Tesla would be worth a lot less if it had top of the class quality and customer service.
Here's why:
Tesla's valuation depends upon being able to make EV's viable (profitable). Remember during the Model 3 ramp that TSLA naysayers were claiming the more cars TSLA builds, the more money they lose? And also that it was "other people's money"? Tesla's valuation is largely a result of having proven those people dead wrong. While having every detail perfect and a customer service experience right out of "Fantasy Island" is great for sales, it costs a lot of money. You don't those things for free because it takes real people to make that happen and people are expensive. If Tesla sales were only constrained by how many they could sell (not how many they could make), then it would make good sense to spend money on those things to sell more cars because those higher volumes leverage the investments you have in vehicle development, production lines, Supercharger network and delivery and sales centers.
But, if you are a rapidly growing business limited only by your capacity to produce more product, those investments in customer service and making sure every detail is perfect have a negative impact on the bottom line and your ability to service debt without raising more money (other people's money) to make the whole thing sustainable.
You cannot argue that better customer service doesn't cost much money because it does. People are expensive. Tesla has chosen instead to make the cars a fantastic value vs. the competition. Because, while there are limits to how much lack of customer service owners will tolerate, there are even harder limits as to how much a lot of people will pay for a car (or are physically able to pay for a car). You don't get something for nothing and Tesla has chosen the path that will allow them to fulfill their mission more quickly by having the capital to expand rapidly.
If Tesla runs into a demand wall (that wouldn't otherwise exist had they spent hundreds of millions on top of the class customer service and making sure every detail was perfect) then you can argue they chose the wrong path. Until then it's pretty hard to make that case. Because TSLA would be worth a lot less if their financials reflected those things. Tesla is in demand because the products are so good and a value for what you get, not because they are perfect in every detail and customer service coddles owners as if they were more important than the mission.
And that was the right path to take when selling low volume cars that cost well north of 6 digits. IMO, second-guessing Elon tends to make people look foolish. Because he's the one making it work. When you have products this good selling at prices this low, there are some customers you just don't want or need. Because they are going to cost you too much. As volumes continue to rise, cost efficiencies will allow Tesla to spend more money on customer service to woo those segments of the market that need more coddling. We are still in the middle stages of the early adopter phase. Things are changing rapidly though, so as market share climbs, expect to see Tesla start to spend more money on customers and adopting a more liberal attitude as to how consequential a flaw needs to be in order to be considered an actual defect that is replaceable under warranty. Even then, I hope Tesla never gets to that sad place where if a customer tells the nice delivery or service specialist to "bark like a dog" that she/he will bark like a dog. People who think like that can go buy a cheap piece of crap with all the doo-dads and a high price for what you get. Tesla is focussed on value. A great product at a great price. And, yes, it's a balancing act to determine where to draw the line. Tesla is not blind to this fact.
