X-TESLA Owners

[xfea]

I've been wanting to pull the trigger on a new TESLA for years - but it never made sense.
I value the car / total ownership experience - the cost is secondary.

For those of you who no longer own a TESLA - what was it that kept you from staying with the brand?
What did you choose instead of a TESLA?

What were the top three things that convinced you to buy a TESLA in the first place?
What were the top three things that convinced you to rid yourself of TESLA?

Thanks ahead of time - I know your time is valuable.

 

[masapo98]

1. Does not apply
2. Does not apply (but my second car is a macan s)
3. Instant torque; wow factor; safety
4. Does not apply

 

[glide]

I haven’t got rid of mine but I can say confidently I won’t be buying another until a number of things change within the company.

CS is terrible
Getting a service appointment is a hassle
Parts are scarce
Many build quality issues for a vehicle in this price point.
C-level management leaving in droves
Cult of Elon is too focused on the cult of Elon.

Etc.

 

[Sir Guacamolaf]

I'm debating getting a new car, and have owned 2xS and 1xX in the past.
If I get a Tesla, it'll be a Model 3 because I cannot convince myself to pour a 6 figure sum into a company that has gone down the dumps.
Right now I'm doing my research and it is looking less and less likely that I'll get another Tesla, but I may change my mind.

My reasons, (and please do not give me a lecture about eco friendly etc. .. remember I've supported this company with close to $350K).

1. The build quality is indeed terrible, the body panels of S/X/3 vs. say a land rover. If you left a Tesla out in a hail storm it'd probably get totaled. I am lucky that my cars are always under cover, but you get the idea. X is the worst. S is okay. 3 I hear is better, but no personal experience. And interiors are just really really bad. Sure I like "minimalistic" but they are really poor quality.
2. Service - it has gotten so incredibly bad, I have a hard time finding the right words. Been in the Tesla ecosystem since 2012, it used to be stellar. Even outside of warranty, they'd just take care of things for you at goodwill. The service center itself has a waiting room area that looks like crap. So many angry people there, all chairs taken, terrible coffee, employees that are overworked and really don't care.
3. Repair costs - are pretty damned high, and repair times are very very long. And I hear the aluminum panels excuse all the time. But Audi, Jaguar, Ford F150, all use aluminum, and none of them have these issues. Yes repair costs are higher in those, but not to the astronomical levels that Tesla has, and repair times are quite reasonable .. tesla .. you are out of a car for 3-6 months.
4. Insurance - Insurance companies are finally wisening up. The insurance rates are being jacked up, doubled or so. I guess not a big deal for some.
5. I have a hard time trusting the CEO and he may be a genius at some things, but is terrible at running a big company at scale, he really should delegate some of his responsibilities at Tesla. I don't even know to start. "Best service experience on earth", "A top of the line Tesla as a loaner", "Service is not a profit center" .. their service is not cheap.
6. The fact that they change rules on you all the time, and you are stuck showing screenshots or downloads of PDFs from their site, and HOPE they honor their word. They used to be better at it, but they are not today.
7. Autopilot, FSD is a great innovation, but I do feel sometimes that they are pushing the envelope of risk a bit too much, and everyone who shares a road with a Tesla is put at risk whether they opt in or not. I realize "legally" the responsibility is that of the driver, but wink wink nudge nudge, Tesla and all of us here know that that responsibility is not always taken seriously by every driver. The manufacturer should be held responsible for enabling such stupidity, just as napster was held liable for enable sharing of pirated mp3s. (Yeah many will disagree).
8. The company is buried under debt, and the economy is pretty good. If the company couldn't turn a profit with 500K people banging on the doors asking for a Model 3, when else will they have such an opportunity. And the Model 3 wait times have gone down to nothing now, so that backlog has been cleared ~ they didn't deliver 500K Model 3s, which tells me that many backed out. When buying a car, I do think of the long term solvency of the manufacturer, especially if this particular car is so dependent on the manufacturer.
9. High turn over in executive leadership doesn't give me lots of confidence either.
10. And most of all, the fanboys and fangirls, especially the youtubers that are literally being bribed by promises of a 200K roadster and have gotten pretty good at hand-crafting a positive spin. This makes it hard to know the truth unless you experience it first hand yourself, which I have.
11. Probably more..

On the good side,
1. EV driving is great
2. Driving dynamics are great.
3. The Model S looks amazing, 3 looks okay, X looks like a toad.

On the neutral side, charging is not as convenient as filling gas on a long trip. But that is balanced by charging being more convenient for in-town driving/daily use, and charging is cheaper than filling gas.

 

[m3supra]

After 4 months of ownership, I'm definitely not buying until they get their act together. Tesla is actively trying to dissuade owners from contacting the company to get things sorted.

One thing that convinced me was the selling point of no service. Yes there isn't as much service, but if you need it, god help you. I've spent more time and endured more stress dealing with Tesla service than I have in the last 16 years of car ownership. It's that bad in the Bay Area. Most other dealerships/shops make low margins on car sales, but make it up on service so they have to get service right. Tesla promotes no routine maintenance needed on their vehicles so the service department does not seem to be a priority.

Factor in manufacturing taking shortcuts and pushing out poor fit and finish and passing responsibility onto service to take care of it. Then service is slammed with warranty fixes, low wages, no standard operating procedure, and being short-staffed. This ends up with the end-user trying to get stuff done with the worst communication in the industry. There are so many stories of being left in the dark after delivery or customer service not following up and no way to make contact with anybody.

The fanboys will attribute all this to giving them time since they're new to this, or we need to make sacrifices for the mission, etc.

 

[xfea]

I'm debating getting a new car, and have owned 2xS and 1xX in the past.
If I get a Tesla, it'll be a Model 3 because I cannot convince myself to pour a 6 figure sum into a company that has gone down the dumps.
Right now I'm doing my research and it is looking less and less likely that I'll get another Tesla, but I may change my mind.

My reasons, (and please do not give me a lecture about eco friendly etc. .. remember I've supported this company with close to $350K).

1. The build quality is indeed terrible, the body panels of S/X/3 vs. say a land rover. If you left a Tesla out in a hail storm it'd probably get totaled. I am lucky that my cars are always under cover, but you get the idea. X is the worst. S is okay. 3 I hear is better, but no personal experience. And interiors are just really really bad. Sure I like "minimalistic" but they are really poor quality.
2. Service - it has gotten so incredibly bad, I have a hard time finding the right words. Been in the Tesla ecosystem since 2012, it used to be stellar. Even outside of warranty, they'd just take care of things for you at goodwill. The service center itself has a waiting room area that looks like crap. So many angry people there, all chairs taken, terrible coffee, employees that are overworked and really don't care.
3. Repair costs - are pretty damned high, and repair times are very very long. And I hear the aluminum panels excuse all the time. But Audi, Jaguar, Ford F150, all use aluminum, and none of them have these issues. Yes repair costs are higher in those, but not to the astronomical levels that Tesla has, and repair times are quite reasonable .. tesla .. you are out of a car for 3-6 months.
4. Insurance - Insurance companies are finally wisening up. The insurance rates are being jacked up, doubled or so. I guess not a big deal for some.
5. I have a hard time trusting the CEO and he may be a genius at some things, but is terrible at running a big company at scale, he really should delegate some of his responsibilities at Tesla. I don't even know to start. "Best service experience on earth", "A top of the line Tesla as a loaner", "Service is not a profit center" .. their service is not cheap.
6. The fact that they change rules on you all the time, and you are stuck showing screenshots or downloads of PDFs from their site, and HOPE they honor their word. They used to be better at it, but they are not today.
7. Autopilot, FSD is a great innovation, but I do feel sometimes that they are pushing the envelope of risk a bit too much, and everyone who shares a road with a Tesla is put at risk whether they opt in or not. I realize "legally" the responsibility is that of the driver, but wink wink nudge nudge, Tesla and all of us here know that that responsibility is not always taken seriously by every driver. The manufacturer should be held responsible for enabling such stupidity, just as napster was held liable for enable sharing of pirated mp3s. (Yeah many will disagree).
8. The company is buried under debt, and the economy is pretty good. If the company couldn't turn a profit with 500K people banging on the doors asking for a Model 3, when else will they have such an opportunity. And the Model 3 wait times have gone down to nothing now, so that backlog has been cleared ~ they didn't deliver 500K Model 3s, which tells me that many backed out. When buying a car, I do think of the long term solvency of the manufacturer, especially if this particular car is so dependent on the manufacturer.
9. High turn over in executive leadership doesn't give me lots of confidence either.
10. And most of all, the fanboys and fangirls, especially the youtubers that are literally being bribed by promises of a 200K roadster and have gotten pretty good at hand-crafting a positive spin. This makes it hard to know the truth unless you experience it first hand yourself, which I have.
11. Probably more..

On the good side,
1. EV driving is great
2. Driving dynamics are great.
3. The Model S looks amazing, 3 looks okay, X looks like a toad.

On the neutral side, charging is not as convenient as filling gas on a long trip. But that is balanced by charging being more convenient for in-town driving/daily use, and charging is cheaper than filling gas.

Sir G.

Thanks much or the insightful reply.
I appreciate the time and effort you put into it.