20k from rentals. Technically they got most of their money from selling the car used but it still ultimately works only because they are able to rent it out for more than the depreciation cost.
      - deleted 3y ago
        [deleted]
    - alemanek 3y ago

peterder 3y ago

There's a lot of sensor-integrated parts that are difficult or impossible to repair and very expensive to replace.

wredue 3y ago
Saturn was also notorious for sensor integrated parts. That didn’t last very long. Tesla has a first mover advantage, but the “sensor integrated parts” has been tested and failed already.
- m463 3y ago
  Interesting - I remember saturn tried very hard to have plastic panels that would be easy to replace, and was ahead of its time with employee relations. I guess it disappeared.

MDWolinski 3y ago

Yep, we rented a Tesla from Hertz during a recent vacation. Took a small pebble in the window causing a 1-inch spider crack on the lower part of it. Over $1200 repair bill sent to us for it, luckily we had insurance through our credit card.

Johnny555 3y ago
That sounds like a typical price for a dealer-replaced window including sensor calibration. If you're willing to skip calibration, cost is about half that - some people say calibration is not strictly necessary, but it's a safety system, I wanted to make sure it's working. This is based on getting my 2020 non-EV car's windshield replaced, the local glass shop said they can do calibrations for many cars, but didn't have the right procedures/equipment for my model.
- calciphus 3y ago
  Tesla-sized and shaped glass is not available from general glass shops. I had a large crack appear in mine. My insurance and multiple glass shops in the bay area told me it had to be fixed by Tesla. No one else would be able to. Tesla did fix it for free though, because they weren't sure it wasn't an installation issue (no impact point, just a hairline crack running down the glass).
  - Johnny555 3y ago
    Safelite said they can replace a Tesla windshield including calibration for $1300 -- for my non-EV car, it's $1100 for a windshield and calibration.
    - abadpoli 3y ago
      I recently replaced a windshield (plus calibration) for a Honda Accord and it was $350.
  - zubiaur 3y ago
    The model X’s windshield is massive and very hard to make. Only one OEM supplier in Peru was making it. Model 3s any Ys have more “mass minded” designs, not hard to make by third parties for aftermarket.
- jacquesm 3y ago
  I've had some windshields replaced by a friend of mine who runs a business in this domain and the typical cost of the windshields is on the order of 100 to 200 bucks depending on make & model, and about $50 worth of materials to put it all in according to factory spec. He can do one in an hour and a bit and it's very good money if you have a steady stream of work. He also said that if he was better at sourcing he could probably increase his margins quite a bit still but they're already more than good enough. Dealers will be happy to rip you off on stuff like this, shopping around is always smart. Except when the company has a monopoly (such as in the case of Tesla).
harambae 3y ago
This exact same thing happened to me in Hertz Las Vegas (except it was just under a $900 bill... I also had insurance though a credit card) Whatever rock it was, it was large enough to make a loud noise. But I still was surprised at how much of a crack it made. My personal vehicle (BMW) which I've driven over 200x as much has never taken that level of windshield damage on similar roads with occasional rocks. I looked carefully at the Tesla windshield afterwards and had the OEM mark on it, so it didn't appear to be a case where Hertz had already replaced the windshield with a cheaper aftermarket one (like I'd initially suspected).

kotaKat 3y ago

Also, Hertz bought a fuckton of these things before Tesla did some fairly dramatic price drops. They basically doubled their depreciation hit right from that alone before you throw in the rideshare driver population /and/ price them low enough to make them attractive over a shitty econobox attracting... econobox driving behavior in a vehicle with expensive repairs and limited parts availability leading to the fleet being constantly downed for repair.

csours 3y ago
Some might know this, but: Rental car companies make their money on re-sales. That is their margin. If the new equivalent drops in price, the margin is gone.
- matt-attack 3y ago
  How is that possible? They make money on buying new cars in bulk and then selling them as used cars? I’m struggling to understand how flipping a depreciating asset is a profit center.
  - csours 3y ago
    1. Negotiate lower purchase price. 2. Rent the depreciating asset to cover the cost of depreciation. 3. Insurance/financialization
  - Nasrudith 3y ago
    A technicality perhaps? Like if say they buy $40k cars, depreciate it to $30k but earn $20k from rentals. Technically they got most of their money from selling the car used but it still ultimately works only because they are able to rent it out for more than the depreciation cost.
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
  - alemanek 3y ago