I'm glad Tesla broke away from the stealership business model. I don't know anyone who likes them. And the reason they did was entirely for cost efficiencies. Tesla's mission statement is to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy and transport. When Tesla was founded, and when they released their first EV, the Roadster, EV's were much more expensive than comparable gas cars. The only reason Musk and team decided to start an EV company was that they understood the declining cost curve of batteries and solid-state motor controllers. It was only a matter of time before EV's were cost competitive and they wanted to be there ready to fulfil market demand in order to accelerate the transition. It's critical for our planet. And the best way to do this as soon as possible is to eliminate every possible inefficiency (so EV's could become cost-competitive ASAP).
Yes, a dealer network is inefficient. They borrow money to purchase the cars from the manufacturer then they let them sit out in the weather while they try to sell them. They hire car salespeople who are more concerned with the size of their sales commissions than your best interests, no one likes them. Then, to pay for the millions of dollars they have borrowed to create a huge lot (property taxes) full of metal, gas and oil, they try to sell you unnecessary and over-priced warranties, undercoating, paint protection, etc. Because they want to make a profit so the owner of the dealership can be the local big-whig and send his kids to an expensive business school where they can learn how to make as much money as possible on every sale. It's an out-dated business model that predates the Internet. By reducing the price of EV's, they can be adopted sooner by more people.
I sold my Mazda after getting my Stealth P3D. I had never done business with the local Mazda dealer (although it was part of the same family-owned dealership conglomerate that owns most of the dealerships in my region). The conglomerate "auto group" sells the vast majority of the cars in my area. But I thought I would give them a try because I have two cars, a truck and four motorcycles. I maintain my motorcycles myself and didn't really like the idea of servicing my cars and truck as well. I dropped my Mazda off for its second service at 15,000 miles (the first service was free, included in the sale of the new car) and asked them to perform the 15,000-mile service. I knew from reading the Owner's Manual this only included oil, oil filter and a few simple checks of things like the function of lights, seatbelts and brakes. The air filter wasn't even scheduled until 30,000 and we live in one of the least dusty areas of the country. I was about to leave when I thought to inquire about the cost. I was floored when he started to tell me all the things it needed and that it would be over $600! I told him I just wanted the factory recommended service performed. He started to berate me for not wanting to treat my car properly etc. but ended by telling me they could just do the minimum if that's all I wanted! It was still going to be $90 for an oil change and simple checks. I endured 5 minutes of him treating me like a terrible person before I got him to that point. How gullible to they think I am? I never went back again.
This kind of experience is not uncommon at car dealerships. My brother-in-law is part owner of a large Volvo dealership in another area and they would never do that scam. But the way they base the mechanics pay on their "efficiency" ensures a sub-optimal service. They get paid for the volume of work they are able to do and I've seen first hand how this is not in the customer's best interest. But this is common these days across most dealerships. And the salespeople are commissioned. The worse deal you get, the more they make. Nobody likes car salesmen. They might not be as bad as when they wore polyester suits but they still drip slime. Sure, there are some good salespeople but they are the exception, not the rule.
Even when you think you are getting good service and they kiss your butt all nice, you are still getting a bad value at most car dealerships. That's because the price of the car and the servicing has to cover their very high overhead. Tesla is constantly adding modern, new service centers and mobile service vans as their production grows so it's not clear why you yearn for the old, inefficient ways of doing things. Because the customer has to pay for all those inefficiencies, commissions and profits.
