Help, One Electrician Wanted To Charge $1500

[Goutami]

In my house, the breaker box is far from the garage, like opposite ends of the house. I’m in a suburb of Atlanta and electrician from Tesla website said
1. The permit is 378$
2. If I don’t use Tesla electrician, warranty on my new model 3 that I’m picking up Monday is void
3. If I don’t get permit, Tesla warranty void
4. It costs so much because the distance of the wires from breaker box to garage wall is 50-75 ft depending where I’m putting the plug.

I can’t believe a 11$ plug on Amazon is going to cost 1500 to install. Dude at Tesla Buckhead said 250-400 for install.

I can’t install myself I have no skills or knowledge.

What should I do? Find non Tesla electrician? Skip the $378 permit? Is warranty really voided. I can’t get Tesla in the phone but via email one employee said it won’t void warranty unless the electrician does something wrong that hurts the car.

Thanks for any advice I am in panic mode.

 

[Zaxxon]

Steer clear of this guy. It's completely spurious to say that if you don't use a 'Tesla electrician,' your vehicle's warranty is void. Use any competent electrician.

In any event, for Tesla to void your warranty they'd have to show that something on your house's end caused a failure of the vehicle.

 

[BluestarE3]

You can use any electrician you want. As long as he follows electrical code, there's no justifiable reason to void the warranty on the car. It's like saying if you plug the Mobile Connector into an existing 120V outlet, the warranty is void because the outlet wasn't installed by a Tesla approved electrician. This guy is trying to scare you into accepting his quote.

 

[Az_Rael]

2. If I don’t use Tesla electrician, warranty on my new model 3 that I’m picking up Monday is void

Yeah, that is complete B.S. Take a look at your warranty documentation. Nowhere does it say charging infrastructure must be installed by "Tesla electricians".

 

[willow_hiller]

Always get multiple quotes. You may need to trickle charger on a normal 120 volt outlet until you find someone to do the install, but get at least two more quotes.

We were in a similar situation except we wanted an HPWC install instead of an outlet. It was about 70 feet of cable that needed to be run from one end of the house to the other. One company quoted $3,000, another quoted $2,000, and the Tesla electrician actually came in with the lowest bid at $1,500.

 

[Eno Deb]

In my house, the breaker box is far from the garage, like opposite ends of the house. I’m in a suburb of Atlanta and electrician from Tesla website said
1. The permit is 378$
2. If I don’t use Tesla electrician, warranty on my new model 3 that I’m picking up Monday is void
3. If I don’t get permit, Tesla warranty void
4. It costs so much because the distance of the wires from breaker box to garage wall is 50-75 ft depending where I’m putting the plug.

I can’t believe a 11$ plug on Amazon is going to cost 1500 to install. Dude at Tesla Buckhead said 250-400 for install.

As others have said, stay away from this guy, it's a scammer. Using another electrician does not affect the warranty.

That said, running a wire from one end of the house to the other can get expensive, both in labor and material. Also, I would recommend to use an industrial-grade outlet rather than the $11 model from Amazon. EV charging generates a high continuous load, and the cheap outlets usually don't have particularly durable contacts. That's saving in the wrong place.

 

[Rocky_H]

I might be tempted to give the guy a bad review just for lying to you about the warranty voiding to try to scare you away from considering other vendors. That's really unethical.

 

[groovidad]

If you utilize a certified, licensed, bonded electrician, you'll be fine. Incidentally, the installations are not cheap. Anywhere from a modest $500 to up through the roof, pending the amount of work and material.

 

[ArcticStation]

My install was also from one end of the house to the other (via the basement). The conductor is four wire 6 AWG, around 100' run. It was fed from a 200 amp service located in the basement that had space for the breaker. It terminated into an industrial NEMA 14-50 in the garage. Installation was by a licensed electrician who was happy to have me look over his shoulder throughout the install and answered all of my questions along the way. No permit needed in my state. $550 for parts and labor. I tipped him an additional $100 when the install was complete. No issues after six months of daily use charging at 32 amps with a consistent 240 volts displayed--irrespective of the collateral load. You can do better than $1,500 for a guy who seems to be less than honest.

 

[TexasEV]

Here’s all an electricIan needs to know:
https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/pdfs/installation-guides/nema-14-50-installation-guide.pdf

 

[gaswalla]

The guy sounds crooked - find someone else.
That being said, the copper wire for a 75 foot run is a significant cost...I would think 400-500 in parts..
Are you just putting in a Nema 14-50? Tell the next electrician that you are doing the project for your new Nissan Leaf coming soon and that you want to future proof it for the day you can afford a Tesla

 

[Timbo2]

As others have said - run away from this guy.

That said I was $75 in material cost and I was within 2 feet of my panel. Wire, breaker, conduit and/or Romex and the higher quality outlets that some here prefer aren't cheap.

 

[timk225]

Here's a short video of my 85 foot 14-50 install to my detached driveway. Having an unfinished basement made it a lot easier. I did almost all of it myself, except for letting my electrician connect the wires to the socket and to the breaker, he was at the house for some other stuff anyway. This video is more of an overview, it doesn't go into all the technical details, it presumes prior knowledge.

https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=SwcZ4p5sEWI

 

[KerryOH]

In addition to not using this electrician, I would let Tesla. support know what he told you. Possibly he won’t be recommend in the future.

 

[ewoodrick]

I'm not sure why this is a problem (and why everyone is piling on the electrician). No, your warranty isn't voided. Many folks don't even install one.

But $1500 isn't unrealistic nor is the permit charges. In most metro counties, permits may be required. It's got to be inspected, hence the cost. If you skip on the inspection and something happens, it is possible that your insurance may be void.

 

[Zaxxon]

But $1500 isn't unrealistic nor is the permit charges. In most metro counties, permits may be required. It's got to be inspected, hence the cost. If you skip on the inspection and something happens, it is possible that your insurance may be void.

To be clear, I'm not taking a position on the cost. Simply taking advantage of an ignorant consumer by misstating warranty requirements is grounds for being removed from consideration.

 

[Timbo2]

I'm not sure why this is a problem (and why everyone is piling on the electrician).

"2. If I don’t use Tesla electrician, warranty on my new model 3 that I’m picking up Monday is void"

What part of this statement made by the electrician is true?

 

[nwdiver]

2. If I don’t use Tesla electrician, warranty on my new model 3 that I’m picking up Monday is void

Ask him if that means you can't charge at any RV park or public charger that isn't a Destination charger or Super Charger. Just curious to see what his response would be.... even most destination chargers aren't installed by Tesla electricity. I know because we installed one and don't employ any 'Tesla Electricians'....

 

[Plu1357]

In my house, the breaker box is far from the garage, like opposite ends of the house. I’m in a suburb of Atlanta and electrician from Tesla website said
1. The permit is 378$
2. If I don’t use Tesla electrician, warranty on my new model 3 that I’m picking up Monday is void
3. If I don’t get permit, Tesla warranty void
4. It costs so much because the distance of the wires from breaker box to garage wall is 50-75 ft depending where I’m putting the plug.

I can’t believe a 11$ plug on Amazon is going to cost 1500 to install. Dude at Tesla Buckhead said 250-400 for install.

I can’t install myself I have no skills or knowledge.

What should I do? Find non Tesla electrician? Skip the $378 permit? Is warranty really voided. I can’t get Tesla in the phone but via email one employee said it won’t void warranty unless the electrician does something wrong that hurts the car.

Thanks for any advice I am in panic mode.

I did it myself. Cost: HPWC-$500, Wires, Breakers and hardware - $200.

 

[Sophias_dad]

Definitely need to get that electrician off the Tesla installers list.