Hood Misaligned

[EasyNow]

Awaiting delivery, I get the following email from my owner/advisor:

“I also received notice that the hood will need to get adjusted as it is not perfectly aligned. I have pictures below so you can see. Looking at the front, the right side has a larger gap than the left. This originated during its build and will be our responsibility to correct.”

Has this happened to anyone else? I’m screwed because if I don’t accept delivery, I’ll lose half of the $7500 tax credit. My delivery is scheduled for Thursday, 12/27. Thoughts?

 

[EasyNow]

Photo below

 

[speedy]

If that's your biggest delivery issue, you're in good shape! The hood height is easily adjusted by rubber stops that screw up and down. You could do it yourself in 5 mins if you wanted to...

Plus, you should be happy you have a delivery specialist who is observant enough and willing to take the time to make everything right...

 

[rajen]

Also, if you can’t take delivery because of Tesla problem, they will cover the tax credit. Elon has tweeted to that effect.

 

[EasyNow]

If that's your biggest delivery issue, you're in good shape! The hood height is easily adjusted by rubber stops that screw up and down. You could do it yourself in 5 mins if you wanted to...

Plus, you should be happy you have a delivery specialist who is observant enough and willing to take the time to make everything right...

If it’s that easy, why wouldnt Tesla fix it before delivery? Instead of making me schedule a follow up repair?

 

[Tam]

If it’s that easy, why wouldnt Tesla fix it before delivery? Instead of making me schedule a follow up repair?

I agree that it is an easy fix.

The history of not fixing problems at the assembly line has been traced back to the advancement of the American automotive industry since Henry Ford.

America's formula has been: Just crank the volume out as fast as possible and correct any problems later.

GM leadership wanted to change the American way to Japanese way "Kaizen" when it worked with Toyota in NUMMI (which is now Tesla) factory.

Kaizen emphasizes quality rather than volume and you need to correct the problem at the source even if it means to shut a whole assembly line down.

But Kaizen was never taken seriously with American Companies because we are paid by the volumes.

Money talks so it's hard to convince American companies that quality is the key, not volume!

So, it's not about easy or hard. It's about how to turn a big ship around: How to change a culture.

 

[Tam]

...Doesn’t help my crooked hood...

Your problem is an easy fix: Take the delivery of your car and make an appointment to fix it.

You were asking why it is now your responsibility to schedule a repair in the first place.

The answer is money.

Tesla makes money for volume.

Quality Assurance Department does not get promotions/bonus/additional money for discovering more flaws and then more flaws.

The incentive is to pass the bucks (flaws) to the customers and get paid!

 

[speedy]

If it’s that easy, why wouldnt Tesla fix it before delivery? Instead of making me schedule a follow up repair?

I suspect that is where Tesla's weaknesses show up. Although eager, your 20 something delivery specialist is probably not experienced enough to know what it takes to fix it. So he is dependent on the service specialist to 'fix' it, regardless of difficulty. Since that is the default, you end up being scheduled for a follow up repair even if it is simple to fix...