Tesla ramps up service offerings as Model 3 creeps into spotlight
With the first production Model 3 now in public, it's time for Tesla to make sure all its ancillary programs are running like tops.
Tesla's got hundreds of thousands of reservations for its Model 3 sedan, yet its service departments occasionally struggle under current, pre-Model-3 loads. So how will Tesla attempt to rectify that?
Tesla is drastically ramping up its service offerings as the Model 3 enters production, Reuters reports, citing a conversation with a senior executive. The goal is to have enough of its service-related operations in place to handle the massive uptick in Tesla ownership that will come with full-scale production of the Model 3.
As part of this push, it will add 350 mobile service vans and 100 service centers -- there are only 150 of the latter at the moment. The company also plans to add 1,400 technicians this year in order to decrease service times. Over the next few years, those numbers will keep growing.
The service vans are used for quick jobs that can be done on-site -- they won't be welding body panels and painting wheels on your driveway. Service centers are already facing backlog issues, so the service vans should be a big help in that regard. Reuters reports that the majority of Tesla fixes to date do not require a lift and can be done very quickly.
Right now, there's only one production-level Model 3 we've seen. It rolled off the line on July 3, and the person who held the reservation gave it to Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Production will ramp up over the coming months, starting at low (three-digit) volumes. Most of this service news was mentioned in Tesla's Q1 2017 earnings report, as well.