The thing is, Tesla DID promise Ranger service as part of their big, "Revolutionizing Service" announcement a year or so ago. It was clearly outlined that they would send a Ranger to customers living far away from service centers for a flat $100 fee over and above any other associated repair costs. Or one could purchase the "anywhere" service plan, which included UNLIMITED Ranger visits. That Tesla has quietly removed reference to this program without telling anyone does not change the fact that they DID offer it, and led far-flung prospective customers (like myself) to expect a certain level of service and the assurance that Tesla would have their back in case of trouble.
I don't think it is unreasonable to request that Tesla publicly clarify their new policy on long-distance service and perhaps even offer compensation of some sort to customers who were misled into relying on this ill-conceived experiment that did not even exist for 3 years before becoming unsustainable (especially those who purchased the Anywhere service plan).
Exactly correct. Now, Tesla is going to keep their commitment to me, which is great. But...
...I went to a number of car shows and "Drive Electric" events and fielded a lot of questions about the car. I told a lot of people about Tesla's unlimited ranger service plan. I caused at least one definite sale, and probably a dozen.
Now, I'm still going to be going to car shows. But I'm going to be telling people to NOT buy the car. And I don't know how long it'll take those people to consider buying the car again; it's not like they'll necessarily notice when a closer service center shows up.
Also, I can't ever buy another Tesla until they fix this. They just lost a potential repeat customer. I was considering getting a second car. Now I can't and so I won't. And I do have to call the couple I met who have a Model X reservation to warn them that they should cancel it.
This just seems like a boneheadedly stupid move. Eventually there will be enough service centers to make Ranger service unnecessary -- or will there? At this rate (6 service centers opening per year), there won't be enough ever! (Incidentally, since the release of Model S, there has not been an opening of a service center significantly closer to me than the one in Philadelphia which was open back in June of 2012. As far as I can tell, none is scheduled, even though they keep making vague claims that they'll get around to a Syracuse or Rochester center eventually.)
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One observation that my family makes, as well as people at work who have seen me with so many different loaners, is that for an electric car, it sure seems to need a lot of maintenance.
Well, it does, but that's because it was an early-off-the-line model. Most of the issues I've seen seem to have been design or production defects rectified in later-off-the-line models.
The thing is, anyone buying the car is worried that they'll get the "lemon". Unlimited Ranger Service provides insurance against the potentially unlimited costs of getting the "bad one" off the production line. Without Unlimited Ranger Service, the potential costs just from the transportation are unlimited. And while 99% of buyers won't have such problems, the 1% who happen to get problem cars will be hopping mad about their unlimited cost exposure *for warranty items* due to the transportation costs.
This is why Tesla has to offer a prepaid, free-after-prepaying option for transporting the car to service when it's needed, for people who live far away from service centers. It keeps the people who get the "problem cars" happy -- and there will always be a few of them, and if they're unhappy because they're out-of-pocket for many thousands of dollars, boy will they hurt the company's reputation.
How much should Tesla charge for Unlimited Ranger Service? Well, they need to hire an actuary to figure that out, because it really is insurance-like. But it *has to be offered* at some price.
and assuming you hit the ferry times right, and no weather delays...)
