Refused delivery of a Model in Owings-Mills Maryland this past weekend. VIN was in range 106xxx. My observations:
- The process leading up to the delivery was marred by poor communication. After placing an order for an in stock MY SR, my SA sent me an introductory email then never responded to any subsequent emails. Nobody ever picked up when I called sales/new delivery at Owings-Mills. Messages left on their voicemail were never returned.
- Location on delivery day was unorganized and customers were standing around trying to get the attention of Tesla staff who appeared very short handed for the number of people there for deliveries and test drives.
- General lack of information about where to go. No signage directing people to delivery. Walked around the location and found the MY SR before finding a person.
- Upon visual inspection, found numerous issues including:
- Serious panel gaps in the trunk area (on one side so tight it was rubbing paint on the other so large you could see into the frunk and even get a pinky in the gap
- Misaligned passenger door on the right side
- Trim around front wheel wells detaching from panel
- Charger door not even close to being flush
- Badly misaligned right and left tail lights
- Headlights that were not anywhere near flush with the hood
- Scratches on front bumper, rear bumper and on drivers side mirror
- Glue on random parts of the rear quarter panel
- I had to flag down a Tesla advisor/staff who had an attitude before I even explained to him what I was there to do (accept delivery).
- We were told we had to "accept delivery" and complete an ACH transaction for the down payment (rest was already financed) before we would be allowed to even look at the interior of the vehicle.
- Advisor came to inspect the vehicle and was dismissive of nearly every concern. Stated that all gaps and misalignments had already passed their "internal inspection" and that they would not do anything for them.
- Reluctantly acknowledged other issues but acted annoyed about them as if the situation was somehow our fault.
- Advisor was rude, dismissive, made snarky comments, and didn't seem incentivised to interact with us in a respectful or even courteous way.
- We were calm, polite, and courteous throughout the entire interaction.
Bottom Line: I was appalled at the condition of the vehicle, the complete lack of organization at the location, and the very rude and dismissive staff. The communication prior to the transaction was also abysmal.
I really wanted to purchase this vehicle and have been a supporter of Tesla and their mission since their inception. I own Tesla stock. I am not a Tesla hater but this experience was just unacceptable.
Tesla is clearly still struggling with build quality issues and their communication and customer service needs significant retooling. The problem is that because of such high demand, they are not incentivized to provide even passable customer service because they are relying on high volume sales. If you reject delivery someone else with lower standards for delivery will eventually accept the vehicle. I suspect, given the low VIN number and the date of my delivery that this vehicle had likely been rejected before and Tesla clearly didn't even attempt to address any issues. Given what I have read across so many forums, it is clear my experience is not isolated.
I have paused my purchase and will continue to monitor build quality progress and customer service. The only way to do that (and for Tesla to improve) is for people to give their honest feedback (in places like this forum) on their experience and to absolutely refuse to take delivery if their vehicle isn't in acceptable condition.
Thanks for listening.