The vice president of the US electric car manufacturer, Jerome Guillen, poses at the Paris Motor Show on the last press day of October 3, 2014. The Paris Motor Show opens to the public on Saturday.
Eric Piermont | AFP | Getty Images
Elon Musk’s electric car company announced to customers on Friday that Tesla Service Centers are now offering collision repairs, which the company has been talking about since 2018.
In a message to customers entitled “Collision repair is here”, the company claimed its ability to repair everything from bumps and scratches to “suspension and damage to the axles” in its service centers as an alternative to a body shop ”.
Services, including collision repairs, should be a larger revenue segment for Tesla over time, as its cars are no longer guaranteed and the company delivers more worldwide. While Tesla reported $ 678 million in a combined segment of services and other services during the fourth quarter of 2020, the company does not share revenue from services separately. Overall, that segment grew 17% from $ 580 million in the last quarter.
Tesla operates 140 service centers in North America. The company aims to open more, including 46 in the first half of 2021, Tesla automotive president Jerome Guillen revealed on Wednesday.
The service has been a painful point for many Tesla customers in recent months, to the point where investors have asked executives at the earnings call in the fourth quarter of 2020: “What is Tesla doing to improve the service experience? Tesla had a reputation for outstanding customer service. It is now impossible to even call a service center and appointments are scheduled weeks out. ”
Guillen replied: “For us, the best service is not a service. So we put a lot of effort into trying to improve the quality and reliability of our cars. In the last two years, the frequency of service visits is reduced by a third, so customers have to enter the service less often, which is really the purpose, no service. “
He pointed out that Tesla also offers “mobile service”, during which a Tesla service vehicle and a car mechanic go to a customer’s car to repair it. Mobile visits now account for 40 percent of all service visits in North America, and Tesla wants that number to increase to 50 percent 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 must be done in a store.
Guillen also said that Tesla pushes all customer communications about services through the Tesla application – which means that now Tesla service centers prefer not to accept or simply not to accept phone calls.
“The application is much better than the phone,” Guillen explained. “It can identify alerts directly from the car and can schedule a service meeting. There is a written record of all communications between the customer and the service team. You can have pictures there. You can pay without entering your credit card. and do all these things. You will receive updates about the service. “
Guillen predicted that most other car companies would follow suit.
Here is the complete communication to customers:
Collision repair is here
January 28, 2021
Repair minor bumps, scratches, scratches and more now at your local Tesla service center as an alternative to a body shop. Our optimized repair flow allows for a quick and hassle-free experience when you need it most.
Collision repair services may include: suspension and axle damage, front and rear bumpers, bonnets, lifting gates and side mirror covers, along with doors, wheels and all glass repairs.
To schedule an appointment, select “Collision and glass repair” from the Service menu in the Tesla application and track your work experience with step-by-step notifications.