Nearly two years ago, in December 2015, I was fortunate to place an order for a new Model X 90D.
The anticipation of owning and driving a brand new, and at that time, relatively rare electric SUV made by Tesla had me walking on air for the six months I waited for my Model X to be produced and delivered.
In June 2016, I finally did take delivery and I was absolutely THRILLED with the end result. I was and still am floored by the amazing piece of modern tech that the Model X is and represents. The wait was well worth it when I took my first test drive with my local Tesla rep.
Prior to ordering this fantastic vehicle, I had done my homework, and carefully considered the pros and cons of committing to what is essentially a start up company with a completely unproven new model of automobile.
I understood full well that by placing a firm order, I was signing up for all of the potential negatives that come with small companies, new cars and advanced technology.
I understood that at some level I would be committing myself to being a "guinea pig" of sorts and that my experience with the quality of the car, its construction, functionality, drivability and reliability would help inform Tesla about how to operate better, improve their manufacturing, improve their software, etc.
Hands down my 2016 Model X 90D performed incredibly well. Minor software glitches were cleared up instantly with an assist from the Model X User's Manual. Driving my sleek electric silver bullet was PURE JOY.
There were two or three minor cosmetic quibbles inside and outside of the vehicle, but they made me love my X even more. Where other owners would be in the Tesla Service Center seemingly every other week looking to tweak this minor bit or adjust that general area, I saw these minor cosmetic quirks as adding unique character to my X.
I had 10 months of primetime ownership, making multiple unnecessary trips out into nowhere or to the grocery store 40 miles away, just because I wanted to drive my X, and I was constantly selling my friends and family on the virtues of a smooth, clean and efficient Tesla electric drive.
Then suddenly in April of 2017, a black VW and a green Subaru threw all of that off track in what has become a nearly interminable 6.5 month wait for my X to be repaired and leave an independent body shop.
The right rear side of my X was hit flush (directly on the rear wheel) by the front end of the black VW, the force of the impact which caused my X to spin/slide sharply to the left where my driver's side door was crushed upon impacting the rear bumper of the green Subaru that was sitting stationary in line behind a few other cars at a stop light.
In the nearly seven months that my Model X has been in a local independent body shop, I have taken numerous calls and e-mails from the shop itself, plus several from the official Tesla Body Shop Consumer Advocate team, I have even received a much appreciated assist via this forum and Twitter from Tesla SVP Jon McNeill. I have also jumped through multiple hoops with my insurance company.
During this experience I have also received tremendous support and empathy from my local Tesla Service Center.
Unfortunately, beyond everyone's control is the seemingly complicated nature of the construction of the Model X itself and how, apparently, incredibly difficult it is to repair. Now mind you, this was not a fender bender. It was a serious accident that fortunately saw every person involved, and one tiny dog, walk away without injury.
At the outset of my X being loaded onto a flatbed and towed to the body shop, I clearly understood this was not going to be an easy or quick fix.
However, I could not have anticipated that more than half a year would pass and my Model X would STILL be in that shop.
I expected there would be delays in getting the necessary parts. I knew that the shop wouldn't have a full assessment of all the actual damage until the dash was pulled out and they had access to everything behind it, which of course there was, which of course required additional parts and time for them to be delivered.
However, what I did not anticipate or even understand at first, was a two month delay in just getting the proper jigs/bench fixtures made for Model X to attach my car to a work bench/lift so the shop could actually work on the car. This is where Jon McNeill and the Tesla Body Shop Customer Advocate team came in to facilitate and expedite the acquisition of these jigs for the body shop, which did happen and the shop got right to work, but that was nearly 5 months ago.
I am writing this as a means to encapsulate my experience for other Tesla owners and potential owners to understand the very complicated world of a small auto company and the unique logistical challenges an owner can face when confronted with an event like an accident with heavy damage that can't simply be buffed out or covered with a coat of paint.
The resulting strange limbo-type experience has seen me make loan payments for nearly seven months on a car that is not drivable. A car that is depreciating in value every single day sitting in the shop, but cannot be traded in toward the purchase of a new car, because it's still being repaired with no end in sight.
I am a Tesla owner with no Tesla. My car has been in the shop nearly as long as I had owned it prior to the accident.
To the great credit of my local Tesla Store & Service Center store manager Alex Liebl, he listened to my issues, empathized with my situation and made every effort to find a way I could transfer ownership of my wrecked Model X to Tesla and lock in its BB value so I could use that toward the purchase of a new Model X.
Unfortunately, my insurance company was NOT on board with that idea.
About a week ago the body shop informed me that my X is now half painted, requires the dash to be reconnected and reinstalled, a couple of seats need to be reinstalled, and multiple software updates need to take place.
Will this take a week? Two weeks? Another month? Who knows.
Regardless, I decided to order a brand new Model X 100D. I hope my repaired 90D will show up in time for me to do a trade-in when my 100D is delivered by Tesla, but given the $43,000 in damages + basically 7 months of depreciation sitting in the shop, I can't imagine the trade-in value of the 90D will be worth much, if anything at all.
And this is the kind of thing that was nearly impossible to anticipate two years ago when I was still debating the pros and cons about whether to commit to ordering a Tesla in the first place.
Going forward, as a Tesla owner and stockholder, I believe the pros still outweigh the cons.
Yet, Tesla has a hell of a lot of work to do on the practical side of ownership. With Model 3 and future vehicles in the pipeline, hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Teslas will be on the road in the coming decade, and there will be a significant increase in accidents involving Tesla vehicles.
Getting those Teslas repaired properly and back on the road in a timely fashion is SUPER critical. Whether Tesla itself gets into the business of body repairs or they significantly up their oversight and partnerships with approved independent body shops, they will need to find a much better throughput that will make the accidents and repair experiences that inevitably happen in auto ownership far less onerous.
Is Tesla to blame for my wait? Is the independent body shop to blame? Is it the complex design and advanced nature of the Model X itself to blame? Is it just simply bad luck or bad timing? Is it all of the above, or a combination, or none at all?
I'm not smart enough to give an informed or educated answer those questions, as I have no idea how to build a car, repair a car, nor do I have insider access or control over the parts supply chain in a car manufacturer, nor do I have insider access or control over the prioritization of jobs in a body shop.
I am at the mercy of the system itself. And, taken with a grain of salt, accidents do happen. If this were a warranty issue for say the Model X's motors not working properly and it took Tesla seven months to rectify the issue, the nature of this letter would be far, far different.
As it is, it was an accident that put me in this position and that, I can most assuredly confirm, is not Tesla's fault.
I love this company and what it stands for and I love my Model X. After my first drive in a Tesla in June 2016, I swore that I would never buy a car from any other car company ever again. And I still stand by that today.
Thank you.
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