With brick & mortar locations closing who will be delivering Tesla vehicles?

[glide]

In most cases, they know exactly what's wrong with the car and will bring all the necessary parts.

It's not like you call for service, and they show up and say "Ok, what seems to be the problem?"

I don’t think you understand how many unique parts each of these vehicles has. It is an impossibility (financially) to outfit enough mobile technicians with enough parts to service all vehicles currently on the road.

They would need part supplies, which they do not have, inventory hubs, which they do not have, a large fleet of skilled employees, which they don’t have, etc...

 

[Lifeinabox]

I read it to mean B+M retail locations like the ones in malls where you can sit in a couple of cars and order. Not the delivery centers or the service centers. I can't see Tesla closing the Marina Del Rey center here in SoCal, for instance.

 

[electricar]

Closing the stores - another bone-headed idea. Shopping is a feeling and clicking buy now just doesn't do it. My representative at Kierland Commons in Scottsdale, Nathan, was very knowledgable and closed the deal. He reassured me that buying a car from a company as new and unconventional as Tesla was a good idea and answered many questions accurately about what the whole process would be like. Now everyone can get their questions answered at websites like this where anybody with a complaint posts constantly or even worse from Tesla's pitiful customer service ( buyers just love being on hold for hours and not getting their calls returned and emails answered ). This is also another example of the poor way Tesla treats their employees - first they ask for extra time and effort to advance " The Mission " then as a reward for that they eliminate your job. More and more I am losing faith in Tesla; it is time for Elon to be the visionary and let someone who knows what they are doing run the company. Steve Jobs needed Tim Cook to run the company at Apple and Elon needs someone like him sooner rather than later.

 

[HankLloydRight]

I just don't see this being a problem. People don't go out and secure financing for a car or cut a $40k+ check for a weekend joy ride.

For regular, everyday people, sure. But there are A LOT of people with too much money that wouldn't blink an eye at dropping $40k for a free 1000 mile/7 day test drive, just for the lulz.. Rich folks are the cheapest people around, and if they can get something for free, they will.

I don’t think you understand how many unique parts each of these vehicles has. It is an impossibility (financially) to outfit enough mobile technicians with enough parts to service all vehicles currently on the road.

They would need part supplies, which they do not have, inventory hubs, which they do not have, a large fleet of skilled employees, which they don’t have, etc...

Who said anything about servicing all vehicles on the road? Who said anything about taking every single part on a mobile repair call? Hyperbole much?

The service centers do have the parts supplies already. They have the technicians already. If they didn't have either of those, they couldn't repair the cars at the service centers. They load up the parts and the techs in a car and go mobile. It's a good strategy that will work and save time and money.

If you call in for service, they can quickly identify the problem and necessary parts, and if it's something they can fix remotely, and they have the parts in the service center, they'll send out mobile repair with just those parts. That will probably take care of 50% to 75% of the problems people bring their car in for service. Door handles, latches, windows, MCUs, on-board chargers, trim parts, 12v batteries, and almost any electronic component can be brought along.

The other 25% they'll just tell you to bring the car in for service. We've seen the demo mobile repair cars at Milford fully outfitted with tools and parts, and it's really amazing what they can fit in there.

 

[glide]

The service centers do have the parts supplies already. They have the technicians already. If they didn't have either of those, they couldn't repair the cars at the service centers.

HaHa! What Service Center do you go to? I want that one.

 

[Fusion]

They are burning cash faster than they can make it. I see the only reason the 35k version got released so fast is because sales are stagnant. Look at the waste of money they spend on service centers. They use Enterprise to rent out their rentals for the service appointments and it cost them around $95+ day rental when they give you a Model S. Figure a rental is given everyday to X amount of people multiplied by almost everyday of the month and you can see where I'm going.

 

[HankLloydRight]

HaHa! What Service Center do you go to? I want that one.

Milford, CT.

 

[gilscales]

Sorry, but I don't make those kind of decisions off the cuff. I want to see certain things like, will it fit me? How do I like the way it drives? How do I like how I can see out of it? The way the brakes feel?

Telling me I can return it if I don't like it does nothing to give me confidence in my purchase decision before the fact.

I did a 2 day test drive from Turo a year ago, it was not a cheap test drive but I wanted to make sure I could live with the car before purchasing.

 

[voip-ninja]

They are burning cash faster than they can make it. I see the only reason the 35k version got released so fast is because sales are stagnant. Look at the waste of money they spend on service centers. They use Enterprise to rent out their rentals for the service appointments and it cost them around $95+ day rental when they give you a Model S. Figure a rental is given everyday to X amount of people multiplied by almost everyday of the month and you can see where I'm going.

Stock is down 3% after hours which means more people right at this moment believe that Tesla is getting nervous about soft demand than people that think that closing stores, more layoffs, etc., is a visionary move to allow them to sell the SR car without being totally upside down on it.

Guess we'll see where they are at in another 6-12 months time.

 

[vickh]

PHX has two stores in close proximity. I'd rather they have one store and more service centers

 

[Fusion]

I definitely want them to do well. It's just not looking really good. The worst thing to happen is some big automaker decides to buy them out then they will be left to die.

 

[voip-ninja]

PHX has two stores in close proximity. I'd rather they have one store and more service centers

They haven't said they are adding more service centers but I have a feeling that they are realizing quickly how expensive it is to service this burgeoning fleet of cars, many of which have things that need to be corrected in the first year or so of ownership.

 

[vickh]

Stock is down 3% after hours which means more people right at this moment believe that Tesla is getting nervous about soft demand than people that think that closing stores, more layoffs, etc., is a visionary move to allow them to sell the SR car without being totally upside down on it.

Guess we'll see where they are at in another 6-12 months time.

after hours are slim volume, high volatilty. I think it's a great strategy for them long term.

 

[voip-ninja]

I definitely want them to do well. It's just not looking really good. The worst thing to happen is some big automaker decides to buy them out then they will be left to die.

Nobody has the money to buy them out. Their market cap would have to get to at least 50% of where it is today for someone to even consider it, and some of the biggest stockholders don't have to sell.

 

[vickh]

I just don't see this being a problem. People don't go out and secure financing for a car or cut a $40k+ check for a weekend joy ride.

I can see a return of a $40k+ check, but aren't you out something if you finance? How does the bank handle it?

 

[mattjs33]

Stock is down 3% after hours which means more people right at this moment believe that Tesla is getting nervous about soft demand than people that think that closing stores, more layoffs, etc., is a visionary move to allow them to sell the SR car without being totally upside down on it.

Guess we'll see where they are at in another 6-12 months time.

These threads are evolving very quickly, I'm having a hard time keeping up.

But I just read on a thread either here or somewhere, someone said the specs indicate the SR car is just a MR with software limited battery. If so, they are taking a hit on margin. There will be people saying Tesla is panicking and this is a play to generate demand, just take the hit and keep the presses rolling.

Your take on this?

 

[lolder]

About test drives, every single reviewer has raved about the car. 6'7" drivers fit fine. The car has a firm sport sedan ride. That's it ! They're getting rid of the Brick and Mortar retail sales outlets like many other retailers. It will also allow them to sell on-line and deliver to your door in all the states that presently prohibit their sales. It's just like Amazon.

 

[voip-ninja]

These threads are evolving very quickly, I'm having a hard time keeping up.

But I just read on a thread either here or somewhere, someone said the specs indicate the SR car is just a MR with software limited battery. If so, they are taking a hit on margin. There will be people saying Tesla is panicking and this is a play to generate demand, just take the hit and keep the presses rolling.

Your take on this?

My take is that even after the store closures and the cost cuts the SR is a money loser for them and their play is to keep demand up so they can continue driving costs down and eventually make an SR they make a profit on. They were supposed to be designing a cheaper to build battery pack for the SR car, perhaps when that is introduced later on the SR will become profitable and they just need to keep the factory humming in the interim.

 

[ucmndd]

I can see a return of a $40k+ check, but aren't you out something if you finance? How does the bank handle it?

In most states I think the only way Tesla could realistically "refund" you on a finance transaction would be to pay off the loan.

 

[HankLloydRight]

I can see a return of a $40k+ check, but aren't you out something if you finance? How does the bank handle it?

I think the people intentionally going in for a free 1000 mile "test drive" aren't financing the car and are just paying cash/check or AMEX Black (or similar) credit card.

People how are actually financing the car and want to return it during the return period probably have a really good reason for the return, and are willing to deal with the consequences of the bank. I really don't think these people would be doing it just for a free test drive.