How do I get ahold of Elon? I just had ridiculous roadside experience!

[themaryannie]

Calling the service center was an intelligent move for the OP. It is Tesla's issue whether they sent the truck to the wrong house, or if the tow company, or driver, is lying!

I found out that Tesla gave the tow company the wrong address. They sat in front of someone else's house for ten minutes, then left.

 

[themaryannie]

I am serious. The CEO should not be involved in day to day minutia. That is exactly why the company is a mess from top to bottom.

How many layers of management need to fail before you go to the CEO for a roadside assistance issue?

People escalating to that level of management are also a large part of the problem.

I was not in the least serious about contacting Elon. It was a tongue-in-cheek comment, for which I am now getting slammed by fellow members.

 

[themaryannie]

Crap happens.

A while back I was taught to put things on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being death/murder of spouse/child. Then ask yourself where the thing you are upset about compares. When i do this most of things like car breakdowns, some institution screwing up a deposit, getting cut off on the highway, etc. rates about a 3 or maybe a 4.

I understand that completely. I've lost a child (nothing compares to that), and most recently both of my parents. It does put things into perspective, but we can still feel frustration over other issues...not even close to the same degree, but it's still there.

 

[themaryannie]

ultimately it was to the towing companies fault and tesla's fault at the same time. Tesla should have arranged another truck because of the screw-up on the first tow company. (which did end up happening, thankfully)

the last time tesla tried to get me a tow truck it didn't come for 12 hours and the police called in their tow buddies who brought it to the tesla center. i had to pay the $200 tow bill and pass it one to insurance to cover it, oh well.

the first knee jerk reaction shouldn't be to contact elon though...he only has 30,000 employees to look after at tesla, plus space x, boring company & gigafactory to boot...

I found out Roadside Assistance gave the tow company the wrong address. Case solved.

 

[David29]

I had an experience with Roadside Assistance in November that was also unsettling, although in the end it worked out OK. The steering failed on my Model S (possibly the same problem as the OP's, the faulty bolts?) and I called Roadside Assistance. The first call was at roughly 4 PM. Although I spoke with them 3 or 4 times over the course of the afternoon and evening, they did not offer to call a flatbed until 8 hours later, close to midnight. They wanted me to leave the car where it was and let the truck pick it up when I was not there. I did not like that option, so I asked them to delay the pickup until the morning, which they did. The breakdown had occurred only a short distance from my home, so I was able to easily walk home and leave the car at the curb during all this time (although I did return to the car at least once when I thought a tow would be imminent).
I got at least one call from someone at Tesla who thought a tow had been dispatched and was dismayed when I told them no truck had arrived. The details are a bit fuzzy now, but I had the sense that there was considerable confusion among various parties involved in the Roadside Assistance function.
I cannot help but wonder what would have happened to someone stuck in a snowstorm far from home, or in an unsafe location, or with kids in the car, etc., instead of me being only around the corner from my house. Eight hours is a long time to wait for a tow. I hope my experience was not typical.
in the end, my car was picked up the next morning as requested, and the car was eventually repaired. (There was a long-ish delay to get diagnosis and parts, but they gave me a loaner, so the delay was OK.)

 

[themaryannie]

I had an experience with Roadside Assistance in November that was also unsettling, although in the end it worked out OK. The steering failed on my Model S (possibly the same problem as the OP's, the faulty bolts?) and I called Roadside Assistance. The first call was at roughly 4 PM. Although I spoke with them 3 or 4 times over the course of the afternoon and evening, they did not offer to call a flatbed until 8 hours later, close to midnight. They wanted me to leave the car where it was and let the truck pick it up when I was not there. I did not like that option, so I asked them to delay the pickup until the morning, which they did. The breakdown had occurred only a short distance from my home, so I was able to easily walk home and leave the car at the curb during all this time (although I did return to the car at least once when I thought a tow would be imminent).
I got at least one call from someone at Tesla who thought a tow had been dispatched and was dismayed when I told them no truck had arrived. The details are a bit fuzzy now, but I had the sense that there was considerable confusion among various parties involved in the Roadside Assistance function.
I cannot help but wonder what would have happened to someone stuck in a snowstorm far from home, or in an unsafe location, or with kids in the car, etc., instead of me being only around the corner from my house. Eight hours is a long time to wait for a tow. I hope my experience was not typical.
in the end, my car was picked up the next morning as requested, and the car was eventually repaired. (There was a long-ish delay to get diagnosis and parts, but they gave me a loaner, so the delay was OK.)

Very interesting story, David...and yes, concerning for when there truly is an emergency, like a the snowstorm scenerio. I'm happy everything in the end worked out for you, as it did for me. Took a bit of frustration and "mental muscle work" to get it done, though. I did find out yesterday afternoon that Tesla Roadside had given the tow company the wrong address, thus they went to the wrong house. Suddenly the case is (mostly) solved. I do wish Roadside would have acknowledged this mistake and finally admitted, "Sorry, our bad," but that never happened. In the end, my car was towed...and repaired, so all is well.

 

[themaryannie]

Umm..since they did not show up and you did not get those call(s), I would call the tow truck company fibbers!

"(my phone was with me the entire time and it NEVER rang)" - I bet the tow truck driver did not leave a voicemail...how convenient!!

Glad it worked out in the end!

I found out that Tesla Roadside gave the tow company the wrong address. Case solved.