Tesla to shift priority to ‘service and parts’ after deliveries, says Elon Musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently said that the automaker’s customer service response time and delivery logistics are their new top priorities with the increased delivery volume.

Now Musk says that once they figure that out, Tesla will shift priority to ‘service and parts’ as the automaker starts rolling out its own in-house body shops.

As we reported last week, Tesla launched its own in-house ‘Body Repair Centers’ to reduce repair time.

It was in response to Tesla owners complaining about ridiculously long repair time after accidents.

Tesla placed the fault on its third-party body shops and the body shops are saying that it’s Tesla’s fault because of delays of parts.

In a series of tweets today, Musk again blamed the third-party body shops that Tesla approved for repairs on its vehicles.

The CEO said that Tesla is bringing “most collision repairs in-house” because “outside firms” (Tesla’s approved body shops) are driving people “crazy”:

Tesla is bringing most collision repairs in-house, as outside firms take weeks to months for repairs, driving Tesla owners (and us) crazy

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 16, 2018

Tesla already announced its intentions to have its own shops, but it was never clear what percentage of repairs it would support.

Musk said that Tesla’s own body shops are going to carry “all parts in stocks, implying that it was indeed an issue with third-party shops getting parts, and it won’t wait for insurance approval to start repairs:

Outside repair shops are jack of all trades, which means supporting 1000’s of makes & models. Tesla collision repair specializes in three. Having all parts in stock & not waiting for insurance approval also make a world of difference.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 16, 2018

As we reported last week, Tesla opened the first 9 of those locations in the US and they want to accelerate the deployment after they figure out delivery logistics.

Musk said that it will be done in “the next few weeks”:

Yeah, that’s our problem. Service & parts supply in general will be the top Tesla priority after we get through the insane car delivery logistics of the next few weeks.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 16, 2018

He has some very ambitious goals for those in-house body shops, including repairs in “under an hour” and returning vehicles better than they were before the accident:

Goal is for repaired car to be better than before accident. Should always be true if damaged/used parts are correctly replaced with newer parts.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 16, 2018

Earlier this year, Tesla said that it wants those body shops in all of major North America by the end of the year.

Electrek’s Take

This plays into what I’ve been saying for months: Tesla needs a new parts distribution system.

With those body shops carrying large amounts of parts, it should certainly help.

Now it is an ambitious new project for Tesla since body repair is really a different business for the company.

So far, we are hearing good things about the first few shops that have started operations in the US, but it is worth keeping a close eye on the program in the coming months.

Please reach out to us if you have interesting (good or bad) experiences with Tesla’s new body shops or share in comments.