Upset at Major Headliner Issue - Anyone notice this? (resolved)

[Corinna]

Well, I have hope again. I ended up sending an email to George B. and Elon Musk late this evening. Elon personally replied within 15 minutes with the commitment to replace the headliner. Here's his response:

"My apologies for this. The Alcantara headliner error is indeed our fault and Tesla will replace it for you. As soon as I understood what had happened, I reversed the decision and now all esthetic changes must be approved by me via explicit physical inspection.

Something that may not have been explained is that this is a very difficult procedure, because it requires removal of the entire front windscreen. This in turn can damage other interior elements that need to be replaced. It is also not something that the service team is trained to do, so we will need to fly out factory technicians to execute this to proper production standards.


We should be able to turn this around by end of week.


Elon"

It seems sincere to me and I am going to have faith that this will get done now that he has committed to it and cc'd his reply to George B. and Jerome G. How long it takes is a different matter, but one I'm willing to give them some wiggle room for given the intricacies involved. I am still disappointed there was so much drama about this and that I had to escalate it to the top, but I am relieved that Elon was responsive and is holding true to his word standing behind the vehicle. Integrity is everything.

 

[Aussie]

Could someone maybe post a few pictures of how Alcantara looks? I am one of the cloth P85 "victims" and would like to decide whether I should try to press for a retrofit (and risking that other things break in the process) or rather try to get some price reduction. Thanks!

 

[cdabel]

Sounds like some mid level executives need a serious talking to at Tesla.

 

[EMDoc]

Sigh - I can't believe all this. Just to push the car out before April. Feels as though its unfinished and spent 100k on "hope"
I actually asked if my car could be delayed till April...

 

[pete8314]

That's a decent reply from Elon (and he knows it'll be posted publically, so I'm sure it applies to everyone that didn't get their headliner), but seriously, how can a decision be made like that without the senior leadership team knowing? Now they have to fly a team out to each impacted vehicle, of which I assume there's a significant number (even allowing for those that choose to live with the fabric headliner, though IMHO that would be a bad decision from a resale point of view).

It's an expensive mistake (in terms of time, material, expenses and reputation) that didn't need to have happened.

 

[Martini]

That's a decent reply from Elon (and he knows it'll be posted publically, so I'm sure it applies to everyone that didn't get their headliner), but seriously, how can a decision be made like that without the senior leadership team knowing? Now they have to fly a team out to each impacted vehicle, of which I assume there's a significant number (even allowing for those that choose to live with the fabric headliner, though IMHO that would be a bad decision from a resale point of view).

It's an expensive mistake (in terms of time, material, expenses and reputation) that didn't need to have happened.

Delegating authority is always a tough balancing act. Elon also had to walk-back the email sent by the sales manager who was exhorting customers to pay before Q1 end to help hit the numbers. While these are problems created by middle managers, at the same time, Elon can't be everywhere at once, especially as the company grows in size. As staff gain time and experience (many Tesla staff must be quite new), they will likely internalise and formalise a corporate set of principles for such decisions.

 

[swegman]

There has been a shakeup in personnel at Tesla. i don't know whether it is related to this or other matters (no one is talking), but Elon is becoming more involved.

 

[yobigd20]

There has been a shakeup in personnel at Tesla. i don't know whether it is related to this or other matters (no one is talking), but Elon is becoming more involved.

Maybe this is what Elon was referring to when he said one of their upcoming announcements is going to be service related. Perhaps he meant 'customer service'. Clearly they are pretty bad at communication, and depending on who talks to who you get a different story each time. IMO that's really the only negative thing I would say about Tesla. Hearing about a 'shakeup' in personnel at Tesla is very good news to me. They needed some internal crackdown on employees regarding customer communication. The positive side to all this is that in the end, I think Tesla always does the right thing. It just takes them a little time to get there, that's it.

 

[AnOutsider]

Indeed, that would be great news. Elon has more important things to do I'm sure, but taking a month or so to set some guidelines for these folks will save a lot of headache down the road.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

I've heard this before from ex- and current employees (on the battery and software engineering side). It's apparently been fairly chaotic and dysfunctional with ordinary management at various levels. It's amazing how well they've executed despite that. Time for Elon to take charge for sure.

 

[contaygious]

If the headliner shows down cars then why does tesla's site state there is about a 3 month wait for regular and two month wait for p85?

 

[EMDoc]

Corinna - Tried to send a PM but your mailbox is full. Thanks for the message and hopefully we can figure out the plan in SD. I'm hoping to drop it off on Wed after I call Chip now.

Thanks!

 

[artsci]

Well, I have hope again. I ended up sending an email to George B. and Elon Musk late this evening. Elon personally replied within 15 minutes with the commitment to replace the headliner. Here's his response:

"My apologies for this. The Alcantara headliner error is indeed our fault and Tesla will replace it for you. As soon as I understood what had happened, I reversed the decision and now all esthetic changes must be approved by me via explicit physical inspection.

Something that may not have been explained is that this is a very difficult procedure, because it requires removal of the entire front windscreen. This in turn can damage other interior elements that need to be replaced. It is also not something that the service team is trained to do, so we will need to fly out factory technicians to execute this to proper production standards.


We should be able to turn this around by end of week.


Elon"

It seems sincere to me and I am going to have faith that this will get done now that he has committed to it and cc'd his reply to George B. and Jerome G. How long it takes is a different matter, but one I'm willing to give them some wiggle room for given the intricacies involved. I am still disappointed there was so much drama about this and that I had to escalate it to the top, but I am relieved that Elon was responsive and is holding true to his word standing behind the vehicle. Integrity is everything.

Does this mean that the cars now being built will have the Alcantara headliner? I think mine's on the production line now or in a matter of days.

 

[Corinna]

Does this mean that the cars now being built will have the Alcantara headliner? I think mine's on the production line now or in a matter of days.

I would call your DS or Ownership to confirm.

 

[Kaivball]

I think they ran out of Alcantara and switched temporarily to cloth to make their number.

Interestingly, service told me that they switched carbon spoiler suppliers, hence the delays.

 

[DrDave]

There has been a shakeup in personnel at Tesla. i don't know whether it is related to this or other matters (no one is talking), but Elon is becoming more involved.

I don't see where Joost was copied on Corinna's email (unless his name was just left off), where George and Jerome were.

 

[brianman]

Could someone maybe post a few pictures of how Alcantara looks?

I won't claim they are good pictures, but here are some pictures by request.

 

[sjm]

Just registered here after being told about it over on the other Tesla Forum.

Confirmed today that my P85 that I am set to take delivery on this Friday has the cloth headliner as well. Would of taken delivery before end of March but was off on vacation. Was amazed that Tesla had my car "ready" this fast as I confirming my build on 3/1 - they where doing everything possible to push out every high dollar car before month end and several of us are now dealing with incorrect interior bits.

According to my delivery specialist, Tesla is going to replace my headliner with the Alcantara piece but, I think he is clueless as to what is happening with those they are trying to replace. Will be monitoring this thread carefully so please, those that are dealing with this issue, keep everyone updated as to what is happening with your car. Personally, I told them that we will delay delivery until the headliner is fixed so, we will see what they do with my car. Told them they also have the option of building my car all over again, correctly this time. Just lucky that EMDoc posted this problem otherwise I would not have asked and gotten a huge shock on Friday.

Other question I have for those that have gotten P85's with cloth headliner, is the lower dash correct? The Perfomance cars should have Napa Leather on the lower dash, standard cars have leatherette. Please report if this is also missing (doubt it as it appears Tesla just ran short on Alcantara headliners).

 

[Corinna]

I don't see where Joost was copied on Corinna's email (unless his name was just left off), where George and Jerome were.

He was not cc'd. Just the other two.

 

[Corinna]

Called my SA midday today to see if word had trickled down on how to proceed and he had just received a lengthy email before I called about it - great timing! He read it to me and essentially said the same thing as Elon did last night - it included an apology and assumption of responsibility on Tesla's behalf for making the mistake, and that this is not a quick fix but will be done for anyone who wants it. It included the disclaimer about the windshield coming off as well as other parts and that the procedure could damage other interior components which they would then need to replace so there could be delays in completing the work. That said, if the customer chooses to proceed with the replacement, the SA is to order parts for delivery in advance of scheduling the factory techs to come out and do the work.

If there are multiple cars at a service center, they are also going to try to coordinate so they all get done in one shot as far as factory tech time. Here in San Diego, there are 2 of us already signed up for the replacement, so we are going to be scheduled together.

Anyway, if you're wondering how to proceed, here are your options:

If you have your car and want the replacement, understanding the risks and time involved, call your SA to get your parts ordered or confirm they were really ordered (I'm dubious they were actually ordered last week based on the email the SA got today with explicit directions). SA will then call you back to schedule as he/she coordinates with the factory techs. (SJM - I think this applies to you too - your car has probably already left the factory and may already be at the SC if you're taking delivery Friday).

If you don't want to take the risk or are not interested in the alcantara replacement, call Ownership to get a service/merchandise credit.

Hope this helps! Good luck, everyone!