Last week, Elon Musk tweeted in a series of updates that Tesla would be attempting to service two-thirds of customer requests “same day.”
One of the many benefits of owning an electric vehicle is the lack of service required. According to Autoblog, of the top 5 most common car repairs – oxygen sensor replacement, inspection of loose fuel cap causing engine light, catalytic converter replacement, mass airflow sensor replacement, and spark plug replacement – none of them are even possible on an electric vehicle. Nonetheless, due to a range of issues, Tesla has had a consistent problem with servicing its ever-growing group of customers’ needs. Musk is set out to change this, and owners should have many reasons to be optimistic!
Working on Tesla North American service.
Goal is 2/3 of cars receive same-day service, no wait.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 4, 2022
Looking at Tesla’s service problem, it is multifaceted and often self-feeding in nature. To start off, quality control at Tesla has been a known problem, with customers experiencing everything from missing badges to paint issues to panel gaps. All of these issues must be serviced, and much of this service will be done at one of the company’s service centers.
Quality control (QC) service requests, when combined with normal service load, mean that Tesla service centers’ availability is often impaired. Tesla Motors Club forum even has a thread dedicated for service center wait times. This means that customers may be forced to wait longer periods before service, and if the service is not done 100% correctly the first time, the service center doesn’t have the capacity to bring them back immediately.
This lack of availability is compounded by Tesla’s lack of service centers as a whole, some states having only single-digit numbers of service centers available. This means that the service centers that do exist are responsible for a larger number of vehicles. And while independent service centers exist commonly throughout the US, many refuse to work on Tesla products or any electric vehicles for that matter, even when they have the capability to do the work. Once again, this forces more service requests to Tesla service centers.
Credit: Tesla
Finally, because new car QC requests are often covered by Tesla at no cost, this incentivizes customers to go to service centers for free work instead of going to independent shops that may be able to help them.
These problems have not been ignored by Elon Musk, and since 2018, Tesla has addressed many of these concerns. Most predominantly, since 2018, the number of service centers and the area that they cover has increased drastically. Looking at a map of 2018 and comparing it to now, areas such as New England, the Pacific Northwest, and the South have all seen massive increases in capacity. Tesla aimed to open one new Service Center per week in 2021, and, in general, the automaker has experimented with many different specialized service programs.
- Map of Tesla service centers in the US as of 2018.
- Map of Tesla service centers in the US in 2022
This is combined with an increase in capacity in Tesla’s mobile repair teams, who can often address service requests before the customer has to come to a service center. And in more recent news, Tesla has even made their repair manual free for customers to access, allowing more repairs to be done outside of service centers.
Another obvious change consumers have seen is an improvement in QC. Even according to JD Power’s rankings of brands by initial quality, from 2020 to 2021, Tesla has reduced the number of “problems per 100 vehicles” from 250 in 2020 to 231 in 2021, a number that is competitive with brands like Audi (240) and VW (213).
Service centers themselves have also been changed over the past 4 years with the inclusion of F1 style pit lanes that allow customers to be more quickly addressed and hence allow the service team to address more requests in a day.
Nonetheless, many have been concerned that these changes have not been enough to fix the Tesla service issue. Leading many to think about what could be done to improve the situation. A couple of options have been put forward by industry professionals and Twitter users alike. One such suggestion has been the expansion of the Tesla START program, a program that teaches individuals how to work on Teslas and then places them with a full-time job at a Service Center location across the country. Currently, the program is offered at eight colleges across the country: Rio Honda Community College in Los Angeles, Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, North Carolina, Shoreline Community College in Seattle, Evergreen Valley College in San Jose, California, Suffolk Community College in Selden, New York, Miami Dade College in Florida, Texas State Technical College in Waco, Texas, and Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio.
Overall, the changes made in the past 4 years should give Tesla’s current and future customers much to be optimistic about. QC has improved, the speed of service operation has increased, service manuals are free and open to anyone, and the number of service centers has increased. The only question is, what is Elon Musk planning on implementing next to improve Tesla’s Service department?
What do you think of the article? Do you have any comments, questions, or concerns? Shoot me an email at william@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @WilliamWritin. If you have news tips, email us at tips@teslarati.com
News
Tesla Sentry Mode helps lock up drive-by shooting suspect in Seattle
“A nearby Tesla actually captured the video that showed a man crouched behind a vehicle firing gunshots. A lot of vehicles record, and officers know that Teslas, especially, record, so we use that video all the time in these instances.”
Police in Seattle, Washington, are crediting Tesla’s well-known Sentry Mode for helping find a suspect in a drive-by shooting case.
A 21-year-old was arrested for an alleged drive-by shooting in the Pioneer Square neighborhood of Seattle this past Sunday, and the leads on the case seemed to be slim.
However, a Tesla parked nearby was able to record the shooting, as well as the car that the suspect hopped in after the crime occurred. It helped police identify the person they were looking for.
Seattle Police Department Detective Brian Pritchard said to MyNorthwest that the Tesla was a critical part of finding the suspect and placing him under arrest:
“A nearby Tesla actually captured the video that showed a man crouched behind a vehicle firing gunshots. A lot of vehicles record, and officers know that Teslas, especially, record, so we use that video all the time in these instances.”
The Tesla footage helped the Police put the suspect into handcuffs about an hour after the crime was committed. They are currently charged with drive-by shooting and unlawful possession of a firearm.
Tesla Sentry Mode is a security feature the vehicle utilizes to help solve crimes like vandalism, but it is also a cool feature that has caught things like accidents and other incidents on camera.
Many people still do not know about it, including the many vandals who keyed or broke the windows of Teslas earlier this year, as people damaged others’ cars in an act of retaliation against CEO Elon Musk when he became involved in politics.
This is far from the first time Sentry Mode has helped Police Departments solve crimes. Last September, we reported on Oakland’s Police Department in California using Teslas near crime scenes to help solve cases.
Tesla Sentry Mode is Oakland PD’s secret weapon against rising crime
Sergeant Ben Therriault, president of the Richmond Police Officers Association, said, “We have all these mobile video devices floating around,” in reference to the Teslas that sit and capture nearly everything that surrounds them.
Sentry Mode has helped officers arrest a variety of suspects, including several people who were allegedly involved in the murder of a 27-year-old woman in Northern California.
Elon Musk
UPDATE: Tesla investors push Charles Schwab for Musk comp plan clarification
Update: 4:00 p.m. EDT – Charles Schwab has reached out to TESLARATI with the following statement, clarifying that it plans to vote FOR Musk’s compensation package:
“Schwab Asset Management’s approach to voting on proxy matters is thorough and deliberate. We utilize a structured process that focuses on protecting and promoting shareholder value. We apply our own internal guidelines and do not rely on recommendations from Glass Lewis or ISS. In accordance with this process, Schwab Asset Management intends to vote in favor of the 2025 CEO performance award proposal. We firmly believe that supporting this proposal aligns both management and shareholder interests, ensuring the best outcome for all parties involved.”
There have also been updates to the headline and various paragraphs to reflect this as well as accuracy.
Tesla investors are pushing Charles Schwab for clarification after it was expected to vote against CEO Elon Musk’s pay package.
Several high-profile Tesla influencers are speaking out against Charles Schwab, saying its decision to vote against the plan that would retain Musk as CEO and give him potentially more voting power if he can achieve the tranches set by the company’s Board of Directors.
The Tesla community appeared to see that Schwab is one firm that tends to vote against Musk’s compensation plans, as they also voted against the CEO’s 2018 pay package, which was passed by shareholders but then denied by a Delaware Chancery Court.
Schwab’s move was recognized by investors within the Tesla community and now they are speaking out about it:
Hey @CharlesSchwab – I need to speak with someone from Schwab Private Wealth Services this week. Please reach out via email, the mobile app message center, phone, or X DM.
Here’s why this is urgent: At least 6 of your ETF funds (around 7 million $TSLA shares) voted against… https://t.co/uSgPWnfTFc
— Jason DeBolt ⚡️ (@jasondebolt) November 3, 2025
If @CharlesSchwab doesn’t vote for Elon Musk’s 2025 CEO Performance Award plan, I’ll move all my assets to another brokerage. My followers, many of whom also hold assets with Schwab and collectively own at least hundreds of millions in $TSLA, may do the same.
I can’t in good… https://t.co/6iUU6PdzYx
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) November 3, 2025
ready to help with the @CharlesSchwab exodus
— Gali (@Gfilche) November 3, 2025
At least six of Charles Schwab’s ETFs were expected to vote against Tesla’s Board recommendation to support the compensation plan for Musk. The six ETFs represent around 7 million Tesla $TSLA shares.
Jason DeBolt, an all-in Tesla shareholder, summarized the firm’s decision really well:
“As a custodian of ETF shares, your fiduciary duty is to vote in shareholders’ best interests. For a board that has delivered extraordinary returns, voting against their recommendations doesn’t align with retail investors, Tesla employees, or the leadership we invested to support. If Schwab’s proxy voting policies don’t reflect shareholder interests, my followers and I will move our collective tens of millions in $TSLA shares (or possibly hundreds of millions) to a broker that does, via account transfer as soon as this week.”
Tesla shareholders will vote on Musk’s pay package on Thursday at the Annual Shareholders Meeting in Austin, Texas.
It seems more likely than not that it will pass, but investors have made it clear they want a decisive victory, as it could clear the path for any issues with shareholder lawsuits in the future, as it did with Musk’s past pay package.
News
Tesla Cybertruck explosion probe ends with federal involvement and new questions
The 78-page document detailed a planned attack by former Green Beret Matthew Livelsberger, who died by suicide before the blast that injured six people.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) has released its final investigative report into the New Year’s Day Cybertruck explosion outside the Trump International Hotel. But instead of bringing clarity, the findings have only raised more questions.
The 78-page document detailed a planned attack by former Green Beret Matthew Livelsberger, who died by suicide before the blast that injured six people.
The perpetrator’s manifesto
According to a Fox News report, Livelsberger rented the all-electric pickup through Turo while on leave from his Special Forces unit. He filled the rented Cybertruck with fireworks, gas cans, and camping fuel before driving it to the hotel shortly after 8:40 a.m. on January 1. Surveillance footage showed him pouring accelerant into the truck bed moments before detonation, confirming premeditation.
Livelsberger left a manifesto on his phone, which was later deemed classified by the Department of War. This case was then handed over to federal authorities. Still, the LVMPD and federal investigators noted in their report that the incident was a “vehicle-borne improvised explosive device” (VBIED) attack “with the potential to cause mass casualties and extensive structural damage.” Officials, however, stopped short of labeling it terrorism.
In digital notes, Livelsberger wrote that his act was not terror-related but intended as “a wake-up call,” criticizing what he called America’s “feckless leadership.” He wrote, “Americans only pay attention to spectacles and violence. What better way to get my point across than a stunt with fireworks and explosives.”
The incident ironically showcased the Cybertruck’s durability
Tesla CEO Elon Musk was among the first to respond publicly after the blast, confirming through X that the company’s senior team was investigating the incident. He later stated that vehicle telemetry showed no malfunction and that the explosion was caused by “very large fireworks and/or a bomb” placed in the Cybertruck’s bed.
Ironically, footage of the incident in the Cybertruck’s bed showed that the vehicle’s durable construction actually helped contain the explosion by directing the blast upwards. The bed remained largely intact after the explosion as well. Even more surprisingly, the Cybertruck’s battery did not catch fire despite the blast.
Months later, the same Cybertruck appeared on the online auction platform IAA, marked as “not ready for sale.” The listing has stirred debate among Tesla fans about why the historic vehicle wasn’t reclaimed by the company. The vehicle, after all, could serve as a symbol of the Cybertruck’s resilience, even in extreme circumstances.
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