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neroden's NOT happy.

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neroden

Model S Owner and Frustrated Tesla Fan
Apr 25, 2011
14,676
63,892
Ithaca, NY, USA
Thanks to whoever pointed out that it's possible to email George Blankenship through this forum.

I did so. I'm not going to go through all the issues I've had with ordering & delivery in public, but suffice it to say that the process has been absolutely abysmal. I've never seen anything this bad. If Tesla switched to using franchised dealers, it would be an enormous improvement over what I've been going through. :cursing:
 
I would agree with your post in another thread that Tesla isn't good about dealing with anything out of the ordinary. Arranging to drop off my trade-in when I picked up my Model S definitely was much more difficult than it should have been despite earlier being assured that it was "one of the benefits" of doing a trade-in. The only thing I'll say in Tesla's defense, though, is that all the problems seem to stem from not having good systems in place. With franchised dealers I always feel it's all somehow a deliberate way to make you part with more money.

Certainly feedback will only help them improve.
 
Neroden, my car took 22 days to get to Pittsburgh from Fremont, and arrived covered in dust, dirt, had many minor microabrasions, bubbles in the paint armor, and one significant scratch, likely from the truck driver's belt buckle. I haven't complained about any of these issues because Tesla is doing all they can to correct them for me, and I haven't had to email GeorgeB or anything like that. I am sure a dealer would have hid all these issues from me, rather than truly fix them. I'll take the Tesla approach any day, even if they still have growing pains.
 
Neroden, my car took 22 days to get to Pittsburgh from Fremont, and arrived covered in dust, dirt, had many minor microabrasions, bubbles in the paint armor, and one significant scratch, likely from the truck driver's belt buckle. I haven't complained about any of these issues because Tesla is doing all they can to correct them for me, and I haven't had to email GeorgeB or anything like that. I am sure a dealer would have hid all these issues from me, rather than truly fix them. I'll take the Tesla approach any day, even if they still have growing pains.
+10 .....
where's kinddog when you need him? :)
 
For what it's worth, the nicest, best-informed and most helpful people I've talked to were at the service centers.

I agree that the problem is terrible systems. That means, however, that these are *systemic* problems.

- - - Updated - - -

Why bring it up in public if you're not going to explain what went wrong?

To thank whoever pointed out that it was possible to email George B. through this forum. I've been having very serious difficulty getting problems escalated to a level where someone is actually capable of resolving them.

The reason I'm not mentioning specific problems is that I don't want to blame specific employees in public, given that I think the problems are systemic failures. Suffice it to say that there is no interdepartmental communication, so nobody knows anything about anything outside their very specific areas, nobody can handle anything even slightly unusual. Also, Tesla's legal department is incompetent.


EDIT:

I've already mentioned some of the problems I've had. The current round of problems are related to an improperly-prepared MVPA (numbers wrong and blank spaces). And nobody able to explain what some of the documents related to delivery are supposed to mean (the "post-sales service agreement" appears to not be a contract because it's lacking compensation).

And the "telematics services agreement", which I would never sign because it purports to have me indemnify Tesla if my car gets stolen and someone else abuses the "telematics". No way in hell.

Tesla's legal department has prepared documents which I'd expect to see from someone trying to cheat me, and which I do NOT see at a regular car dealer. Real nice work, Tesla.

EDIT:
Oh, it's worse than that: I asked four or five times to four or five different Tesla employees what was in the "final paperwork", and they all told me it was just the final MVPA. They were wrong. This is gross incompetence on a systemic scale.
 
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Why bring it up in public if you're not going to explain what went wrong?

I think he explained it here -

Bingo.

I have to vent.

I just spent THREE HOURS on the phone. First I talked to a lovely fellow, Nick, at Philadelphia Service, who answered all my service-related questions (which nobody at Tesla HQ had any idea about), and several of my delivery-related questions. He gave me the phone number of Dan, at Queens Service, who handles registrations for NY. Then I called my insurance agent: long story short, they can't issue an insurance card without a definite delivery date (insurance can't start before the title is transferred!), *and* the registration date has to be the same as the insurance date (!). Since I want to drive the car when it's delivered, this means the registration and the insurance has to be dated on the same date as delivery and title transfer. So then I called Dan, told him what the problem was -- he asked if I'd signed the final MVPA and I pointed out that Lauren (inside delivery specialist) had been unwilling to prepare it without an insurance card! So then I basically dumped the problem on him, giving him Lauren ("inside delivery specialist")'s number and my insurance agent's number. Hopefully they can work it out among themselves.

Tesla's interdepartmental communication is terrible. I do hope that now that I've talke d to Dan things will be sorted out; Lauren knew nothing about how title and registration worked in NY.

- - - Updated - - -



I am told that sun visors are coming on all new cars. (I do not know exactly what sun visor.) I am told that the revised defrost vent has not been rolled out to the service centers yet (but I am on the list to be called as soon as Philadelphia gets it). I know nothing about reading lights, perhaps someone else can answer.

I assume things have just gotten worse since this post. Probably worth going outside channels as long as we don't abuse handing out GeorgeB's e-mail.
 
It's not really helpful for anyone to start a thread saying "Tesla is awful" or "Tesla is great" and refusing to give background. It wouldn't be appropriate to speculate on what neroden's problems might or might not be but if there's nothing to discuss the thread is destined to rapidly slide towards the thread graveyard.
 
With all of the "issues" you have faced with this process, I'm very surprised that you even went through with getting this car, Neroden. I can't think of one good reason why you would ever even want this car...

+1, given all the various posts about how horrible the car is, what it's missing, the first cancellation, the threatened second cancellation, etc., it seems as if he wanted the process to fail.
 
+1, given all the various posts about how horrible the car is, what it's missing, the first cancellation, the threatened second cancellation, etc., it seems as if he wanted the process to fail.
I'm not going to mention what name comes to mind with this phrasing because I think it would be counterproductive.

That said...

Neroden, I'd be interested in hearing why you did go through with it? I'm pretty sure I would have passed given all the history here.
 
I'm getting the same vibe here, I ordered my car in Colorado on an RV trip, proceeded with my trip to California where I test drove the car at Menlo Park, Wrote Tesla shareholder relations to arrange a factory tour but was turned down due to the intense ramp up at the time, was asked to return in the spring for a tour, I was a little disappointed because I was in California and being far away in Florida but i understood the situation totally. I got home to Florida and about a month back received an email it was time to configure my model S. I did so and shortly received my delivery email about 4 weeks later, then arrangements about my delivery and BOOM the car arrived, FLAWLESS and SEAMLESS and everyone I was in touch with was knowledgable , bright, happy , friendly and professional, hands down the best car purchase experience i have ever had, and I bought a family car from my father once. I don't know where your negative experience started, but I'm sorry I can't relate. If Tesla has had growing pains and teething problems I have not experienced it.