Imagine ordering a brand-new Tesla Model 3 and waiting months only to find it arrived missing some major parts. Then you wait weeks more while Tesla finds the part your brand-new car should have had. Well, this is the reality for one Tesla customer. Her new Tesla Model 3 Performance showed up missing a brake pad and has been in the shop for nearly a month. This isn’t the first time Tesla has failed to uphold expectations. 

How much does a 2022 Tesla Model 3 cost? 

The 2022 Tesla Model 3 starts at $44,990. Depending on which battery and performance trim you get, the price can reach up to $58,990. 

Imagine spending that kind of cash on getting a car that wasn’t completed at the factory. April Gillmore took delivery of her Tesla Model 3 Performance on Dec 19th and, through her excitement, couldn’t help but notice a grating scraping sound every time she applied brakes. 

Are Teslas good cars?

According to The Drive – which Gilmore sent her text conversation with Tesla to – she reported the sound to Tesla a few days later. Tesla told her there were inspection slots available for three weeks. After turning down a third-party inspection, Tesla finally let her send a video of the scraping sound. 

She took a video and sent it in. The Tesla inspector she spoke with claimed that he and three other mechanics thought “the brakes sounded normal for a performance Model 3.” Not taking the bait, Gilmore pushed for an earlier inspection appointment. 

By December 23rd, the Tesla’s grating sound had grown worse, so she decided to visit an independent Tesla shop. Here, the mechanic removed the noisy wheel and discovered an inside brake pad was missing. Since she had been driving on it, they couldn’t just install a brake pad; they had to replace the rotor and brake caliper. Once the Tesla inspectors saw this video, they took Gilmore’s car immediately. 

How’s Tesla’s customer service? 

Gilmore says that not only did her car get delivered to her incomplete and dangerously so, but that Tesla didn’t even have a loaner to give her while she waited for her car to get finished. According to the Drive, Tesla’s solution was to give her uber credits; over Christmas weekend.

On December 27th, the mechanic told her the parts were on order, and the car should be done on New Year’s eve. When NYE came, Tesla pushed back the date to January 7th because the parts they had ordered were now unavailable, pushing the date back to January 14th. 

Teeming with frustration, Gilmore asked to have her car back, to which Tesla offered to cover a car payment. That, along with a $100 reimbursement for the first inspection, calmed Gilmore. However, now her car’s due date has been pushed back to January 19th. 

In an interview with James Gilboy from The Drive, Gilmore said, “I have never purchased a new or used vehicle that was under warranty and had this type of experience with a service department. I absolutely do not trust the Tesla brand in any way. Not only did they deliver a car to me that was unsafe to drive, but they also blew me off about the noise the car was making, and now they’re dragging their feet on making things right. If they can build and ship new Model 3Ps, then why can’t they repair the ones that they’ve already sold to people? I had no clue that Tesla treated their customers this way prior to this experience.”