Tesla Created Secret Team To Suppress Complaints

Reuters reports:

Tesla employees had been instructed to thwart any customers complaining about poor driving range from bringing their vehicles in for service. Last summer, the company quietly created a “Diversion Team” in Las Vegas to cancel as many range-related appointments as possible.

The Austin, Texas-based electric carmaker deployed the team because its service centers were inundated with appointments from owners who had expected better performance based on the company’s advertised estimates and the projections displayed by the in-dash range meters of the cars themselves.

Inside the Nevada team’s office, some employees celebrated canceling service appointments by putting their phones on mute and striking a metal xylophone, triggering applause from coworkers who sometimes stood on desks. The team often closed hundreds of cases a week and staffers were tracked on their average number of diverted appointments per day.

Read the full article.

Per the report, most vehicles did not actually need repairs, Tesla has simply inflated the expectations of customers with false claims about driving range. Employees on the “diversion team” were told that they saved the company $1000 for every canceled appointment. Hit the link, there’s more. No paywall.

Tesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints @specialreports https://t.co/6HfRRRe48i

— Reuters Energy and Commodities (@ReutersCommods) July 27, 2023