Report: Tesla Planning on Bolstering its Global Service Centers

author: Vineeth Joel Patel   

Tesla may have the best range and high-tech features, but two things have plagued the automaker since it introduced its first electric vehicle – build quality and service. While Tesla is working on improving the build quality of its cars at its manufacturing factories, its service centers have stalled. Improving build quality is going to be a slow process for Tesla, but the electric automaker can work on adding more service centers fairly quickly, which is exactly what it plans to do.


One New Service Center Every Week


Electrek reports that Tesla has informed its staff that it's looking to expand its service capacity by adding over 52 new service centers in 2021. Apparently, the United States will get the majority of them. At the moment, Tesla has approximately 120 service centers in the country. While that sounds like a lot, quite a few states only have on service center in large cities, leaving those in more rural parts to rely on over-the-air updates and mobile services. Unfortunately, those aren't exactly things to rely on if you live in a rural part of the state. Wisconsin, Utah, Rhode Island, Oregon, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Michigan, Iowa, Indiana, Hawaii, Delaware, and Connecticut are all of the states that only have one service center.


As the outlet points out, Tesla only has 466 service centers globally. Despite the automaker's impressive growth in sales – Electrek claims deliveries grew by roughly 50 percent year-over-year over the last 12 months – the brand's service centers have only grown by 12 percent. Tesla's mobile service fleet has only grown by 8 percent.


Service Has Always Been An Issue


This isn't a new issue, Tesla's had problems with its service centers for years. Electrek claims that Tesla CEO Elon Musk admitted that the automaker made a mistake by overlooking how many service centers it actually needed to service its electric cars. Last year, Musk announced that he had plans to add more service centers to its arsenal.


Getting a vehicle serviced is continually one major complaint with Tesla owners. Some owners have reported having to wait months for simple repairs, while the majority of owners are waiting weeks to even get an open slot at a service center. Unlike traditional automakers that have a service center at their dealerships, Tesla does things differently. In this instance, that's not exactly a good thing.


Tesla can sell as many vehicles as it wants to, but until it fixes its service issues, a lot of people won't want to buy one of its cars. Think about it, going to the dealership is one of the worst parts of automotive ownership. If you have to wait months to get an open slot and then drive hours to go to the closest service center, that's not a great experience. Increasing the number of available service centers should fix some of the larger issues owners are facing.

Vineeth Joel Patel

Joel Patel has been covering all aspects of the automotive industry for four years as an editor and freelance writer for various websites. When it comes to cars, he enjoys covering the merger between technology and cars. In his spare time, Joel likes to watch baseball, work on his car, and try new foods