Now that it's finally resolved and I am sure it has been resolved, I thought I would share with the community the epic journey of getting my MX repaired after a technician backed it into a wall when it had less than 1200 miles.
The Bad: it took forever, two months. Not Tesla's fault entirely... it was the Tesla-certified bodyshop. They first had delays because a Tesla ahead of mine was waiting on parts. Then they took forever, had to redo the clear coat, and it went on and on. When the car was finally done, the paint and body work was fine, but they did an awful job on the interior trims, plastics, etc. The job was huge, involving total disassembly of the trunk and part of the FWD to replace the full quarter panel and rear bumper. They did an awful job putting all the interior back together. The car rattled. Clips were missing. Plastics were not clipped in place. Part of the interior trim was damaged. There were loose cables. You name it.... Thankfully, Tesla replaced a bunch of trims and fixed all of the issues at the service center and made it perfect. So two months later I had my MX back looking great.
The Good: I'm usually a complainer, and in normal circumstances I would have gone ballistic over this issue. But this time I was merely exasperated and just hoped for a favorable outcome, saving my energy for a big fight if the car did not come back perfect. So what follows is entirely Tesla's goodwill after their mistake, not a result of any demands I made. First, they gave me an amazing loaner: I brand new full option P100D+ Ludicrous Model S. I had a total blast with that car. What a cool way to experience a Model S. But three weeks in, I needed to take a road trip, and I also had biking trips planned, so I needed a hitch and more seating. Tesla found me a Model X P90D Ludicrous fully loaded with a hitch and only 1500 miles on it. I drove that car for the remaining five weeks. So while there were many delays, the entire time I was driving a nicer car than my MX 90D. I put a ton of miles on the loaner cars. It was really hard to be pissed when there was little inconvenience to my everyday life. In fact, it was kind of fun to try these different cars. By the time I got my car back, I'd driven these loaners twice as many miles as I had my own. When I did my final pickup, my MX was inside, detailed, and it was like taking delivery of a new car again.... So far, that was the service I thought I was entitled to, but then Tesla took things up a notch.
When the car was with in the bodyshop, I thought I should have a partial wrap done. Perhaps it would be cheaper, as it was disassembled and in the shop, and maybe I'd save a little $. I asked the shop how much extra that would run me. They said they'd get back to me... and when they did they said Tesla offered to pay for it. (Something like $1500 for the hood, door edges, bumpers, side mirrors, etc.) But the shop's bra job turned out to suck, so Tesla just sent the car to a local pro wrap place, and had it completely redone to higher specs. Sweet. Looked great. But then Tesla also said they wanted to do something more to make up for these long delays, perhaps provide me with a one time cash payment or something. I suggested instead the 4 year prepaid maintenance plan, a $2700 value. They happily agreed.
Conclusion: Patience is a virtue when you are a Tesla owner. In the end, my car is back and it is flawless. It has a nice 3M partial wrap protecting it. I also have the next four years of maintenance covered. I got to know the guys at the service center rather well, and feel that they have a lot of goodwill towards me (especially since I was not a jerk through all of this). And, honestly, I had fun and enjoyed driving the loaners. Of course, I would have preferred to just have my car all this time and not deal with any of this, but looking at the big picture this turned out fine, and I hope the tech who messed up has not lost his job. We all make mistakes.
My overall sense of Tesla service is that there is a lot of goodwill, but they haven't quite ironed out all the issues. It felt on the whole informal compared to what would happen at an Audi dealership. It's as if they are still learning, eager students starting with a B but working towards earning an A. I'm pretty fond of them. It's certainly a different company compared to other carmakers, but some of their foibles makes them more human.
