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Tesla’s in-house body repair shop restores damaged Model 3 in 25 hours
Back in Tesla’s 2018 Annual Shareholder Meeting, Elon Musk stated that the company is opening in-house body shops to reduce the time it takes for owners to get their cars repaired. The first nine of these in-house body shops were announced in Tesla’s official website earlier this month, and so far, reports of the service they provide have been very positive.
Just last week, u/ekobres, a Model 3 owner and member of the r/TeslaMotors subreddit, shared his experience with Tesla’s in-house repair shop in Marietta, Georgia, which reportedly fixed a panel alignment issue in one day. According to the Model 3 owner, Tesla picked up the car, loaned him a vehicle, and delivered it back fully fixed and cleaned within nine hours. While this turnaround time was impressive, the work done in u/ekobres’ Model 3 was rather minor. Thus, it remained to be seen how fast Tesla’s in-house repair shops could fix a vehicle with more significant damages.
One such vehicle was sent to the same in-house body repair shop in Marietta, GA recently. The Model 3 was owned by the hosts of YouTube’s Like Tesla channel, who noted that their vehicle was damaged after a car backed into it. The electric car was still drivable after the accident, but a portion of its front bumper was hanging out, and its left headlight was cracked from the impact. Kim, the YouTube channel’s host, even aired her concern as to when they would get their Model 3 back, considering Tesla’s notorious wait times even for otherwise simple repairs.
Fortunately for the Model 3 owners, they were in the vicinity of Tesla’s in-house body shop in Marietta. Within an hour of the accident, the shop had been contacted, and necessary information such as the claim number and the electric car’s VIN were taken. The shop also started coordinating with the responsible party’s insurance provider. The next day, Tesla Service came by, dropped off a Model X loaner, and took the damaged Model 3 to be repaired.
Forty-five minutes after that, Tesla notified the Model 3 owners that their car had arrived at the shop, and around four hours later, images of the vehicle being worked on were sent over. Not long after, the in-house body shop sent another message informing the Model 3 owners that their car had been fully repaired, complete with a new bumper, front fender, headlight, and wheel. It was just 25 hours after the accident.
The rapid turnaround time of the Model 3’s repair stands as yet another example of Tesla’s continued attempts at improving its service to its growing customer base. This was highlighted in one of Elon Musk’s tweets last month, when he noted that Tesla is aiming to improve its in-house repair shops to such a level that same-day repairs become possible.
Tesla body shops are ramping up fast. Aiming to go from 30+ days using external body repair shops to same day body repair with prestocked parts at Tesla service centers.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 31, 2018
If these recent accounts are any indication, it appears that Tesla’s ramp of its in-house repair shops is moving alongside the company’s ramp for Model 3 production. While Tesla’s body shops are only addressing minor repairs for now (major damages are still referred to the company’s network of certified, third-party repair shops), the service they provide undoubtedly improves the ownership experience. Once Tesla’s in-house shops are fully ramped, the company might finally be able to shake off its image of providing great cars that are beautiful and powerful, but are a pain to get repaired.
Watch Like Tesla‘s Model 3 repair experience with an in-house body shop in the video below.
Tesla has officially launched the Model Y L in the United States and Puerto Rico for $61,990. It is the longer-wheelbase version of the Model Y, and has been available in China since last year.
Tesla brings the Model Y L to the U.S. just months after it phased out the only pure SUV in its lineup, the Model X. It is slightly longer than the Model Y configurations that are already available in the U.S., and features a three-row, six-seat setup with Captain’s Chairs being among the many features that make this a truly fantastic offering.
The Model Y L is priced competitively at $61,990, and features 325 miles of range and a 0-60 MPH in just 4.4 seconds.
Tesla also added a handful of new features that are not available in even the Premium Model Y. Here’s a full list of its features:
- Heated/Ventilated Front Seats with Powered Thigh Cushion
- Heated/Ventilated Captain’s Seats in Second Row with Powered Armrests & One-Touch Fold
- Heated Third-Row Seats with Power Recline, One-Touch Fold & Child Seat Anchors
- Improved Airflow, Increased Efficiency, More Range
- 89 cubic feet of trunk space
- Upgraded Acoustic Glass and Suspension to Minimize Road Noise
- Adaptive Damping for a Smooth, Stable Ride
- Staggered Tires for Enhanced Grip
- Larger Tailgate for Better Rear Visibility and Bigger Windows Overall
- 16″ First Row and 8″ Second Row Touchscreens
- 19-Speaker Immersive Tesla Audio
- 50W Wireless Charging Pads with Active Cooling and Charging Ports for All Other Seats
- FSD Supervised and Integrated Grok AI
Tesla is also delivering these first units as a “Launch Series,” which comes with additional features, such as:
- Door Trim Puddle Lights
- Suede Dashboard Wing
- Exterior and Interior Badging
- Floor Mats
- Sill Plates
The launch of the Model Y L in the U.S. marks a huge offering from Tesla to U.S. consumers. People have been calling for Tesla to bring a larger car to the U.S., and it needed it more than ever now that the Model X is gone.
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- Credit: Tesla
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- Credit: Tesla
It is a huge accomplishment for Tesla to get the Model Y L to the U.S., and after reporting strong deliveries today, it will be interesting to see how this car impacts future quarterly delivery reports.
Deliveries for the Model Y L “Launch Series” are slated for September or October of this year.
Tesla just told us twice that the Model Y L is coming to the U.S., and two social media posts definitely just tipped the company’s hand, as if they wanted it to be any other way.
The two social media posts basically confirm that the slightly longer version of the Model Y will be heading to the United States soon, and many have speculated that the company could launch the vehicle as soon as this weekend.
The first post was directly from Tesla, and it showed an incredibly long Dachshund, with words above that said, “Looking forward to the long weekend.”
Looking forward to the long weekend pic.twitter.com/URzH6zOUdn
— Tesla (@Tesla) July 1, 2026
Anyone who knows Tesla knows the company loves to troll its fans and have fun, and this is a perfect example of that. While not a direct acknowledgement, Tesla is very involved on social media, especially CEO Elon Musk’s platform X, and the company is well aware of what is being discussed within the community.
With recent sightings of Model Y L test mules in California, peeks of the vehicle at Giga Texas, and a large call for the car to come to the U.S., Tesla is simply stoking conversation with this.
However, the company also made another move that was recognized on social media. Tesla has a large gallery that includes photos of its products so media and others can use them. This gallery applies to the U.S. market specifically, unless otherwise specified.
Tesla uploaded a Model Y L to the Gallery last night:
This looks like a Model Y L https://t.co/TpnBwrLmH9
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 2, 2026
This seems to be another indication that the Model Y L is coming to the United States.
Musk said last year that the Model Y L could make its way to the United States late this year, but it was not something that was set in stone by Tesla. The company definitely needs to establish something in the SUV market that is larger than the Model Y, and the Model Y L might be the answer.
Even still, there are consumers out there who would love Tesla to develop something even larger, like a competitor to the Tahoe or Expedition. Tesla has not really given much of an indication that it will go in that direction.
Tesla is using the vehicles’ internal microphones to improve build quality, Vice President of Engineering Lars Moravy revealed recently.
It’s no secret that Tesla is always finding ways to make its manufacturing operations more efficient, accurate, and valuable. Constantly trying to make its cars better, the company has never placed any restrictions on what it will do to improve everything from panel gaps to paint.
As Teslas have been driving autonomously on the property of the Gigafactory Texas plant for a while now, Moravy revealed to Herbert Ong in a new interview that cars rolling off production lines now autonomously navigate themselves through a bumps, squeaks, and rattles (BSR) portion of the line. This helps to identify any loose or improperly installed internal parts.
The cabin’s microphones, which are used for a variety of things in ownership, simultaneously monitor any noises inside the vehicle while it rolls through the BSR portion of the production line. Moravy actually revealed that Tesla is trying to build “Full Self-Hearing,” an AI system that will detect minor imperfections so they can be corrected before delivery.
It’s no secret that build quality is something that Tesla struggled with as it scaled to a fully massive production operation that manufactures over 1.6 million vehicles per year. However, in recent years, especially, there have not been as many complaints. Tesla has truly improved upon its build quality and paint quality over the past several years, especially in the U.S.
Tesla’s ‘megacasts’ are key to massive build quality improvements
While those improvements have been evident, there are still some complaints; no automaker is perfect with this. But this step will now ensure that every single car that rolls off the production lines at Gigafactory Texas will be void of any creaks, squeaks, or squeals when it leaves the factory.
This measure is one of the most unique we’ve seen in terms of a strategy to avoid build quality issues, but it is not exclusive to Tesla.
Ford uses acoustic analysis AI to find abnormalities in seat motors, climate control units, and other components. Suppliers and OEMs will also use microphone arrays or particle velocity sensors in end-of-line stations.
The full interview with Lars Moravy is available below:
🚨 If you’re a Tesla investor, this is one interview you don’t want to skip. The full video posted below.
Jeff Lutz @thejefflutz and I sat down with Tesla VP of Engineering Lars Moravy, and it was packed with insights!
A few of the biggest takeaways:
• Cybercab is expected to… pic.twitter.com/fhYSr2dCqP
— Herbert Ong (@herbertong) July 1, 2026
Tesla brings Model Y L ‘Launch Series’ to the U.S. at $61,990
Tesla just told us twice that Model Y L is coming to the U.S.
