TrueRoadWarrior
Active member
- First Name
- Sean
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2024
- Threads
- 4
- Messages
- 34
- Reaction score
- 71
- Location
- Fort Lauderdale
- Vehicles
- Rivian R1T
- Occupation
- Real Estate Broker Associate
- Thread starter
- #1
Let me start by saying that I've always loved Tesla as a company and the vehicles they make. Heck, I just purchased my 5th Tesla. I credit Tesla for making a resilient series of vehicles including the Model 3, which saved my life a few years ago after a driver ran a red light going 50mph and T-Boned my Model 3 on the driver's side. It's because of this, that I was most excited about purchasing the CyberTruck the day it was announced. The drivers in Miami and generally South Florida are pretty bad. I wanted to be in a vehicle that should I find myself in a similar accident, I know I'm walking away. However taking delivery of the CyberTruck in early March has left me more frustrated and nervous than ever before. I still love the truck, but my faith in Tesla as a company has bottomed out.
March 5th, I took delivery of the Cybertruck, a few days later the vehicle essentially died due to a flaw in the power converter. There were several customers experiencing the same issue and many of us were waiting weeks if not months for our trucks. Tesla never issued a recall for the issue. In June, I attempted to contact Tesla about using our $2,500 credit towards the purchase a Powerwall, but Tesla informed me that was not possible as the credit could not be applied to items not in the Tesla Store. That purchase is located elsewhere within the Tesla site. I had also placed an extra deposit on the range extender which I hoped would be available before the end of the year, but that was unlikely. While owning the truck for 8 months, I watched as a series of hardware recalls went out, for the gas pedal, the wiper motor, the bed, and then eventually the Inverter. As I understood it, the truck could lose power at any moment with no notice.
The inverter recall presented a problem for me as I am a Realtor in South Florida and I often take my clients for rides as we look at property. The vast majority of my clients come from out of state and aren't familiar with the area. If I didn't warn them of the possibility and I had an accident, I would be directly liable. This would also put my credibility on the line as I have a fiduciary duty to my clients to disclose defects in property I become aware of. Not disclosing the recall on the CyberTruck could call into question my honesty. A number of my clients refused to ride in the truck due to safety concerns and ultimately I lost business.
In mid to late November, I attempted to bring my Cybertruck in for Service. The earliest service appointment I could book was over 2 months out. I attempted to make my case too Tesla Service, however they cited they couldn't affect the repair until the replacement part arrived. They first shared it would take a week. I followed up, week after week, after week, and each week I was told the part would arrive a week later. Frustrated where this was going, I attempted to Trade my CyberTruck in favor of purchasing another Cybertruck that was free of any defects and recalls. However, I learned Tesla was not accepting CyberTruck Trade-ins and I couldn't sell it to a 3rd party without violating the Tesla Contract.
I wrote a letter to Tesla Corporate in Austin, TX, sharing my concerns about my safety and the fact that Tesla had shared no solution from their end. I requested that I be allowed to sell it. A few weeks had gone by when someone from Tesla Corporate reached out and shared they would look into it and that I should follow-up with them the following week. In the mean time, the General Sales Manager at the Tesla Fort Lauderdale location reached out and informed me that Tesla Sales would not offer a Buy Back, Tesla Service would not offer a Buy Back either. I had 4 recalls on the vehicle and there were issue with the tailgate opening, alignment issues with the center consul and issues with the tonneau working. The General Sales Manager did give me permission to sell the Cybertruck to a 3rd party (Carvana). So that's what I did. However I had issues with the "Service Required" indicator on the screen due to the recall. Ultimately Carvana only gave me $71,000 for my $108,000 (in change) purchased resulting in a $37,000 loss in value of which Tesla was tight lipped on. That also didn't include the $6,000 in modifications like the light bar and wraps. Regardless, I still liked the CyberTruck and opted to purchase another. I followed-up with the General Sales Manager asking about whether the Range Extender order would transfer, but he seemed more concerned about my payment for the new purchase and never followed-up with me regarding my questions. The same went for the corporate advisor. I never received an answer.
So I took delivery of my new CyberTruck. I was without a vehicle for 2 days and heavily replied on Uber. I arrived a little early to my appointment and learned that the Cybertruck was not ready. So I waited an hour until it was. Eventually they pointed me in the direction of the truck without asking for identification, which I found shocking). I had not told them that I had [previously purchased the Cybertruck, so I was expecting they would show me at least 1 or 2 features, but they didn't. They walked me to the truck and then walked away. I looked around and for the most part everything looked good. They informed me that the vehicle had less than a 10% charge and I could either wait 40 minutes for them to charge it, or I could just drive to a supercharging station and I would be issued a credit. I opted for the latter. While driving it, I noticed a very loud thumping noise and decided to wait until I was at the Supercharger to check it out. I discovered the rear drivers side tire had a massive chunk of tread missing from it, as if someone had cut it out leaving it bald. I attempted to call the sales line 3 times before giving up and driving back. Ultimately, they said this was a service issue (which was backed up) and would take several hours. Frustrated, I took the loaner. They didn't have a back-up tire and offered to replace all 4 tires before delivering it. I retuned a few hours later and of course the truck wasn't ready, so I waited another hour before I was able to pick it up.
In the days that followed, I never heard back from the General Sales Manager with my questions, in fact I never even met him. The corporate advisor never followed up with my questions. I was still waiting to hear back as to whether Tesla Corporate would have even done a Buy Back or reimbursed me for my losses. I never heard back regarding my Range Extender order, whether it was transferable to the new truck. And now I am having issues getting the tonneau to open & close. Seems I have to press it multiple times and hold it down for it to work. Ultimately my experience has left me feeling as though Tesla doesn't in fact care about its customers, just cares about getting paid. It feels entirely like a completely different company compared to 10 years ago.
I plan to write a follow-up letter to Tesla Corporate, but to be honest I really have zero confidence in Tesla's resolution team based on these recent experiences.
March 5th, I took delivery of the Cybertruck, a few days later the vehicle essentially died due to a flaw in the power converter. There were several customers experiencing the same issue and many of us were waiting weeks if not months for our trucks. Tesla never issued a recall for the issue. In June, I attempted to contact Tesla about using our $2,500 credit towards the purchase a Powerwall, but Tesla informed me that was not possible as the credit could not be applied to items not in the Tesla Store. That purchase is located elsewhere within the Tesla site. I had also placed an extra deposit on the range extender which I hoped would be available before the end of the year, but that was unlikely. While owning the truck for 8 months, I watched as a series of hardware recalls went out, for the gas pedal, the wiper motor, the bed, and then eventually the Inverter. As I understood it, the truck could lose power at any moment with no notice.
The inverter recall presented a problem for me as I am a Realtor in South Florida and I often take my clients for rides as we look at property. The vast majority of my clients come from out of state and aren't familiar with the area. If I didn't warn them of the possibility and I had an accident, I would be directly liable. This would also put my credibility on the line as I have a fiduciary duty to my clients to disclose defects in property I become aware of. Not disclosing the recall on the CyberTruck could call into question my honesty. A number of my clients refused to ride in the truck due to safety concerns and ultimately I lost business.
In mid to late November, I attempted to bring my Cybertruck in for Service. The earliest service appointment I could book was over 2 months out. I attempted to make my case too Tesla Service, however they cited they couldn't affect the repair until the replacement part arrived. They first shared it would take a week. I followed up, week after week, after week, and each week I was told the part would arrive a week later. Frustrated where this was going, I attempted to Trade my CyberTruck in favor of purchasing another Cybertruck that was free of any defects and recalls. However, I learned Tesla was not accepting CyberTruck Trade-ins and I couldn't sell it to a 3rd party without violating the Tesla Contract.
I wrote a letter to Tesla Corporate in Austin, TX, sharing my concerns about my safety and the fact that Tesla had shared no solution from their end. I requested that I be allowed to sell it. A few weeks had gone by when someone from Tesla Corporate reached out and shared they would look into it and that I should follow-up with them the following week. In the mean time, the General Sales Manager at the Tesla Fort Lauderdale location reached out and informed me that Tesla Sales would not offer a Buy Back, Tesla Service would not offer a Buy Back either. I had 4 recalls on the vehicle and there were issue with the tailgate opening, alignment issues with the center consul and issues with the tonneau working. The General Sales Manager did give me permission to sell the Cybertruck to a 3rd party (Carvana). So that's what I did. However I had issues with the "Service Required" indicator on the screen due to the recall. Ultimately Carvana only gave me $71,000 for my $108,000 (in change) purchased resulting in a $37,000 loss in value of which Tesla was tight lipped on. That also didn't include the $6,000 in modifications like the light bar and wraps. Regardless, I still liked the CyberTruck and opted to purchase another. I followed-up with the General Sales Manager asking about whether the Range Extender order would transfer, but he seemed more concerned about my payment for the new purchase and never followed-up with me regarding my questions. The same went for the corporate advisor. I never received an answer.
So I took delivery of my new CyberTruck. I was without a vehicle for 2 days and heavily replied on Uber. I arrived a little early to my appointment and learned that the Cybertruck was not ready. So I waited an hour until it was. Eventually they pointed me in the direction of the truck without asking for identification, which I found shocking). I had not told them that I had [previously purchased the Cybertruck, so I was expecting they would show me at least 1 or 2 features, but they didn't. They walked me to the truck and then walked away. I looked around and for the most part everything looked good. They informed me that the vehicle had less than a 10% charge and I could either wait 40 minutes for them to charge it, or I could just drive to a supercharging station and I would be issued a credit. I opted for the latter. While driving it, I noticed a very loud thumping noise and decided to wait until I was at the Supercharger to check it out. I discovered the rear drivers side tire had a massive chunk of tread missing from it, as if someone had cut it out leaving it bald. I attempted to call the sales line 3 times before giving up and driving back. Ultimately, they said this was a service issue (which was backed up) and would take several hours. Frustrated, I took the loaner. They didn't have a back-up tire and offered to replace all 4 tires before delivering it. I retuned a few hours later and of course the truck wasn't ready, so I waited another hour before I was able to pick it up.
In the days that followed, I never heard back from the General Sales Manager with my questions, in fact I never even met him. The corporate advisor never followed up with my questions. I was still waiting to hear back as to whether Tesla Corporate would have even done a Buy Back or reimbursed me for my losses. I never heard back regarding my Range Extender order, whether it was transferable to the new truck. And now I am having issues getting the tonneau to open & close. Seems I have to press it multiple times and hold it down for it to work. Ultimately my experience has left me feeling as though Tesla doesn't in fact care about its customers, just cares about getting paid. It feels entirely like a completely different company compared to 10 years ago.
I plan to write a follow-up letter to Tesla Corporate, but to be honest I really have zero confidence in Tesla's resolution team based on these recent experiences.
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