I just had a very strange visit to my local Tesla Store. Or what
used to be my local Tesla Store. I arrived unannounced to see a new production Model 3, look it over, and see if the niggling early issues (paint, glass, seals, etc) are now being dealt with at Fremont. And if they were, find out what I needed to do to order a RWD Long Range (can't do that online, as all of you know).
I should have called ahead.
The place was empty, the service bays (full of cars) was silent. And there was just one lonely (fairly new) service guy at a desk. All the cars, all the merch and most of the wall displays, gone. All the sales people, gone. Some of the service people, they were gone, too. Two people were wandering around in front, looking at parked and/or charging Teslas.
"What happened?" I asked the Lonely Service Guy.
"They closed sales," he said. "The nearest one is in San Jose (1 1/2 hours away)."
"What about service?"
He perked up. "We still do that."
"Where is everybody, then?"
He smiled. "Can I help you with something?"
I had a nice (and uninterrupted) conversation with him. Service issues have declined. Parts availability is still a serious bottleneck. But it felt very Twilight Zone-y. The building was there. But the energy and most of the people (including the swarms of customers who used to walk in) were gone.
Now, a Bull would say, "They're migrating sales online and Tesla cars just don't require much in the way of service."
A Bear would say, "Umm, what about all those long waits for service I keep hearing about?
A Short would say, "Tesla is doomed!"
I'm still not so sure what
I make of it. But it did not make me want to order a RWD Long Range today.
Robin
