The American electric car manufacturer Tesla, vice-president Jerome Guillen, will present at the Paris Motor Show on the last press day on October 3, 2014. The Paris Auto show opens to the public on Saturday.
Eric Piermont | AFP | Getty Images
Elon Musk’s electric car business informed customers on Friday that Tesla service centers are now offering collision repair, something the company has been talking about since 2018.
In a message to customers titled ‘Collision Repair is Here’, the company pointed out its ability to fix everything from dents and scratches to ‘suspension and axle damage’ in its own service centers as an ‘alternative option for a bodywork.
Services, including collision repair, should eventually be a larger revenue segment for Tesla as its cars age beyond warranty and the company delivers more of them around the world. While Tesla reported $ 678 million from a combined services and other segment during the fourth quarter of 2020, the company does not break out service revenue separately. Overall, the segment grew by 17% from $ 580 million in the previous quarter.
Tesla operates 140 service centers in North America. The company plans to open more, including 46 in the first half of 2021, Tesla’s president of the car, Jerome Guillen, revealed on Wednesday.
Service has been a sore point for many Tesla customers over the past few months, to the point where investors asked executives during the Q4 2020 call: “What is Tesla doing to improve service experience? Tesla has a reputation for outstanding customer service “It’s now impossible to even call a service center and appointments are weeks out.”
Guillen replies: “The best service is no service to us. That’s why we put a lot of effort into improving the quality and reliability of our cars. In the last two years, the frequency of service visits has been reduced by a third, so customers less must be employed regularly, which is really the goal, no service. ‘
He stressed that Tesla also offers ‘mobile services’, during which a Tesla service vehicle and car mechanic go to a customer’s car to fix it. Mobile visits now represent 40% of all service visits in North America and Tesla wants the number to increase to 50% by 2021, according to Guillen.
But not all repairs can be done on a mobile visit. For example, replacing the panoramic glass roof on a Tesla vehicle should be done in a store.
Guillen also said that Tesla pushes all customer communication over service through the Tesla app – meaning that Tesla service centers now prefer not to make or simply make phone calls.
“The app is much better than the phone,” Guillen explained. “It can detect alerts directly from the car and plan a service appointment. There is a written report of all communication between the customer and the service team. You can have photos in here. You can take care of your payment without entering the credit card. and do all the things. You get updates on the service. “
Guillen predicted that most other automakers would follow suit.
Here is the complete communication with customers:
Collision recovery is here
28 January 2021
Now fix small dents, picking, scratches and more at your local Tesla service center as an alternative to a car shop. Our optimized recovery flow enables a fast and seamless experience whenever you need it most.
Collision repair services may include: damage to the suspension and axles, front and rear bumpers, hoods, lifts and side mirror caps, along with doors, wheels and all glass repairs.
To schedule an appointment, select ‘Collision and Glass Repair’ from the service menu in your Tesla app and follow your service experience with step-by-step notifications.