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Tesla China increases customer service in the face of Coronavirus epidemic

Tesla's Made-in-China Model 3. (Credit: JayInShanghai/Twitter)

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5 years ago

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Tesla is ramping its customer service in China efforts amidst the Coronavirus epidemic that has claimed the lives of thousands worldwide. Customers in China who ordered a Model 3 will be able to take delivery of their new cars from the comfort of their own homes in what appears to be an initiative to help keep customers safe by minimizing human interaction.

A tweet posted by Tesla owner and electric car enthusiast @Ray4Tesla shows several China-made Tesla Model 3s being loaded individually onto haulers. This would indicate single vehicles are being delivered to specific addresses and not being dropped off in batches at local Tesla stores. The more “normal” delivery process requires owners to drive to their local Tesla showroom and accept delivery with the assistance of an advisor.

Tesla China is concerned about its customers and their health. This is evident in the most recent move of initiating home deliveries of the company’s all-electric vehicles. However, Tesla’s efforts to protect its Chinese customers from the spreading pandemic has not halted the company’s ability to give them a pleasant car buying experience.

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In late January 2020, Tesla unlocked free Supercharging for customers within the Chinese market. This was an attempt to help owners travel amidst the rapid spread of the virus. “To make it easier for you to travel during the coronavirus outbreak, effective today we will temporarily open all Tesla vehicles to be free to charge at the Supercharging station until the epidemic is resolved,” a message to owners said. Tesla China has also taken proactive steps to prevent the further spread of the virus, such as disinfecting Supercharger stalls close to Giga Shanghai.

Even still, Tesla was not finished yet. Tesla managed to open accounts for each Chinese store in local social media platform Douyin, China’s version of TikTok. This was utilized to push knowledge-based content to prospective buyers. Douyin allowed customers to speak to Tesla sales representatives in their local store without leaving their house, giving them free rein to have their buying experience be as close to the real thing as possible.

Despite the dangers of the Coronavirus, Tesla has taken steps to make their customers’ car buying experience a memorable one. Through proactive measures and little creativity, Tesla China is still able to cater to its customer base in a personalized manner.

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Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Tesla Robotaxi has already surpassed Waymo in this key metric

Tesla Robotaxi has already overtaken Waymo in Austin in one key metric, but there’s still more work to do.

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1 hour ago

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July 14, 2025

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Credit: @HanChulYong/X

Tesla Robotaxi has already surpassed Waymo in one extremely important key metric: size of service area.

Tesla just expanded its service area in Austin on Monday morning, pushing the boundaries of its Robotaxi fleet in an interesting fashion with new capabilities to the north. Yes, we know what it looks like:

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The expansion doubled Tesla Robotaxi’s potential travel locations, which now include the University of Texas at Austin, a school with over 53,000 students.

The doubling of the service area by Tesla has already made its travel area larger than Waymo’s, which launched driverless rides in October 2024. It became available to the public in March 2025.

According to Grok, the AI agent on X, Tesla Robotaxi’s current service area spans 42 square miles, which is five square miles larger than Waymo’s service area of 37 square miles.

The service area is one of the most important metrics in determining how much progress a self-driving ride-hailing service is making. Safety is the priority of any company operating a ride-hailing network, especially ones that are making it a point to use autonomy to deploy it.

However, these companies are essentially racing for a larger piece of the city or cities they are in. Waymo has expanded to several different regions around the United States, including Arizona and Los Angeles.

Tesla is attempting to do the same in the coming months as it has already filed paperwork in both California and Arizona to deploy its Robotaxi fleet in states across the U.S.

As the platform continues to show more prowess and accuracy in its operation, Tesla will begin to expand to new areas, eventually aiming for a global rollout of its self-driving service.

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Tesla Megapacks arrive for massive battery replacing coal plant

Tesla Megapacks have started arriving on-site to the Stanwell Battery Project, just as Queensland prepares to wind down the Stanwell coal plant.

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2 hours ago

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July 14, 2025

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Tesla-megapack-pilot-project-willowbrook-mall
Credit: Tesla

The first of over 300 Tesla Megapacks have arrived to the site of a massive battery energy storage system (BESS) being built in Australia, dubbed the Stanwell Battery Project after a coal plant it’s set to replace.

In a press release last week, the Stanwell Battery Project announced that the first Tesla Megapack 2XL units had arrived to the site, which is located outside of Rockhampton in Queensland, Australia. The project will eventually feature 324 Megapack units, set to arrive in the coming months, in order to support the 300MW/1,200MWh battery project.

“The Stanwell Battery is part of the diversification of our portfolio, to include cleaner and more flexible energy solutions,” said Angie Zahra, Stanwell Central Generation General Manager. “It is just one part of the 800 MW of battery energy storage capacity we have in our pipeline.

“Capable of discharging 300 MW of energy for up to four hours (1,200 MWh), our mega battery will be one of the largest in Queensland.”

Credit: Stanwell

READ MORE ON TESLA MEGAPACKS: Tesla Lathrop Megafactory celebrates massive Megapack battery milestone

The state is working with government-owned company Yurika to facilitate construction, and the process is expected to create roughly 80 jobs. The project is expected to come fully online in May 2027, with initial commissioning of the Megapacks aiming for November 2025.

The Stanwell Battery is set to replace the nearby Stanwell coal generation plant, which the government is planning to wind down starting in 2026 as part of efforts to reach an 80 percent renewable energy generation ratio by 2035. Meanwhile, the government is also set to begin winding down the Tarong and Callide coal plants, while several other Megapack projects are being built or coming online. o ya

Tesla currently has two Megapack production facilities, located in Lathrop, California, in the U.S. and another that came online earlier this year in Shanghai, China. The Shanghai Megafactory shipped its first units to Australia in March, while both factories are expected to be capable of producing 10,000 Megapack units per year upon reaching volume production.

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xAI receives more Tesla Megapacks for Colossus 2

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The Tesla Diner is basically finished—here’s what it looks like

The company first broke ground on the Diner, Drive-in, and Supercharger location in September 2023. Now, it has served one of its first internal customers.

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3 hours ago

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July 14, 2025

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Tesla has finally completed the construction of its highly anticipated Diner, Drive-in, and Supercharger in Los Angeles, and recent photos of the interior’s “retro-futuristic” style are making their way around the internet.

X user Brad Goldberg shared photos from the Tesla Diner site last Tuesday, depicting some of the Supercharger stalls, indoor and outdoor seating areas, multiple neon lights, and even an Optimus robot. Goldberg also noted that there had been a “flurry of activity on site” while he was snapping the photos last week, suggesting that the restaurant location could be getting close to opening.

The Tesla Diner also served one of its first internal customers in the past few days, as Elon Musk posted on X on early Monday morning that he had just finished up eating a meal at the site:

I just had dinner at the retro-futuristic Tesla diner and Supercharger.

Team did great work making it one of the coolest spots in LA!

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The photos also show that the site is pretty much done, with some of them even showing vehicles charging at the charging stalls.

You can see some of the latest photos of the Tesla Diner below.

Credit: BradGoldbergMD | X

Credit: BradGoldbergMD | X

Credit: BradGoldbergMD | X

Credit: BradGoldbergMD | X

Credit: TeslaKing420 | X

Credit: TeslaKing420 | X

Credit: Brad Goldberg (via Sawyer Merritt on X)

Credit: Brad Goldberg (via Sawyer Merritt on X)

Credit: Brad Goldberg (via Sawyer Merritt on X)

Credit: Brad Goldberg (via Sawyer Merritt on X)

Credit: Brad Goldberg (via Sawyer Merritt on X)

READ MORE ON TESLA’S LA DINER: Tesla readies Drive-In Diner Supercharger for launch with app inclusion

When will the Tesla Diner open to external customers?

While it’s still not open to external customers yet, the news again suggests that the company could be close to an official opening date. Tesla first broke ground on the Diner in September 2023, after receiving a wave of building permit approvals throughout that year. Teslarati also covered much of the construction progress throughout last year, including when crews installed the first and second drive-in screens.

Located at 7001 West Santa Monica Boulevard, the idea was first discussed in 2018 by Musk and a few others on Twitter, featuring 1950s rock and roll, waiters on roller skates, and drive-in movie theater screens playing clips from some of history’s best movies. Notably, the photos of the front doors also show that the site will be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, whenever it does end up opening.

Tesla’s progress on Supercharger with diner, drive-in seen in aerial footage

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