Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Tesla reverted my performance upgrade :(

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
Got the performance upgrade a month ago. Then saw a notification saying “Contact Tesla Service”

Originally, they said that my car wasn’t suppose to get the upgrade (even though it worked, car was much faster) but they’d replace a part on the battery that the error goes away and it becomes compatible. Now the service center says they have to revert the upgrade to prevent “damage” to the battery.

1. Have folks heard of this before? Any options to keep the upgrade?

2. How do I know damage hasn’t been caused to the battery already — it’s been a month and a half
 
@WhiteStarSal - Personally in your shoes I'd insist on everything in writing from here oirbwith service. Either keep the upgrade and your warranty or demand a new battery. You won't get it so then have a lawyer wrote a demand letter and tell us what happens next. This complaint is not whining - Tesla messed up here.
 
  • Like
Reactions: smac
There was a contractor or something that were required to handle the current.
If your car does not have one that is powerful enough it will fail prematurely if used that way, the upgraded one exists for a reason.
I'd say it's unfortunate, but a mistake they are trying to fix. Consider it on par with a typo offering you 100kwh upgrade.
 
@WhiteStarSal - Personally in your shoes I'd insist on everything in writing from here oirbwith service. Either keep the upgrade and your warranty or demand a new battery. You won't get it so then have a lawyer wrote a demand letter and tell us what happens next. This complaint is not whining - Tesla messed up here.

Why is the OP entitled to an upgrade? It wasn’t promised at purchase?
 
Not enough information to go on, did they remove Ludicrous from his P90D after he paid $10K to upgrade it aftermarket? Did they remove the free uncorking of S75D? Did he buy an inventory uncorked S75 and now they say it has to be reverted? Did he upgrade from P90DL to P100DL for $20K and now they reverted it to P90DL performance but kept the 100KWh battery? No way to provide any meaningful advice unless we know what the OP is talking about.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kacey Green
75d from May 2016, talking about the 4.2 sec upgrade.
Then it sounds like they tried doing you a favor since your car wasn't eligible for this free upgrade. Unfortunately it turns out they were wrong and the car really isn't quipped to handle it. I say be glad they at least tried . I know it sucks to not be eligible, but this was a bonus upgrade over and above any obligations Tesla made to you when you purchased the car. Don't worry about any damage, it is still covered under the 8 year power train warranty.
 
This is probably one reason why so few companies do retroactive updates. They are hard.

That said, I'm with Tesla on this one. They did make a mistake, but if they have to revert it, I doubt they are doing it without reason in this case. They have no other apparent reason to fiddle with this... Any remedies to the mistake should be proportionate to it, a warranty promise to cover this situation is obvious, but a requirement for Tesla to replace the battery to enable the upgrade seems excessive.

If I were Tesla I would offer this customer a one-time, at-cost priced update for the requisite parts, though, if at all possible (assuming some parts replacement would make the uncorking possible again). But that would be just a goodwill gesture and assumes they could upgrade the car to handle it within reasonable effort, which we don't know.

Alternatively I would offer the customer a voucher, again just as a goodwill, for the next service or something similar. Just to acknowledge a mistake was made and unfortunate negative feelings created.

And of course, I would offer a written note (and put it on file at Tesla too) explaining the situation and affirming any issues in the future are covered under warranty.

An unfortunate mistake, but if it is what it is, then what can you do... but maybe a bit of goodwill could still be generated in other ways, and the basic issue (condition of the car) made whole of course.

p.s. There is of course still the chance that this Service Center is wrong. Maybe get a second opinion?
 
75d from May 2016, talking about the 4.2 sec upgrade.
Seems like little harm was done. You had some temporary fun; if it has reduced the life of your battery or contactor then that will be covered under warranty if it fails within the 8 year period.

Just curious, what is your battery part number (visible under the car a little behind the passenger front wheel)?
 
One problem Tesla has with this occurrence is that if they make a special exemption in this case, and that action is posted on this forum, everyone else will feel entitled to getting the same treatment.

Best thing for Tesla to do is what they have done. Inform the party that they made a mistake, and it needs to be corrected to be proper. Expecting to get a special bonus for Tesla doing the right thing might be out of line, and set a bad presedence where others will also feel entitled.

Tesla has gone way beyond expectations to upgrade thousands of used vehicles to enhanced performance levels at no cost to the owners.