What is going on with Tesla? The company is on the verge of reaching the major milestone of delivering 500,000 units in a year, and yet things like Chris's experience with the delivery of his brand-new Model 3 still happen.
Bear in mind the Model 3 is a four-year-old design, which means Tesla should have had plenty of time to iron things out and make sure there were no quality issues left with what is still the company's bread and butter model. You'd think so, but you'd be wrong.
Judging by the fact that Christian's YouTube account only has one upload, this video, it's safe to assume he didn't plan on thrashing Tesla in advance. But after you watch every little (and not so little) thing he found wrong with his 2021 Model 3 Dual Motor Long Range and read the interaction he's had with Tesla employees, you'll definitely get behind the guy. You may even be surprised by how relaxed and civilized he is about the whole situation.
He even starts the video by saying, "overall, I'm relatively happy with it" which just goes to show you how easily Tesla can get away with cheating its clients - yes, that's what happened here. We won't go through the entire list of things that are wrong with the car, we'll just mention that a lot of them can be found on the inside. Stick a pin in that.
Photo: YouTube screenshot
Chris says he took delivery of his Model 3 directly at Tesla's plant in Fremont, where a "touchless" experience is now in effect, presumably to control the spread of the virus. That sounds reasonable, but then there's this tiny aspect: the client is told they can't inspect the car on the inside before accepting delivery.
Have you ever bought a surprise chocolate egg? Well, this is what Teslas are these days, except they cost significantly more.
In other words, you have no idea what you get inside. If this came from a company with known quality interiors - Audi or Mercedes-Benz spring to mind - then it probably wouldn't be a problem. However, this is Tesla, the carmaker whose bumpers come off when going through a puddle of water, so a little skepticism is understandable.
Chris was skeptical but not skeptical enough. He made the mistake of thinking "how bad can it be?" and accepting delivery blindly as far as the cabin went. His reasons seem risible in hindsight - he really needed the car the next day as he didn't have another, he had waited for nine weeks for the Model 3, it was getting dark, he was hungry - and he accepts that now, but it's too late.
Photo: YouTube screenshot
The moment he opened the Model 3's door, everything suddenly made sense. The EV was riddled with problems, including pieces of green tape that seemed to indicate various defects that hadn't been taken care of.
It all falls in line with what was said in a leaked email from Elon Musk to Tesla employees. The text (acquired by Electrek) went like this: "Particular help would be appreciated at end of the line to ensure cars built now are able to be delivered immediately without any further improvements in PDI, as there simply isn’t enough time to do so.” The key word here is PDI, which stands for pre-delivery inspection. Clearly, no improvement needed there.
So, what Tesla is essentially doing is trying to pad up the stats with regards to its deliveries in order to meet its ambitious goal, while customers are forced to send the cars back into service the moment they get them (if only making an appointment with Tesla Service was that simple). Essentially, this means clients are taking delivery of their cars weeks, if not months later. Once again, Tesla makes itself look good at the expense of its clients (that’s an FSD Beta dig, in case in wasn't obvious). But, as long as they don't mind - and most of them don't seem to - it's no harm done, right?
"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie) Full profile
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