Discussion: Tesla Energy / Auto Customer Service

[jjrandorin]

Solar panels and PW installed last year. In October, 2022, Tesla tech discovered that the junction box on one of our panels is stuck in the "off" position which results in all downstream panels not delivering power so production is cut in half. Repair was scheduled for November 3rd but before then, Tesla called and canceled claiming lack of crew availability. Turns out they were installing a new system at one of my referral's home on November 3rd. I have chatted and talked with customer support but they will not do anything. Now it is December 11th and I find out they are installing new panels on another referral's home about 2 miles away! Still won't come fix my existing system. They also claim to not have any responsibility for the lost production and that all I get is their "repair promise." BUYER BEWARE - once you pay Tesla support goes away!

The install teams and repair teams are not the same. That doesnt excuse it, but its the fact of how its setup so the installations at your referrals homes have nothing to do with your repair.

They do take way too long to fix something though, and there is no performance payback guarantees.

 

[AnujT]

Tesla customer service is the biggest problem. Tesla solar was installed on 11/18-11/21 and next day the PTO was filed. Tesla folks are so ignorant that they submitted incorrect address, building permit and module information in the PG&E paper. It seems they dont know what they are doing. Its so messed up that I am regretting to order Tesla Solar install. Use some local contractor instead of Tesla. They don't care their customers et. all.

 

[AnujT]

Tesla Solar division sucks. They have no work ethic to support their customers. Their interconnection team is so incompetent that they file incorrect information which causes delay in receiving PTO quickly. STAY AWAY FROM TESLA SOLAR.

 

[orbit2020]

Tesla Solar division sucks. They have no work ethic to support their customers. Their interconnection team is so incompetent that they file incorrect information which causes delay in receiving PTO quickly. STAY AWAY FROM TESLA SOLAR.

3 months and still waiting for them to fix / remedy an installation problem. Never Tesla.

 

[AnujT]

3 months and still waiting for them to fix / remedy an installation problem. Never Tesla.

I have not yet reached to that level yet. Tesla has submitted incorrect building permit, address, module information which they rectified, but now PGE raised that Tesla did not calculate the output etc.. (Not sure what that means). I thought Tesla is a professionally run company. but turn out to be that they are no better than unlicensed contractors. Had many heated chats with their project coordinators. These people are also clueless about the team which submits the Interconnection with PG&E. I have asked my friends who were in line for Solar Panels to look for some other contractor/company rather than Tesla. Tesla purely sucks.

 

[AnujT]

Strange thing happened today. Tesla refiled my PTO. Not sure if they are starting a new game to delay my application.

 

[RHinCT]

Reading about the experiences posted here, I thought I would add my own experience here in Connecticut.

On the negative side, I put in the order for solar and Powerwalls at the end of July 2021. The install happened on Dec 1 & 2, 2022, 16 months later.

As for the rest, the installation crews were excellent. I never had a moment when I felt like anyone didn't know exactly what they were doing, or were cutting corners. Their teamwork was tops, as was their workmanship. The system was working around 11 AM on the second day of work, Dec 2. The only thing not working at that point was net metering, which requires someone from the utility (Eversource) to swap meters. Before that could happen there were two rounds of labels going on, and then the inspection by the town on Dec 20. The meter was swapped around Dec 28, with a bit of net metering since then.

The house is a ranch with a large south-facing roof It has 32 panels. In the basement are two Powerwalls (one a Plus). Nothing to make the job complicated. It has been working well.

 

[Matezz]

Hi,
does anyone know Tesla solar technician or independent company for hire to troubleshoot issues for my friend in Sherman Oaks? According to him, the system is in grid only mode and when he tried to ask Tesla for help, they blamed the utility company and utility company is blaming Tesla.

Thank you

M.

 

[jjrandorin]

Hi,
does anyone know Tesla solar technician or independent company for hire to troubleshoot issues for my friend in Sherman Oaks? According to him, the system is in grid only mode and when he tried to ask Tesla for help, they blamed the utility company and utility company is blaming Tesla.

Thank you

M.

It doesnt work that way. Your friend will need to resolve any issues with Tesla. No one else is going to touch a tesla install that is still warrantied by tesla, just like tesla would not be touching any system installed by another solar installer.

 

[SBerg]

Your project advisor will not be able to help with this. I have never (ever) waited 3+ hours calling a tesla energy specific phone number, during regular business hours of mon - friday 8-5pm. I suspect you may be calling some regular tesla phone number.

The phone number I have (for tesla energy tier 1 phone support) is 877-961-7652. No, there is no phone number we have for tier 2 support, they are completely 100% non customer facing so you will never (ever) get to talk to anyone from tier 2. Tier 1 will relay your information to tier 2 if its not something they can do.

Still, I dont think you are calling a tesla energy phone number because I have never had it ring more than 5-6 times, let alone waiting on hold 3 hours. I havent called in the past 3-4 months though.

Best I can tell, Tesla has abandoned customer service after the installation. I have now waited 3 months for a simple repair and every time I call, the projected wait time is an hour or more. The call-back option does not work either. Love my Tesla cars but solar is a nightmare once they get their money.

 

[CrazyRabbit]

I have a tesla Powerwall installation with solar. as reported in the tesla app, my consumption increases about 1.2 Kw during the day when solar is producing. My enphase app says my consumption doesn't change. So if i turn off the tesla inverter, it is a north array so it is only producing about 200 watts anyway, and compare the tesla app to the enphase app they do not agree. so i measure my solar production with my clamp power meter, it agrees with the enphase app 100% and not the Tesla app.

So i log a ticket, with pictures of what i'm measuring. i get a response saying "if there is a 1 kW discrepancy our system would be reporting a negative load reading of 1kW in some way or another on our monitoring system". That would be true if my solar measurements were less then what i'm producing.

here is my reply back to tesla's response, and their response:

Chris Hewitt, Your tier 2 team is incorrect, please reach out to another tier 2 support person or to tier 3. If you refuse to fix it, I will hire someone to fix my system and sue for reimbursement. Please send a technician out with a new CT and replace it, if that doesn’t resolve the problem then replace the TEG.
Your installation solves for consumption and never directly measures it. Consumption of the “backed up panel” is a “NET” measurement/calculation. Consumption is Solar power plus Main TEG CT power (ignoring Powerwall flow). So if my system measures 13 kw going to the grid and 26 Kw of solar production, then my consumption is calculated to be 13 Kw.

Total Consumption = (Consumption of non backed up panel, neurio) + Solar CT + Main CT in TEG
Total Consumption = 0 + 26kw + -13kw = 13kw
ideally, if my consumption is zero then my export would equal my solar production. If I turn off my breakers on my load panels (backed up and non backed up and leaving on the neurio) and turn off my Powerwalls while my solar is producing, the Tesla app still tells me my load is ~1.2 KW, when it is clearly zero.


warm regards, Eric Anderson



From: PowerwallSupportNA <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, January 27, 2023 8:30 PM
To: myemail
Subject: Tesla Energy | Case ID: 31230013 | Meter Discrepancy Inquiry [refid:CI0094B4A6]



Dear Eric Anderson,

This is Christopher Hewitt from the Powerwall Support team in Energy Customer Support. Thank you so much for your patience.

The tier 2 team have reviewed your case regarding the meter discrepancy reported by your Amprobe. They are stating that if there is a 1 kW discrepancy our system would be reporting a negative load reading of 1kW in some way or another on our monitoring system. They are still willing to trust our CT clamps which are rated for 100A are reporting the correct data at this point.

Please let us know if you have anymore questions or concerns.

Warm regards,

Christopher Hewitt | Energy Customer Support

2445 St Rose Parkway, Suite #100 Henderson, NV 89074
p. (877) 961-7652 | [email protected]

 

[cciesingh]

I agreed to purchase a Tesla solar + Powerwall system, the install started in Sept 2021, this install till does not have PTO due to a dispute with the install and compensation, this whole system cost price was approx. $67k.

The service from Tesla has truly been awful, I am an early adopter of a Model S P85 (2014) and service then was also bad, but this has been beyond terrible, Tesla have taken approximately 15 visits to install the system, I was advised of a two month turnaround and for me to take advantage of the Federal Tax credit in 2021.

Some of the issues I have encountered are:

• Wasted time with multiple arranged visits with either a no show, missing equipment or the wrong install teams coming out e.g. PW team expected, solar team arrived.
• Offered little or no consultation, e.g. powerwall backup devices nor on Powerfull placement, these were installed easiest possible place for them (outdoors)
• Some re-wiring was performed incorrectly resulting with appliances tripping and eventually a refrigerator burning out and having to be replaced.

I raised a complaint at every step of the way, this is documented via email, nobody from Customer Services never addressed any of my concerns directly with me and continued to proceed with the install and made things even worse, they even scheduled a Permit inspection for which they no showed. Once inspection passed I was chased for payment and I figured this would be the time they would finally listen to my concerns.

I was offered a $1k credit in March 2022, I declined this as the offer was not reflective of the issues encountered, this was then escalated, a leader from escalations team then called me in April 2022 ands advised that that was the best offer and that they would come out to Decom the system ( I have a recorded conversation. I asked them to kindly do so and have them restore my garage and roof to its previous state.

I have waited for this Decom and nothing, not even a whisper for 10 months. and last week the same awful Tesla customer service team are reaching out with the same paltry $1k offer and threat of a system Decom. I kindly hadvised that I have been waiting 10 months for this happen, why have they not been out or been in contact for such a long time.

I have now been advised that they will Decom the system remotely, and I am happy for them to do so and Decom the system physically.The bottom line is this is delaying my install from another provider which has excellent customer service from people you can actually talk to and who are willing to escalate if required and go the extra mile.

I have pretty much 45 days to either speak to the right people at Tesla or Decom the system, I need to know an escalation path or an official complaint or have the system physically Decommissioned . Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated and beware anybody considering a Tesla solar installation, cheaper prices gets you cheap customer service!

 

[orbit2020]

Not surprised at all, unfortunately. 5 months and still waiting for them to set my poorly installed panels right. Should have listened to so many people who told me not to go with Tesla. Definitely not their cars now.

 

[tfan2018]

Contact 7 On Your Side

 

[cciesingh]

What is contact 7?

Reading this forum and speaking to many Tesla and Sunrun customers customer satisfaction at Tesla is awful, Sunrun are more expensive but service is generally good and they are responsive. How can I get my complaint the attention it deserves?

Right now the easiest thing for me to do is have the system decommissioned and give tesla 30 days to collect any equipment otherwise I will dispose of it.

 

[tfan2018]

Basically means contacting your local broadcast station for help. Tesla's solar CS should really be exposed for how awful it is

7 On Your Side | Consumer Reports | ABC7 KGO-TV

7 On Your Side keeps you updated with consumer reports and investigative reporting from San Francisco, the Bay Area and all Northern California neighborhoods.

abc7news.com

 

[cciesingh]

Is there a direct avenue to escalation.... Corporate SVP for Customer Experience maybe?

 

[jjrandorin]

Is there a direct avenue to escalation.... Corporate SVP for Customer Experience maybe?

Not that anyone here is aware of, or that I have ever seen posted about here.

 

[vickh]

Not that anyone here is aware of, or that I have ever seen posted about here.

Yep. TSLA keeps their escalation process opaque. It's like dealing with the IRS/govt agency.

 

[cciesingh]

I got in touch with NBC Bay Area news, meeting them early next week, this should go live end of next week, I will share date / time or a video.