Tesla killed my electric car....

I ordered a Tesla Roadster sport just a few months ago. They no longer have a backlog and so they were able to build my custom car very quickly (they have many cars sitting at dealerships for immediate delivery). I had a very negative experience with Tesla.

They kept promising things then they'd try to say no, and send long apologies. They'd promise me use of a loaner car for a week but then when it came time for the loaner "sorry, no we have appointments for it". They'd promise me they'd honor a special Amex car deal on the Tesla (free infotainment) but then they would say no and try to charge me for it, until I put my foot down and threatened to involve Amex in the problem.

Then at the last possible moment when my car was slated for delivery they tried to make me super rush-sign paperwork (sign it NOW, the car is ready and a truck is waiting, sure we didn't tell you about this before but the truck is waiting!). This paperwork included a not previously disclosed $1000 delivery fee. Also included was a strange contract for $12,000 that guaranteed the battery would give 53kw of power for up to 7 years. It made me feel icky and I pushed back on the delivery charge, even offering to pay half.

Nope, they really wanted that $1000 and then tried reverse psychology on me. I balked - now the deal is dead and they are stuck with my Roadster and I cancelled my model S reservation.

Here is part of the chain of emails for your reading pleasure:


From: George Blankenship
Sent: Wednesday, December 22, 2010 12:36 PM
To: XXXXXX
Subject: Re: Quick Tesla Update
Hi
I would normally do this in a much longer email, but will respect your request to be brief…
1) My goal is to always have customers who love their Roadster and are happy with how they are treated by Tesla
2) I acknowledge that we failed you in our initial communication about the AMEX discount
3) I called and personally apologized and have tried very hard to make sure everything has gone smoothly since then
4) My team has tried to do everything possible to achieve or exceed your delivery expectations
It is very clear to me that I am not going to be able to make you happy for several reasons:
- The shipping fee is $1,000, and if I don't discount that number, you will not be satisfied; I will not discount that number.
- Based upon incomplete paperwork and payment we will now miss shipping your Roadster this afternoon
- You will not be able to have Alex's Roadster as much as you desire, so that will be disappointing
- The next delivery date we can hit if we ship your Roadster is the 28th, which I'm sure will be disappointing
Given all the above, I think we should not proceed forward with your transaction.
Our contract says that your original deposit is non-refundable; I will not enforce that provision and will give you all your money back
The High Power Charger should be delivered to Nicki today. Please have her send it back to us at her earliest convenience.
We will credit your AMEX, no questions asked, for the full amount of your deposit as soon as we receive the charger back. You have my word that we will do the full refund as soon as received. I can put that in writing if you prefer.
I am sorry we have been unable to satisfy your needs…we have tried really hard, but are clearly not able to do so.
I remain available to answer any and all questions about this decision. I will be communicating this decision to Alex, Jeremy and Doreen as soon as I hit "send" on this email.
Sorry this email is so long, but I wanted to make sure you were fully comfortable with my commitment to refund your money and why.
Thanks... George

From: XXXXXX
Date: Wed, 22 Dec 2010 10:37:52 -0800
To: George Blankenship <[email protected]>
Subject: RE: Quick Tesla Update
George,

Find a way to get it to me for $500.

Even if I wire the money right now your bank will likely take a day to clear it so what do we do ?


Thank You,


________________________________________
From: George Blankenship [[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, December 22, 2010 10:22 AM
To: XXXXXX
Subject: FW: Quick Tesla Update
FedEx Tracking update:

The package is now at the Menlo Park FedEx distribution center. Estimated delivery of the package, per the FedEx’s website is 3PM. Packages usually show up before this committed time.

I’ll keep you all posted.

From: George Blankenship <[email protected]>
Date: Wed, 22 Dec 2010 10:06:41 -0800
To:
Subject: Re: Quick Tesla Update
Hi Per your request, here is the nutshell…
1) Your car will be ready to ship this afternoon if all documents and final payment have been received
2) $1,000 is a flat fee for all customers in your region and is not a profit center for us.
3) I will not turn your Roadster over to a cheaper shipper unless you hire them and authorize me to do so
4) We can structure the final invoice as you have requested
5) IF ALL paperwork and payments are in place this morning, I need to know by noon if you want us to ship it
6) If we don't ship it today, we can ship it on the 27th for a delivery in Phoenix on the 28th
7) You can have a shipper of your choice pick up the car anytime after 1pm today at the Menlo store
Please let me know how you would like to proceed.
Your Roadster is beautiful.
George
From: XXXXXXX
Date: Wed, 22 Dec 2010 09:51:16 -0800
To: George Blankenship <[email protected]>
Subject: RE: Quick Tesla Update
George I don’t even have time to read that long email really. Please find a way to accommodate and thank you.



Thank You,

From: George Blankenship [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, December 22, 2010 10:42 AM
To: XXXXXX
Subject: Re: Quick Tesla Update

Hi

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. It is appreciated.

Our time this past week has been focused on several things:

1) I was trying to address your request (from our conversation) that you have a Roadster to drive while your daughter was in town from the 19th thru the 30th. We typically have a lot of "test drive" activity during this week and next, and I was afraid Alex might not be able to release the car for a whole day or two as you requested. My goal was to deliver your Roadster as early in her visit as possible to achieve your request. Having your Roadster in your hands from the 23rd thru the 30th was far better than anything Alex would be able to do.

2) To make sure your Roadster received full attention thru our final assembly, Pre-Delivery Inspection, and final detailing. I wanted to make sure it wasn't rushed in ANY WAY in order to get it out to you by the 29th (or 28th as we updated before).

3) To make sure your Roadster is delivered in the same condition it leaves PDI and final detailing.

4) To hopefully surprise you by getting your Roadster to you with a lot of time to enjoy with your daughter before the 30th.

In a nutshell, that is what I have focused our team on trying to accomplish. I apologize if I missed the target. But it appears as though I am unfortunately going to miss your primary target.

If the target is for me to find a delivery service who can send your Roadster to you for $500, that is a target I am unfortunately going to miss. I will not risk shipping your Roadster with a "cheaper" delivery service in order to meet your expectations. We have tried numerous shipping options over the past few years, and have developed a very successful, predictable approach to how we transport customer cars. While it may frustrate you, I apologize in advance for this response, but I will not risk sending your Roadster with a "cheaper" service. The outcome is predictable from past experience, and I'd rather have you upset with me for not doing it as you request than have you upset with me because of the condition of your Roadster when it arrives. To be completely transparent, the cost to ship your Roadster to Phoenix will cost us more than $1,000. We have a set fee of $1,000 for shipments from PDI to the region Phoenix falls in. Roadster shipping is not a profit center for us.

 

Nah, it wasn't disclosed until the last minute paperwork cram.

Also they seemed shocked when I cancelled my model S order after these emails. George tried to change everything and played the game of how sad he was that I had made the decision not to purchase the Roadster.

I had to read back to him his own quotes to remind him of what he had said. It was very two-headed behavior.

 

Sorry you are mistaken - it is NOT for a new battery. It clearly says they will fix or replace the battery to get it back to 53kw. While they might want you to think it's for a new battery, with thousands of little cells its more likely they will just replace a few to get you to 53kw.

 

First off it was a $136k deal after the Amex program.

Second they broke several promises to me and did spring that $1k at the last moment.

Third there was no possible way they could deliver the car on the day they said, it was a trick to try and make me sign the docs quickly without looking. Then I would have received another 2 page apology. When cornered is when they gave up. Note my last email to them where I asked that even if I wired them the money that very moment it would probably be the next day when it posted. That's when the jig was up and George threw in the towel.

What you aren't understanding is that Tesla promised and promises a lot, but doesn't deliver on many of those promises.

Did you know that you are required to get a $1000 service every year or they void your warranty?

Did you know that to truly cover the battery you have to sign/pay a $12k deal?

Did you know about the charger issues and that you have to buy each one separately at large expense?

It was a signifcant learning experience for me and one that I wanted to share with you. I attempted to post information about this in their forum, but they moderate it and wouldn't let anything of the situation come out.

 

True, and I do think that Tesla never said anything mean or harsh. All of George's communications were relatively kind. The underlying problem is the failure to deliver on promises, and not disclosing everything up front.

I think if they had disclosed everything to me up front it would have been no problem at all. They just behaved like you would expect from a classic used car dealer; making lots of promises and only turning over one card at a time, hoping you will be so invested that you couldn't possibly say no.

They are truly experts at marketing and the appearance of customer service. You just have to be willing to drink their cool-aid and not ask any questions. Whenever I would question them about why it costs for maintenance or services they always throw out the word "supercar". "Compared to a 911 Turbo the service for this supercar is actually the same", "compared to a 911 Turbo the insurance for this supercar isn't that high" etc..

Do you consider the Roadster a supercar?