To Elon Musk
Dear Elon,
Let me start by saying that I admire what you have accomplished.
I never go public on issues, however, that could be my only option since I cannot find anyone at Tesla who would take responsibility. I feel something needs to change, Tesla won’t survive this in the long run and that would be a shame.
I moved back to France after 17 years in the US and ordered a Tesla Model 3. I bought everything cash, no credit, or lease.
The shipment occurred on March 19 during the shelter. Needless to say, the delivery was quick and dirty. Literally my car was filthy.
As I checked the car I noticed a bump on the trunk. The delivery man told me, “yes we know and you are lucky we mentioned it in the delivery document”. Lucky?
Since that day, I barely used the car given we could not move during the shelter. Here is the list of issues that I have documented on a brand new car that has less than 800 miles as of today:
- A bump on the trunk
- The paint is awful, there are 3 spots where the paint is clearly a miss
- The rear lights are filled with water
- If I drive when it rains, it rains in the car, the joints are not working
- The bottom of the car is starting to detach
- The windshield washer is not working
- The side mirror does not retract sometimes
- Finally, the alarm goes on randomly and I cannot stop it.
Needless to say, I have contacted Tesla for help. Here is my experience.
I first decided to contact my salesperson. He would answer my email after 3 to 4 days, at best, with no solution other than contact support.
I finally got an appointment with a service center via the Tesla app. 3 days prior to going I decided to call to check everything was in order. They do not have a phone number! I had to contact the store nearby who went to Telsa and delivered my message. Telsa then called me back to tell me that this was the wrong support center and that they would book me into another one, more appropriate. Of course, this never happened. I had just lost a month and a half.
I had to contact Telsa main line, and I tried everything, sales, delivery, support, I could never find anyone who could take responsibility. I asked to talk to a manager, they cannot be reached (I guess they are hiding). I finally got someone from delivery who felt bad and helped me. I finally booked a day to service the car, that’s June 19th, 3 months since delivery.
However, the alarm goes on randomly, I cannot stop it and I cannot have someone fix it until June 19th. I guess I’ll need to leave the car open…
The people behind Tesla do not care about customer service. They redirect responsibility to the next service. They are unapologetic, aggressive, and not helpful. The company culture is all wrong.
I have asked for a replacement in writing, as I do not want to keep a car that did not pass quality check on so many levels. No one is responding to me! I really feel as no-one cares. I really feel mistreated.
It’s a shame, aside from all of this I still think highly of the car. However, Telsa won’t survive if they treat customers like I am being treated. When you purchase a Telsa, you are also buying into the purpose and the vision of Telsa, you want to become an ambassador of the brand. I still believe in the vision, the culture needs to be fixed.
I hope my little scream will be seen and that Tesla will improve.
Best,
Pierre