News

Tesla Motors Service Centers Make a Pit Stop

Before I mention the pit crew like experience, I do want to mention that one of the most awesome parts of the Tesla service experience is the offer to valet your car at home.

Published

11 years ago

October 28, 2014

Grant Gerke

Tesla Motor service center. (Source: Tesla Motors)

During the earnings conference call with Elon Musk and team in early August, Musk mentioned that Tesla Motors service centers are implementing a Formula One pit crew approach for Model S owners here in the U.S and in China.

In August, Musk said:

“So we actually bring the car and we kind of hit with a pit crew, like a Formula One pit crew. So instead of having one person per bay, the car gets slowly worked on over several days, it actually comes in and a team attacks it, and we’re constantly improving the tools and the metrics to say, how can we get the car perfect as fast as possible. We actually bring in people from Formula One to help with the training on this. And I think there’s a real opportunity to revolutionize the way service works.”

So how is Tesla Motors new Formula One approach working and what has the service center experience been, in general, for the young automaker?

Recently, I interviewed Model S 85 owner, David Zygmont, about his trips to Tesla Motors service centers over the last two years, the Model S service package and has he seen this Formula One approach in action. The slightly edited interview is below:

Grant Gerke: What actually made you decide to buy the service package, which includes 4 service visits in four years or 50,000 miles?

David Zygmont: So being an early adopter, being a really early product for a really young company, I think it was pretty realistic that there would be some need for service and I had hoped like, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if this all electric car would be really maintenance free, free of some real critical headaches.’ However, I should really expect some software glitches, right? I mean this car runs software for everything and I was expecting there to be quite a number of those initially.

So, I feel like there is still a bunch of inconsistencies regarding when to bring in the car. Some service centers report that you really only need to come every 12 months and some say you still need to do it every 12,500 miles. My service center in Highland Park, Ill., says it’s every 12,500 miles.

And, there’s no ambiguity in the contract as it ends at 50,000 miles or four years, whichever you reach soonest. So, I’m going to get maximum value because I’m almost at 20,000 to 25,000 miles a year, somewhere in that range. I need to do it every 12,500 to get maximum value of this, I’ve already been three times for a service checkup.

Grant Gerke: What’s your service center experience been like, so far?

David Zygmont: I’ve had a pretty long relationship, a number of visits with Tesla service and for the most part, the people are really great. I really like working with people, especially the group that I worked with over the last nine to twelve months.

However, they don’t really share a lot in terms of documentation with these annual checkups. When you look at the paperwork, it says: We did an annual service and the parts used are batteries for the fobs and wipers for your windshield.

And I was like, “Okay, great.” That’s my $600?

Some of those visits have also included a number of other line items that I feel like some would happen whether I have the annual service or not because some of them were kind of classified as these service bulletins, which I think is very standard industry practice to say: hey, when your car is in, if we see this as a concern, because your VIN is labeled as… it may have this concern. So they look and if they see the concern, they fix it, and I’ve been very appreciative.

Other non-scheduled service center visits have included parts replaced and they’ve all been driven by some sort of failure and/or observation on my part that says this doesn’t feel right, and Tesla Motors has said either: We agree and made the repairs or they’ve said no to and I totally think that’s reasonable. An example would be Tesla considers it a wear issue, but some would also consider a design issue about why the wear is happening.

Also, I think the service center communication systems and behaviors that’s been implemented as a team have greatly evolved. Early on, I had services where I didn’t hear for three days and I’m like: what’s happened to my car?

But now it’s just amazing service as I receive multiple text message updates per day when they have my car. All my recent service has been same-day stuff and they’ve done it really quickly, maybe that’s reflective of their Formula 1 approach.

David Zygmont’s Model S at Crater Lake last summer. (Source: David Zygmont)

Grant Gerke: Speaking of Formula One, what about this pit crew approach? Any signs of it in recent visits?

David Zygmont: Before I mention the pit crew like experience, I do want to mention that one of the most awesome parts of the Tesla service experience is the offer to valet your car at home. So, it entails the service center coming to your house and bringing a Model S loaner and leaving it with you. Then they bring it back all fixed, serviced and whatever that’s been done with it. No one else does that. So, I just want to quickly make mention of that.

But sometimes it actually works better in my day if I could just exchange with (a car) the service center on my way to work. Recently, I was waiting to pick up my car after some service and a car had just come off of a flatbed in front of the Highland Park shop. I watched as a pit crew went to work on that car immediately. It was four service guys–four technicians–and someone was in the driver seat with their laptop in front of them, plugged in on the side port of the Model S. Other team members had covers off, under the hood and they pulled some covers to access some different parts in the front area.

It was really clear that this was like all hands on deck, let’s triage this real fast. I thought that was pretty cool.

What about everyone else? What were some of your expectations for Tesla Motors service centers?

I want to thank Dave for his time and be sure to check out my podcast with Dave Zygmont’s road warrior adventures in his Model S 85 across the supercharger network, “Podcast | Dial-in a Model S Road Trip with These Tips.“

Elon Musk

Tesla engineer explains why Elon Musk deserves new pay package

“When Elon is motivated, it also motivates us, especially in this fork of humanity. I would not be staying in Tesla this long unless he is still leading.”

Published

1 hour ago

August 5, 2025

Joey Klender

Elon Musk giving YouTube tech reviewer Marques Brownlee a tour of the Fremont factory. (Credit: MKBHD/YouTube)

A Tesla engineer took to X to explain why he believes Elon Musk deserved the new 96 million share, $29 billion pay package that the company awarded to him yesterday.

Yun-Ta Tsai, a Senior Staff Engineer in the Autopilot program at Tesla, has worked at the company for five years. He has been in his current position for two years and three months.

Tesla rewards CEO Elon Musk with massive, restricted stock package

Tsai posted a lengthy statement in response to Tesla announcing its new pay package for Musk, which the company’s Board of Directors announced yesterday. He was fully in support of his boss getting paid, especially considering Musk “came to work every day” without being paid for eight years.

Tsai said:

“8 years without pay, but Elon still came to work everyday despite hitting all the milestones.

Most founders, even being paid much better, would simply abandon ships or being “zucked”.

I often joked my annual comp was higher than Elon but it was true.

When Elon is motivated, it also motivates us, especially in this fork of humanity. I would not be staying in Tesla this long unless he is still leading.

Hopefully Elon gets his first paycheck soon after 8 years of grinding in hell. It is time.”

It’s no secret that Musk has the reputation of someone who is incredibly driven, motivated, and determined to come through on his personal and professional goals. In times of need at the company, Musk sleeps at the office and works seven days a week.

Recently, it came to the surface that he nearly missed his brother’s wedding years ago because of work.

8 years without pay, but Elon still came to work everyday despite hitting all the milestones.
Most founders, even being paid much better, would simply abandon ships or being “zucked”.
I often joked my annual comp was higher than Elon but it was true.
When Elon is motivated,… https://t.co/zboBpiMH4u
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— Yun-Ta Tsai (@YunTaTsai1) August 4, 2025

Musk’s attitude toward work is what has made Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, and other entities so successful.

Musk’s new pay package

Tesla announced the new pay package for Musk yesterday, under the following terms:

96 million restricted shares of stock, subject to Elon paying a purchase price upon meeting a two-year vesting term, to be delivered after receipt of antitrust regulatory approval
The purchase price will be equal to the split-adjusted exercise price of the stock options awarded to Elon under the 2018 CEO Performance Award ($23.34 per share)
A requirement that Elon serve continuously in a senior leadership role at Tesla during the two-year vesting term
A pledging allowance to cover tax payments or the purchase price
A mandatory holding period of five years from the grant date, except to cover tax payments or the purchase price (with any sales for such purposes to be conducted through an orderly disposition in coordination with Tesla); and
If the Delaware courts fully reinstate the 2018 CEO Performance Award, this interim award will be forfeited or returned or a portion of the 2018 CEO Performance Award will be forfeited. To put it simply, there cannot be any “double dip.” Elon will not be able to keep this new award in addition to the options he will be awarded under the 2018 CEO Performance Award, should the courts rule in our favor

The board added a statement that said it believed now would be an ideal time “to take decisive action to recognize the extraordinary value that Elon created for Tesla shareholders.”

News

Tesla Cybertruck leftovers are the main course at the Supercharger Diner

Tesla is using recycled steel from Cybertruck manufacturing for the Supercharger Diner in Los Angeles.

Published

2 hours ago

August 5, 2025

Joey Klender

Credit: Tesla

Tesla Cybertruck panels that are leftover from manufacturing became the main course at the Supercharger Diner, contributing to the futuristic restaurant’s unique exterior design.

The Supercharger Diner was an idea of Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s in 2018, and in July 2025, it officially opened for business, serving a variety of interesting dishes in a futuristic setting that pays homage to the 1950s restaurant experience.

The design of the Diner is what truly sets it apart: it is reminiscent of the stainless exterior that Tesla used for the Cybertruck. It turns out that’s exactly what it is.

tesla diner supercharger in los angeles california at night

Credit: Tesla

Tesla Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen revealed in an interview with Tesla Owners Club Austria that the company used recycled panels from Cybertruck manufacturing as siding on the epic diner.

Here’s what he said:

Tesla Diner was inspired by the Jetson‘s and was built with steel from @cybertruck production 🛸 pic.twitter.com/3t4038RY4H
— Tesla Club Austria (@TeslaClubAT) August 4, 2025
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Tesla sourced its stainless steel for the exoskeleton of the Cybertruck from Steel Dynamics Inc. and its plant in Sinton, Texas. The company confirmed this through various outlets, including exhibit descriptions at the Petersen Automotive Museum. The steel is refined through a third party before it is used.

Credit: Cybertruck Owners Club

It also uses the same steel for SpaceX Starship.

It’s pretty interesting that Tesla chose to use the stainless steel for the exterior of the diner in Los Angeles, but it also makes sense considering how durable it has proven to be.

Elon Musk

Tesla ‘activist shareholders’ sue company and Elon Musk for Robotaxi rollout

Tesla’s activist shareholders are coming after the company, claiming it misled investors about the Robotaxi rollout.

Published

5 hours ago

August 5, 2025

Joey Klender

Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer | X

Tesla’s “activist shareholders” seem to be one of the biggest threats to the company and its CEO, Elon Musk, who has spoken extensively about them in recent times. They’re up to their latest bit of work against the company, suing both Tesla and Musk, accusing them of securities fraud by alleging they concealed “significant risk” over the Robotaxi launch in Austin, Texas.

On Monday night, a group of shareholders sued Tesla and Musk in a proposed class action lawsuit in Texas federal court. They claim Tesla misled investors about the safety of the vehicles used in the Robotaxi rollout in Austin, which started on June 22.

The suit indicates that videos show the vehicles “speeding, exhibiting sudden braking, driving over a curb, entering the wrong lane, and dropping passengers off in the middle of multilane roads.” Reuters first reported on the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs are seeking damages for shareholders between April 19, 2023, and June 22, 2025.

Tesla’s Robotaxi platform has been operating for less than two months, and the company has already expanded its geofence in Austin twice.

🚨 Tesla Austin Robotaxi geofence sizes (in square miles):
Initial: 6/22 – ~20 square miles
First Expansion: 7/14 – ~42 square miles
Second Expansion: 8/3 – ~80 square miles pic.twitter.com/IwnvSJseE4
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 3, 2025

In the roughly six weeks that Robotaxi has been operational, Tesla has only had one incident reported to the Austin Government, and it was a “Safety Concern” in June 2025. Since July 2023, which is when autonomous vehicle operation began in Austin, 130 incidents have been reported. AV Ride, Cruise, Waymo, and Zoox also operate in Austin.

Waymo has the most incidents with 73. Its first was in June 2024 when a unit blocked traffic.

Activist Shareholders

Musk has warned that activist shareholders are potentially dangerous to both Tesla and his position as CEO. He recently spoke about them during the Q2 Earnings Call regarding his stake in the company:

“That is a major concern for me, as I’ve mentioned in the past. I hope that is addressed at the upcoming shareholders meeting. But, yeah, it is a big deal. I want to find that I’ve got so little control that I can easily be ousted by activist shareholders after having built this army of humanoid robots. I think my control over Tesla, Inc. should be enough to ensure that it goes in a good direction, but not so much control that I can’t be thrown out if I go crazy.”

Tesla’s Board yesterday made an attempt to help secure Musk’s stake by offering him a massive 96 million share pay package of restricted stock. It will only help his stake in the company bump up slightly to 14.6 percent from 12.9 percent.