Tesla owners with the misfortune of getting into a fender bender have also had the misfortune of repairing a Tesla. Collision repairs have been notoriously frustrating for both body shops and owners.
Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Twitter this week that the automaker is ramping up its collision repair capabilities. He also said that owners with Tesla Insurance would likely have a smoother experience in the event of a repair.
“Tesla is building up collision repair capability to help address the grief that you went through, but usually insurance companies make you go their ‘approved’ collision repair partners,” Musk said in reply to a comment on Twitter. “Tesla Insurance will make it smooth sailing.”
Musk has been talking up improvements to collision repair for years. In 2018 he said that Tesla plans to bring most collision repairs in-house because “outside firms” take too long – weeks to months – to make repairs, which was driving Tesla owners and the company “crazy.” He said the company’s collision repairs operations are completing jobs within 24 hours, but the goal is to deliver repaired cars back to customers within an hour.
Tesla is currently offering an insurance product in California and is reportedly expanding to Texas, Illinois, and Washington, with plans to expand to markets around the world. It makes sense that a claim and repair could be easier if all handled by Tesla. It will be interesting to see Tesla can deliver on that process and if there will be enough value to lure customers to their homegrown insurance.