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Scaling Tesla Service Centers with Production
In a high tech startup, small or large, the effectiveness in which the business can scale is crucial to its success. Tesla has been known for its world class customer service, which it undoubtedly has, but recent experiences with replacing a Tesla 12V battery here in New England has me asking the question, can Tesla service scale at a rate to match its production?
The Early Days
Tesla service centers are going above and beyond when it comes to customer service. Some of this is to account for early design and quality challenges with the Model S, but also to make up for the limited number of service centers that are available. Either way, Tesla has done a stellar job with customer satisfaction up until this point. For the second year in a row Tesla has topped Consumer Reports satisfaction index.
But as new Model S owners continue to hear about Tesla’s world-class customer service by word of mouth and through mass media, the expectations are set to an extremely high level that service centers will need to deliver against. As Tesla Motors continues to focus its efforts on production and scaling the Supercharger network, they’ll need to ensure that Service Centers scale at a rate to match the growing customer base.
My Tesla Service Center Experiences
There hasn’t been much to service on my Model S other than a tire rotation thanks to the marvels of its simple design. However, my experiences in dealing with a busy Tesla Service Center led me to believe that they’d rather I have went somewhere else for the tire rotation than to have it performed at their facility.
Generally when I need to take my ICE cars in for service the most I have to wait is 1-2 days. My most recent experience with fixing 12V battery issue through the Tesla Service Center here in New England took nearly 2 weeks. Admittedly, some of that was due to poor weather and a holiday in between but there were still seven business days where the service center was too overloaded to get me in within the usual 1-2 days.
From talking to other Tesla owners it sounds like service experiences can be a mixed bag of results depending on where you live. One Model S owner based out of California, reported a similar issue with the 12V battery but managed to receive a call back within 15 minutes and later booked for service the following day. As for me? It took several phone calls, two emails and almost an entire business day gone before I was able to get schedule an appointment. The actual service that the Tesla technicians performed was excellent, but the scheduling process was abysmal.
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When the day of service finally arrived, I told the Tesla technician that it was fine to pick up the Model S from my work place and bring it back that same day since they didn’t have a loaner available. The technician arrived by Uber promptly at 10:30am, jotted down some notes and then drove away in my car. The service department had promised to have it back by 3:30pm but in reality I got the vehicle back at 7pm. Fortunately I had no other plans that evening.
Scaling Tesla Service Centers
There was one Tesla Service Center serving all points north of Connecticut on the East Coast at the time when I purchase my Model S. The local Tesla Store had mentioned that they sold nine hundred Model S’ in this area alone and this was over a half a year ago. Today there is still only a single service center supporting the entire area but with many more Teslas on the road.
A second Tesla Service Center is planned for Dedham, MA but is not online yet. What I find interesting is the fact that both service centers are geographically close to one another which doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense to me.
This is a lot of area to cover for a single or even two service centers. Given the distances involved in covering such a large area, the technicians are running all over New England to pick up or service cars which just doesn’t scale well.
Summary
I believe that Tesla has fallen behind in scaling its service centers supporting the Model S roll out, at least when it comes to the New England area and likely overseas. It’ll be crucial for Tesla to start keeping a closer eye on service center response times and volume of service, if not already.
In addition to monitoring real-time growth of the Supercharging network Tesla owners should also be watching the rate in which Tesla Service Centers are being deployed.
News
Tesla (TSLA) receives “Buy” rating and $551 PT from Canaccord Genuity
He also maintained a “Buy” rating for TSLA stock over the company’s improving long-term outlook, which is driven by autonomy and robotics.
Canaccord Genuity analyst George Gianarikas raised his Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) price target from $482 to $551. He also maintained a “Buy” rating for TSLA stock over the company’s improving long-term outlook, which is driven by autonomy and robotics.
The analyst’s updated note
Gianarikas lowered his 4Q25 delivery estimates but pointed to several positive factors in the Tesla story. He noted that EV adoption in emerging markets is gaining pace, and progress in FSD and the Robotaxi rollout in 2026 represent major upside drivers. Further progress in the Optimus program next year could also add more momentum for the electric vehicle maker.
“Overall, yes, 4Q25 delivery expectations are being revised lower. However, the reset in the US EV market is laying the groundwork for a more durable and attractive long-term demand environment.
“At the same time, EV penetration in emerging markets is accelerating, reinforcing Tesla’s potential multi‑year growth runway beyond the US. Global progress in FSD and the anticipated rollout of a larger robotaxi fleet in 2026 are increasingly important components of the Tesla equity story and could provide sentiment tailwinds,” the analyst wrote.
Tesla’s busy 2026
The upcoming year would be a busy one for Tesla, considering the company’s plans and targets. The autonomous two-seat Cybercab has been confirmed to start production sometime in Q2 2026, as per Elon Musk during the 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting.
Apart from this, Tesla is also expected to unveil the next-generation Roadster on April 1, 2026. Tesla is also expected to start high-volume production of the Tesla Semi in Nevada next year.
Apart from vehicle launches, Tesla has expressed its intentions to significantly ramp the rollout of FSD to several regions worldwide, such as Europe. Plans are also underway to launch more Robotaxi networks in several more key areas across the United States.
News
Waymo sues Santa Monica over order to halt overnight charging sessions
In its complaint, Waymo argued that its self-driving cars’ operations do not constitute a public nuisance, and compliance with the city’s order would cause the company irreparable harm.
Waymo has filed a lawsuit against the City of Santa Monica in Los Angeles County Superior Court, seeking to block an order that requires the company to cease overnight charging at two facilities.
In its complaint, Waymo argued that its self-driving cars’ operations do not constitute a public nuisance, and compliance with the city’s order would cause the company irreparable harm.
Nuisance claims
As noted in a report from the Los Angeles Times, Waymo’s two charging sites at Euclid Street and Broadway have operated for about a year, supporting the company’s growing fleet with round-the-clock activity. Unfortunately, this has also resulted in residents in the area reportedly being unable to sleep due to incessant beeping from self-driving taxis that are moving in and out of the charging stations around the clock.
Frustrated residents have protested against the Waymos by blocking the vehicles’ paths, placing cones, and “stacking” cars to create backups. This has also resulted in multiple calls to the police.
Last month, the city issued an order to Waymo and its charging partner, Voltera, to cease overnight operations at the charging locations, stating that the self-driving vehicles’ activities at night were a public nuisance. A December 15 meeting yielded no agreement on mitigations like software rerouting. Waymo proposed changes, but the city reportedly insisted that nothing would satisfy the irate residents.
“We are disappointed that the City has chosen an adversarial path over a collaborative one. The City’s position has been to insist that no actions taken or proposed by Waymo would satisfy the complaining neighbors and therefore must be deemed insufficient,” a Waymo spokesperson stated.
Waymo pushes back
In its legal complaint, Waymo stated that its “activities at the Broadway Facilities do not constitute a public nuisance.” The company also noted that it “faces imminent and irreparable harm to its operations, employees, and customers” from the city’s order. The suit also stated that the city was fully aware that the Voltera charging sites would be operating around the clock to support Waymo’s self-driving taxis.
The company highlighted over one million trips in Santa Monica since launch, with more than 50,000 rides starting or ending there in November alone. Waymo also criticized the city for adopting a contentious strategy against businesses.
“The City of Santa Monica’s recent actions are inconsistent with its stated goal of attracting investment. At a time when the City faces a serious fiscal crisis, officials are choosing to obstruct properly permitted investment rather than fostering a ‘ready for business’ environment,” Waymo stated.
News
Tesla FSD v14.2.2 is getting rave reviews from drivers
So far, early testers have reported buttery-smooth drives with confident performance, even at night or on twisty roads.
Tesla Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14.2.2 is receiving positive reviews from owners, with several drivers praising the build’s lack of hesitation during lane changes and its smoother decision-making, among others.
The update, which started rolling out on Monday, also adds features like dynamic arrival pin adjustment. So far, early testers have reported buttery-smooth drives with confident performance, even at night or on twisty roads.
Owners highlight major improvements
Longtime Tesla owner and FSD user @BLKMDL3 shared a detailed 10-hour impression of FSD v14.2.2, noting that the system exhibited “zero lane change hesitation” and “extremely refined” lane choices. He praised Mad Max mode’s performance, stellar parking in locations including ticket dispensers, and impressive canyon runs even in dark conditions.
Fellow FSD user Dan Burkland reported an hour of FSD v14.2.2’s nighttime driving with “zero hesitations” and “buttery smooth” confidence reminiscent of Robotaxi rides in areas such as Austin, Texas. Veteran FSD user Whole Mars Catalog also demonstrated voice navigation via Grok, while Tesla owner Devin Olsen completed a nearly two-hour drive with FSD v14.2.2 in heavy traffic and rain with strong performance.
Closer to unsupervised
FSD has been receiving rave reviews, even from Tesla’s competitors. Xpeng CEO He Xiaopeng, for one, offered fresh praise for FSD v14.2 after visiting Silicon Valley. Following extended test drives of Tesla vehicles running the latest FSD software, He stated that the system has made major strides, reinforcing his view that Tesla’s approach to autonomy is indeed the proper path towards autonomy.
According to He, Tesla’s FSD has evolved from a smooth Level 2 advanced driver assistance system into what he described as a “near-Level 4” experience in terms of capabilities. While acknowledging that areas of improvement are still present, the Xpeng CEO stated that FSD’s current iteration significantly surpasses last year’s capabilities. He also reiterated his belief that Tesla’s strategy of using the same autonomous software and hardware architecture across private vehicles and robotaxis is the right long-term approach, as it would allow users to bypass intermediate autonomy stages and move closer to Level 4 functionality.
Tesla (TSLA) receives “Buy” rating and $551 PT from Canaccord Genuity
Waymo sues Santa Monica over order to halt overnight charging sessions
