Tesla's Achilles Heel

What is Tesla's biggest weakness? It's not legacy automakers, EV startups, production issues, profitability, open patents, charging infrastructure, retail model OR Elon Musk ... so what is it? Customer Service. Do you agree? Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Disclaimer: This video is purely my opinion and should not be regarded as factual information. I am not a financial advisor. This is not a recommendation to buy or sell securities. Do not assume any facts and numbers in this video are accurate. Always do your own due diligence. As of 01/08/2019 HyperChange host (Galileo Russell) is invested in shares of Tesla (TSLA), Arcimoto (FUV) and long Maker & Bitcoin.

[antonio.]

I went through the exact same problem when i scaled my main consumer product business. What’s hard to understand for outsiders is that it’s EXTREMELY hard to build a costumer support system during a massive ramp of a new product. People think the company doesn’t care about the customers, that’s not the problem. The problem is that it’s just extremely hard to build such a system quickly

[AllThingsEV]

I’m really glad this issue is getting louder. I see the urgency is resolving this matter and I hope Tesla is paying attention.

[jadytv]

Please raise the customer service issues you mentioned as a question if your go on the next earnings call

[akk]

Spot on!
After nearly 5 yrs owning a Model S I see the quality of the service is getting worse. 4-5 months waiting time for a standard service appointment is normal in Oslo, Norway now. With thousands of Model 3's on the way this will turn into a nightmare.
Glad I have no referrals to answer

[philosophyman]

I hope Elon sees this. It's very true.

[curtis]

Absolutely. My mom is very annoyed with customer service and is the sole reason she is starting to regret getting a Tesla. Like you said, it shouldn't be hard!

[garyinny]

There are many demands on a young rapidly expanding company, and most are important to the success of the mission. Profitability, labor, debt, product quality, public perception, etc, but service is where your customers know you. Customer service complaints existed before the model 3 ramp picked up speed last year, and one would have expected the company to have been prepared for the higher demand. As advocates for and supporters of the company, we need to make sure they hear about the problems and take action. My Tesla customer experience has generally been positive, but it could have been better. As an early adopter, I am willing to give some latitude for the growing pains, but I agree that latitude is not what they need, or should be given going forward. My Tesla Model 3 is the most amazing vehicle I have owned. It's also the most expensive by several times. When I need it, I expect service equivalent to those benchmarks.

[RalphButtigieg]

I strongly recommend everyone retweets the video to Elon

[JRP]

Gali is right, but to put this in perspective, most Tesla customers have a great buying and service experience, but when Tesla drops the ball they really seem to fall apart and some customers end up being neglected. Tesla needs to plug the holes in their system so this cannot happen.

[rambosmith]

I went from Lexus to Tesla. The car is way better...the customer service is much worse

[deydreamer]

Nailed it again! "this is where the rubber meets the road" great way to describe whats going on at this point in history. Such an exciting time to be alive

[DonaldKnieriemen]

I just went to my phone app to schedule service and got a date and time one week from now. How much easier can it get.

[bein]

I own model S for 3 years and a new model 3. Customer service used to be amazing. Always available on the phone and when you need to service the car. Now I had to call them at 4 AM to talk to a person. He was polite and helpful but 4 AM? Better hire more people quick..

[simonkral]

As an owner, I agree with this.

A few weeks ago I booked a service appointment. I later got a call asking if I wanted a mobile service instead, so I said sure and so they proceeded to cancel my in person appointment. Several days later, however, I never got a follow up call from the mobile service people to set up an appointment, so I called in to remind them. Then another several days later and same thing, never got a call. So today I called in again to remind them to have the mobile service department call me to book an appointment. Before you ask, yes, I asked if the person I was talking to could just schedule it and he said no, cuz it was a different department. How dumb is that?

Also, I noticed plenty of times since the start of model 3 ramp that their service department didnt answer their phone half the time, which would go directly to the store. However, they seemed to have changed things since then by having a hub for service calls and I haven't had a missed call since, so they're improving... slowly.

[williamhall]

Major problem that many companies have... The mind set of "Little, simple, customer service..." Customer service is neither little or simple and as you state can make or break any company. Your 100% on the mark that this is now Tesla's greatest threat!

[donaldburkhard]

I have been WA state customer service for last 20 years. People don't gripe about product but support of product. If users don't get support, it's bad for the whole state. And that is what people remember from conversations.

[princealexander]

Gali and Sean are exactly right. As a Tesla customer myself, logistics, customer service is most important. I’ve had the ball dropped myself on the Tesla Energy end, and car end was too impersonal. People at Tesla try to help, they’ve always been helpful, but chickens running around with their heads cut off is apt. They need to get better at this. My friend for example loves his Tesla but hated everything else such as missed delivery appointments. Tesla has to get better with this.

[NuanceBro]

I think the customer service issues is exxagerated. Idk what people are expecting but compare the service to other automakers. Sure sometimes waitlines on the phone can be long and at the service center they can be backlogged if you have need full diagnostics run but for example their mobile service is excellent. You tell them you have an issue like messed up headlights or windows or need replaced parts etc and they send a mobile unit to your house and fix your car and you never need to leve your house.... they come to you!

[stuuuuuuuu]

Watching Rich Rebuilds makes me sad. I love Elon and this company but customer service needs huge improvements

[cameronshuff]

I had a bad experience with my 3 delivery. So much so that my wife wanted to return the car.. I was a 1.7 year reservation holder. waiting that long and having such a poor experience with customer service plus numerous paint issues with the car about pushed me to returning it myself.. thankfully my Long range awd is fast.. its saving grace