2013 Tesla Model S Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

2013 Tesla Model S Long-Term Road Test

Low maintenance should be a huge selling point with an EV, but in the Model S, it's a strike against it.

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mfennell

The Tesla page is confusing. George Blankenship posted that a PLAN is not required but paying Tesla for annual inspection IS required to maintain your warranty. Honestly, I'm not sure how that will stand up to fed scrutiny, but that's what they say.

It's not clear what a basic annual inspection costs. It IS clear they want you to give them $600 for an annual inspection PLUS replacing wear items, roadside assistance, software updates, etc.

fordson1

So $600 for a tire rotation and washer fluid fillup. I was wondering how Tesla dealers are going to stay in business, but I'm starting to see the light. The service pitch is that $600 a year is right in the ballpark with other $100,000 cars ( even though with those cars, there is some actual work being performed). But really, I suppose they know their market...people who are prepared to spend this kind of money on a car that can't really be considered a daily driver and will almost never be an only car are not going to kick about getting their $600 worth.

zhangrenhou

mfennell makes a good point. Most other cars, you can do the service work yourself without affecting the warranty, right? What does the law say about forcing people to purchase service from the manufacturer's service center?

throwback

It costs a lot of money to put rockets in to space. Seriously though, what exactly is included in that $600 yearly maintanence fee? Also, what's the point of bragging about low service needs if you are going to charge the same as a gas powered car?

gslippy

Software updates should be free under warranty.

I just rotated the tires on my Leaf myself, and have yet to take it in for its 6-month checkup. I'm certainly not interested in paying much for it.

philip17

I own a Leaf and found out that, under the warranty, you have to take it to the dealership once a year for a battery inspection. While I was there, they washed it and rotated the tires. The service adviser didn't know what to do with me, or how to upsell any extra service.

mayhemm

This is one area where Tesla can stand to improve. Originally, the annual service was REQUIRED to maintain warranty. They have since removed this requirement (likely as result of public outcry). $600 still seems like a lot, though, when you consider most of the items on the checklist are visual inspection items. Especially considering Tesla claims their goal is to "not make a profit with service" in contrast to auto dealers which make a majority of their profit from service.