News
Tesla Model 3 owner survey reveals improvements in Service and Supercharging
Tesla Model 3 owners are reporting improvements in the company’s ability to offer a higher availability of Superchargers to customers, as well as positive opinions regarding the repair of manufacturing defects in a timely fashion, according to Bloomberg‘s survey of 5,000 owners of the company’s most affordable sedan.
However, repairs for Teslas that have been damaged in accidents are still a point of improvement for Tesla, as the timeliness of repairs after a Model 3 has been involved in an accident is not meeting up with the requirements of customers. Nevertheless, poll results suggest that Tesla continues to make improvements to its network of service centers by listening to customer feedback.
Tesla’s Supercharger network continues to grow, the company has added nearly 500 new stations globally, comprised of over 5,000 Superchargers since April 2018. CEO Elon Musk stated in November 2018 he planned to expand the Supercharger network by offering 23,000 available charging stops available to Tesla owners by the end of 2019.
The company is trending short of this number and will likely not reach it by the end of the year, but Musk has still managed to grow the network by more than 36% in the last 18 months, making the ownership experience much more convenient. Model 3 owners scored Supercharger availability as a 4.27 out of a possible 5, in Bloomberg‘s poll. In the last week, Tesla has either opened, started construction, or obtained permits for 24 new Supercharger stations across the world, according to supercharge.info.
Bloomberg‘s newly released info comes on the heels of part one of the survey, where Tesla owners reported positive trends in repairing manufacturing issues such as panel gaps and “soft paint”. Tesla has made improving these issues one of the main focuses by eliminating mistakes within the manufacturing process, as Musk stated “since we began shipping Model 3 last year, we have been very focused on refining and tuning both part and body manufacturing processes.
The result being that the standard deviation of all gaps and offsets across the entire car has improved, on average, by nearly 40%, with particular gap improvements visible in the area of the trunk, rear lamps and rear quarter panel.” Tesla has continually made changes to improve those issues over time, the service side of the company is still suffering. Many Model 3 owners who have been involved in accidents or are in need of replacement parts are becoming subjected to a number of inconveniences, such as long wait times and poor communication with Tesla representatives.
Elon Musk recognized the issue and addressed it in January, where he stated the extended wait times began when Tesla decided to store replacement parts at regional distribution centers, and not at the service locations. “We made a strategic error in the past about not having service parts located at our service centers..basically meant it was impossible to have a fast turnaround on service,” Musk said. The company has utilizes mobile service to repair its vehicles in any location at any time, improving convenience for Tesla owners.
Faster speeds in charging are closing the difference in time between filling up a gas tank and charging an electric vehicle. The efficiency in electric vehicle charging has improved, but not only with Tesla Superchargers. Ionity’s network of charging stations also offer increased speeds, eliminating excessive time spent at a charger. More electric cars are on the road and chargers with increased power are able to eliminate long breaks in driving, improving overall efficiency. Tesla’s commitment to improving the ownership experience comes from dedication to fix the problems voiced by owners.
News
Tesla lands approval for Robotaxi operation in third U.S. state
On Tuesday, Tesla officially received regulatory approval from the State of Arizona, making it the third state for the company to receive approval in.
Tesla has officially landed approval to operate its Robotaxi ride-hailing service in its third U.S. state, as it has landed a regulatory green light from the State of Arizona’s Department of Transportation.
Tesla has been working to expand to new U.S. states after launching in Texas and California earlier this year. Recently, it said it was hoping to land in Nevada, Arizona, and Florida, expanding to five new cities in those three states.
On Tuesday, Tesla officially received regulatory approval from the State of Arizona, making it the third state for the company to receive approval in:
BREAKING: Tesla has officially received approval from the Arizona Department of Transportation to launch its Robotaxi service on public roads in the state!
I just confirmed directly with the Arizona DOT that @Tesla applied for a Transportation Network Company permit on Nov 13th.… pic.twitter.com/iKbwfGfiju
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) November 18, 2025
Tesla has also been working on approvals in Nevada and Florida, and it has also had Robotaxi test mules spotted in Pennsylvania.
The interesting thing about the Arizona approval is the fact that Tesla has not received an approval for any specific city; it appears that it can operate statewide. However, early on, Tesla will likely confine its operation to just one or two cities to keep things safe and controlled.
Over the past few months, Robotaxi mules have been spotted in portions of Phoenix and surrounding cities, such as Scottsdale, as the company has been attempting to cross off all the regulatory Ts that it is confronted with as it attempts to expand the ride-hailing service.
It appears the company will be operating it similarly to how it does in Texas, which differs from its California program. In Austin, there is no Safety Monitor in the driver’s seat, unless the route requires freeway travel. In California, there is always a Safety Monitor in the driver’s seat. However, this is unconfirmed.
Earlier today, Tesla enabled its Robotaxi app to be utilized for ride-hailing for anyone using the iOS platform.
News
Tesla ride-hailing Safety Monitor dozes off during Bay Area ride
We won’t try to blame the camera person for the incident, because it clearly is not their fault. But it seems somewhat interesting that they did not try to wake the driver up and potentially contact Tesla immediately to alert them of the situation.
A Tesla Robotaxi Safety Monitor appeared to doze off during a ride in the California Bay Area, almost ironically proving the need for autonomous vehicles.
The instance was captured on camera and posted to Reddit in the r/sanfrancisco subreddit by u/ohmichael. They wrote that they have used Tesla’s ride-hailing service in the Bay Area in the past and had pleasant experiences.
However, this one was slightly different. They wrote:
“I took a Tesla Robotaxi in SF just over a week ago. I have used the service a few times before and it has always been great. I actually felt safer than in a regular rideshare.
This time was different. The safety driver literally fell asleep at least three times during the ride. Each time the car’s pay attention safety alert went off and the beeping is what woke him back up.
I reported it through the app to the Robotaxi support team and told them I had videos, but I never got a response.
I held off on posting anything because I wanted to give Tesla a chance to respond privately. It has been more than a week now and this feels like a serious issue for other riders too.
Has anyone else seen this happen?”
My Tesla Robotaxi “safety” driver fell asleep
byu/ohmichael insanfrancisco
The driver eventually woke up after prompts from the vehicle, but it is pretty alarming to see someone like this while they’re ultimately responsible for what happens with the ride.
We won’t try to blame the camera person for the incident, because it clearly is not their fault. But it seems somewhat interesting that they did not try to wake the driver up and potentially contact Tesla immediately to alert them of the situation.
They should have probably left the vehicle immediately.
Tesla’s ride-hailing service in the Bay Area differs from the one that is currently active in Austin, Texas, due to local regulations. In Austin, there is no Safety Monitor in the driver’s seat unless the route requires the highway.
Tesla plans to remove the Safety Monitors in Austin by the end of the year.
Tesla has officially opened Robotaxi access to everyone and everyone, but there is one catch: you have to have an iPhone.
Tesla’s Robotaxi service in Austin and its ride-hailing service in the Bay Area were both officially launched to the public today, giving anyone using the iOS platform the ability to simply download the app and utilize it for a ride in either of those locations.
It has been in operation for several months: it launched in Austin in late June and in the Bay Area about a month later. In Austin, there is nobody in the driver’s seat unless the route takes you on the freeway.
In the Bay Area, there is someone in the driver’s seat at all times.
The platform was initially launched to those who were specifically invited to Austin to try it out.
Tesla confirms Robotaxi is heading to five new cities in the U.S.
Slowly, Tesla launched the platform to more people, hoping to expand the number of rides and get more valuable data on its performance in both regions to help local regulatory agencies relax some of the constraints that were placed on it.
Additionally, Tesla had its own in-house restrictions, like the presence of Safety Monitors in the vehicles. However, CEO Elon Musk has maintained that these monitors were present for safety reasons specifically, but revealed the plan was to remove them by the end of the year.
Now, Tesla is opening up Robotaxi to anyone who wants to try it, as many people reported today that they were able to access the app and immediately fetch a ride if they were in the area.
We also confirmed it ourselves, as it was shown that we could grab a ride in the Bay Area if we wanted to:
🚨 Tesla Robotaxi ride-hailing Service in Austin and the Bay Area has opened up for anyone on iOS
Go download the app and, if you’re in the area, hail a ride from Robotaxi pic.twitter.com/1CgzG0xk1J
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 18, 2025
The launch of a more public Robotaxi network that allows anyone to access it seems to be a serious move of confidence by Tesla, as it is no longer confining the service to influencers who are handpicked by the company.
In the coming weeks, we expect Tesla to then rid these vehicles of the Safety Monitors as Musk predicted. If it can come through on that by the end of the year, the six-month period where Tesla went from launching Robotaxi to enabling driverless rides is incredibly impressive.
Tesla lands approval for Robotaxi operation in third U.S. state
Tesla ride-hailing Safety Monitor dozes off during Bay Area ride
