Service
Electric vehicles require much less service and maintenance than internal combustion engine vehicles. They do not require routine oil changes. They do not have any tailpipe emissions and therefore do not require any muffler or exhaust system work. They do not require replacement spark plugs, pistons, hoses or belts. Work on the conventional parts of the car—including the brakes, tires, and body work—can be performed by any qualified automotive technician.
Tesla's website recommends the owner bring the vehicle in for service "once a year or every 12,000 miles". For other concerns with Tesla's all-electric powertrain, Tesla has created a "mobile service unit" that dispatches company-trained technicians to customers' homes or offices in case the owner is experiencing problems. Tesla charges the customer according to the distance the service unit needs to travel: one US dollar per mile roundtrip with a 100 dollar minimum. Technicians drive company vans equipped with numerous tools and testing equipment to do "in the field" repairs, enhancements and software upgrades. Tesla debuted its "house call" approach in the spring of 2009, when the company announced a recall due to a manufacturing problem in the Lotus assembly plant, which also affected the Lotus Elise and other models from the British sports car maker.
The first Tesla Motors service center, in Los Angeles, California, was opened on Santa Monica Boulevard on May 1, 2008. Tesla Motors publicly opened their second showroom and service area in Menlo Park, California on July 22, 2008. The Menlo Park location is also the final assembly area for Tesla Roadsters. Tesla also operates service centers in New York City, Miami, Chicago, and Seattle.
Tesla plans to build additional service centers over the next few years to support sales of its next vehicle, the Model S sports sedan. Planning is underway for an additional 15 service centers in United States major metropolitan locations. Possible locations for sales and service locations in Europe were announced in a letter to customers in May 2008.
Read more about this topic: Tesla Roadster
Famous quotes containing the word service:
“Our chief want in life, is, someone who shall make us do what we can. This is the service of a friend. With him we are easily great.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“We have in the service the scum of the earth as common soldiers.”
—Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke Wellington (1769–1852)
“Finally, your lengthy service ended,
Lay your weariness beneath my laurel tree.”
—Horace [Quintus Horatius Flaccus] (65–8)