Tesla Warranty costs vs. others

[mspohr]

Reuters has an interesting news article discussing Tesla warranty costs and compares it to Mercedes and GM:
High warranty costs reflect Tesla’s struggle with quality

Although the headline is "High warranty costs reflect Tesla’s struggle with quality", the actual numbers don't really support that headline. It notes that both Tesla and Mercedes spend about $1000 per car on warranty work. (It notes that GM and Ford are about $400 but I don't think they are in the same category as Tesla and Mercedes.)
The article does note that Tesla has set aside higher reserve amounts than Mercedes ($2036 vs $1294) for future warranty work. This could be more conservative accounting or reflect expected higher costs.

 

[Tam]

High warranty cost does not surprise me in high tech products such as Roadster, Model S, and now Model X.

Due to high tech nature, at each initial production, there have been problems calling for repairs. It could be from something minor like door seals to something serious like Roadster gear box or Model S drive units.

Each time the press would predict doomsday because of the repairs.

So far, doomsday has never arrived because Tesla has budgeted the cost very well.

Quality is a difficult issue in high tech.

Should you deprive people from Tesla beta Autopilot now while waiting for the perfection of Google Autonomous driving?

Should you delay Model X launch a few more years to iron out all those issues so you can save on warranty costs?

At some point, you just have to make a decision to let people to start enjoying driving a car.