Photo: Tesla
It could be funny if it were not tragical: Elon Musk makes jokes on Twitter, and Tesla fans reply, trying to get help. That is far from unusual these days but a recent case exposed how bad things are at Tesla. A Tesla customer bought a Model Y and drove it for just 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) because the car’s ICE stopped working.
Musk posted a meme about the FBI checking on people through the frontal camera of a car on March 25 with the words “Old, but gold.” Ironically, it could be seen as part of Tesla’s resistance to using this camera to monitor drivers' behavior when on Autopilot and FSD, but that’s another story. This customer then told his story with a picture of his family picking up their Model Y. He has deleted that tweet due to the "unwanted attention" it brought on him and his family. He also asked us to remove his name from this article.
According to what he wrote, the “MCU” in the Model Y failed two days after delivery. We need to correct him here because the Model Y and the Model 3 do not have an MCU, an infotainment computer that was adopted only on the Model S and Model X until very recently. Even these vehicles got rid of the MCU. Instead, they now present what Tesla calls ICE. On the Model Y and Model 3, it is the only available screen, and it concentrates many critical functions in the vehicles. If it fails, the cars are undrivable.
The Tesla customer did it anyway. He took the car back to the Tesla Service Center in Vancouver “without wipers, climate, speedometer, turn signals, 4-way flashers or navigation” and used hand signals to get there. The service center rightfully will not allow him to drive that way but was not able to give him a Model Y loaner while his car waits for the ICE to be replaced.
Tesla provided him with a loaner, but it was not good enough for him. His wife uses a wheelchair, and the loaner is just too low and has a small trunk. The Model Y owner is thankful for a better solution than Uber credits but is unhappy with the answer.
According to him, Tesla has thousands of ICEs to install in “newly-built cars which take priority over mine.” In other words, he feels that the company put its priority on delivering new cars instead of servicing the ones it has already given to customers. In his case, it is not a repair that can wait: he can’t use the vehicle he bought because of that. This Tesla customer needs a car and sold his old one “thinking my Tesla would be drivable.”
Among his messages, this Tesla customer stated that he wished he didn’t have to tweet about this but that he felt helpless. The repair in his car is scheduled for April 8, and he believes he should not have to wait three weeks to get his brand-new EV back.
Although his tweet brought him "unwanted attention," going public also helped him get wanted and deserved attention from Tesla. The company located a Model Y loaner for him and shipped an ICE to be replaced in his car on the same day this article was published. We're glad it worked and that he will not have to wait until April 8 anymore.
Unfortunately, his case exposed two of the major drawbacks in dealing with Tesla: the lack of adequate and timely servicing and the poor reliability and construction quality of its cars. By prioritizing the sale of new vehicles, the company is letting down people that already trusted it, which should damage Tesla’s reputation in the long term. In fact, it already has, but there may be time to fix it without the need to share these situations publicly. Musk just has to care more about customer satisfaction than about memes.
According to what he wrote, the “MCU” in the Model Y failed two days after delivery. We need to correct him here because the Model Y and the Model 3 do not have an MCU, an infotainment computer that was adopted only on the Model S and Model X until very recently. Even these vehicles got rid of the MCU. Instead, they now present what Tesla calls ICE. On the Model Y and Model 3, it is the only available screen, and it concentrates many critical functions in the vehicles. If it fails, the cars are undrivable.
The Tesla customer did it anyway. He took the car back to the Tesla Service Center in Vancouver “without wipers, climate, speedometer, turn signals, 4-way flashers or navigation” and used hand signals to get there. The service center rightfully will not allow him to drive that way but was not able to give him a Model Y loaner while his car waits for the ICE to be replaced.
Tesla provided him with a loaner, but it was not good enough for him. His wife uses a wheelchair, and the loaner is just too low and has a small trunk. The Model Y owner is thankful for a better solution than Uber credits but is unhappy with the answer.
According to him, Tesla has thousands of ICEs to install in “newly-built cars which take priority over mine.” In other words, he feels that the company put its priority on delivering new cars instead of servicing the ones it has already given to customers. In his case, it is not a repair that can wait: he can’t use the vehicle he bought because of that. This Tesla customer needs a car and sold his old one “thinking my Tesla would be drivable.”
Among his messages, this Tesla customer stated that he wished he didn’t have to tweet about this but that he felt helpless. The repair in his car is scheduled for April 8, and he believes he should not have to wait three weeks to get his brand-new EV back.
Although his tweet brought him "unwanted attention," going public also helped him get wanted and deserved attention from Tesla. The company located a Model Y loaner for him and shipped an ICE to be replaced in his car on the same day this article was published. We're glad it worked and that he will not have to wait until April 8 anymore.
Unfortunately, his case exposed two of the major drawbacks in dealing with Tesla: the lack of adequate and timely servicing and the poor reliability and construction quality of its cars. By prioritizing the sale of new vehicles, the company is letting down people that already trusted it, which should damage Tesla’s reputation in the long term. In fact, it already has, but there may be time to fix it without the need to share these situations publicly. Musk just has to care more about customer satisfaction than about memes.
How do I get a main computer (MCU) installed in my just-delivered Tesla? They won’t let me drive it home without one. I’m told they aren’t available, except for on the production line, where thousands are installed daily. I sold my old car, thinking my Tesla would be drivable. pic.twitter.com/GdveuhnXeY
— Christian Newman ?? (@XianNewman) March 25, 2022
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