Company “adding a tonne of service centres.” But it might not have to.
If you’re one of those people who think that like a microwave oven, your car shouldn’t bother you with annoying things like service intervals and what have you, the Tesla Model 3 may have just gotten that little more appealing to you. The company’s CEO spoke to the media at the launch of the new mass-market EV yesterday and made a bold claim:
“The next-generation powertrains are designed to be a million miles between services.” – Elon Musk, Tesla CEO
The electric compact saloon utilises brand-new motors, battery cells and drivetrain components compared to Tesla’s previous products, and while there’s little doubt that its reliability will certainly be improved over the powertrains employed in the Model S saloon and Model X SUV, it’s within reason to assume that things like coolant, fluids, and other consumables would require timely scheduled servicing.
The Tesla Model 3 will arrive with a four-year vehicle warranty and an eight-year battery warranty, and the 500,000 cars that have already been ordered will be serviced by an expanding network of service centres globally. That said, Musk clarified that the company is working hard to remove the need to visit a service centre at all:
“As far as service is concerned, we’re adding a tonne more service centres, as well as the ability to service cars at peoples’ homes. Service wait times are very low.” – Elon Musk, Tesla CEO
The company is also working on the ability to schedule services from within the car itself, through a Tesla’s infotainment touchscreen system. The online service schedule will allow customers to be able to determine timeslots at their nearest Tesla centres to see what might be convenient for them, as well as offer the option to schedule a service to be done at home or at work, without the car ever leaving its location.
Tesla continues to expand its service network in Australia, with a new centre in Brisbane expected to come online very soon, joining existing service centres in Melbourne and Sydney. The Model 3 will arrive on our shores in early-2019.
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