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Exclusive: Tesla doing damage-control, discounts for European fleet buyers (www.reuters.com)

submitted 1 week ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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LONDON, May 20 (Reuters) - Tesla is working to appease some European leasing companies after the automaker’s repeated retail price cuts tanked their fleets’ value and its slow service and expensive repairs alienated their corporate customers.

The efforts include unofficial discounts on purchases of new cars if they are in stock and efforts to address widespread service, repair and ordering complaints after years in which fleet managers and leasing firms say Tesla has ignored those problems, according to Reuters interviews with nine executives from major leasing and rental-car firms, along with about a dozen corporate fleet managers.

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[-] [email protected] 36 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

You're not supposed to be shitty to your corporate customers until after you've captured their business and they're dependent on you. Elon can't even enshittify properly.

[-] [email protected] 16 points 1 week ago

I hope everyone who can cancels their Tesla contracts and gets another fleet vehicle. Tesla fired enough people to signify they are getting out of both the car and battery business. So like, their whole fucking business. Elon destroyed Tesla's future in a fit of pique.

[-] [email protected] 13 points 1 week ago

slow service and expensive repairs alienated their corporate customers.

I see statements like this often, especially about Tesla, but I've never seen or heard reviewers mention it as a problem compared to other cars.
Originally low maintenance cost was pushed as a huge advantage for electric cars, because an EV has fewer components that are likely to break.

But particularly Tesla has been criticized for often very expensive repairs, but also other EV's where a new battery that may be harmed driving over something, can cost as much as a new car. Where on an ICE car it would be a minor repair.

[-] [email protected] 11 points 1 week ago

The reason their repair service is expensive and slow is because it is mobile.

We are used to bringing our cars to the repair shop when they need service.

With Tesla the repair shop comes to you and that is much more expensive and time consuming to do.

[-] [email protected] 9 points 1 week ago

They also refuse to replace individual battery cells which may need service, and they insist you buy an entirely new battery altogether.

[-] [email protected] 6 points 1 week ago

I feel like I usually hear this in the context of bodywork or collision repair, which is just as likely as any other car to be needed. Like the lead time on replacement body panels is months long because no dealers so sucks if you get in a wreck. That may have changed since however many years ago though.

[-] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago

The battery is typically covered under the warranty or lease agreement, in some manner, so the cost usually isn’t a problem for most people. But, as you said, the parts availability can be a massive issue.

[-] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago

True yeah. Downtime has gotta be especially problematic for fleet usage.

[-] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago

Their mobile service numbers are a tiny fraction of their service appointments. Mobile service isn't why it's slow and expensive, Elon is.

[-] [email protected] 8 points 1 week ago

You don't see reviewers complaining because they have a financial and social interest in keeping the lies going. Tesla service centers are shitty, their management is shitty, and Tesla refuses to fix the problem because it costs money.

[-] [email protected] 4 points 1 week ago

Yes it's a common problem with reviewers that they depend on makers to allow them free and early access to review products, if they lose their privileges they are finished as reviewers.
This is not just for cars, mostly everything in reviews is corrupted by dependencies if not outright bribes.
Funny thing is I once saw a review of a USB microscope, that was very critical to the product. Yet the review caused sales to shoot through the roof, because although the criticism was true, the product was very cheap, and the problems could be worked around. So even bad reviews can be good, if the price is right and the basic functions work.

[-] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago

I only really talk to one person who used to ve a real tesla fanboy. He pre ordered the currently new model and he would always tell me that he can't wait for his new car, and i thought he was just lying, because the car was always just one month away from delivery. When it finally arrived, it had so many problems that he said he wouldn't accept it like it is and the guy was basically: okay, they deliver it to the next on the list and he's on hold again, so he just took it and let it be fixed along the way.
First time he brought it to one of their "garages" he didn't see the car for 3 or so month. They didn't fix any of the cosmetic problems, and most of his problems still persist, but they changed the transmission and acted like they didn't. Then he had a crack in the windshield, which wasn't a tesla problem, but to get a new one they told him it takes like 6 month. He sold the car later for what ge said was a very good price, vut i find that very hard to belive, because the car had many cosmetic issues, and was also very loud, because a lot of things in the cockpit just creeked and rattled.

[-] [email protected] 6 points 1 week ago

they changed the transmission

sounds legit

[-] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

Yeah, Tesla cars and most EVs don't have a traditional transmission.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago

Wow that's an outright horror story!! If this is common I don't see how that won't hurt Tesla sales over time.
Tesla probably still has a decent reputation, because they were by far the best electric cars not too many years ago. But I doubt anyone experiencing anything close to what you describe, would buy a Tesla again. It's pretty often you hear both about the long wait even for simple repairs, but also very expensive repair cost. The creeks and rattles are also often heard complaints, latest with the Cyber Truck, which one reviewer called worse than any truck he had ever tried. Still he gave it a decent review, as being innovative and fun. Which I guess would is fine if you buy it as a toy.

[-] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago

So they're trying to flood the European market with cheap EVs, just like China does? I wonder if the EU will impose some sanctions on them too

this post was submitted on 20 May 2024

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