Tesla is no longer offering mobile service in Newfoundland, a change that will have a significant impact on owners, especially those that are out of warranty.
Tesla owners in Newfoundland used to be able to rely on a mobile ranger visiting the island every two weeks to perform service work, both in-warranty and out of warranty, wherever they needed it, whether that was your driveway, place of work, or elsewhere. Now the company has significantly changed its service policy for Newfoundland that could mean some owners will have to travel all the way to Halifax, Nova Scotia to get their car serviced.
According to owners who have reached out to Drive Tesla, they were notified this week that their upcoming service appointments, some as soon as next week, had been cancelled, and that the “travelling service offering” in the province has changed.
Instead, Tesla will now be sending a mobile ranger to Newfoundland once every two months, and the service will no longer be mobile, and all service will be conducted at a third-party garage at 685 Topsail Road in St. Johns.
Making matters worse, this service will only be for repairs being made under warranty. If you are out of warranty, owners are being told they have to take their car to Halifax, a drive that takes up to 22 hours to complete, and pay out of pocket for all expenses. Those expenses can add up quickly as some service visits might take multiple days, and with the distance between Newfoundland and Halifax, it doesn’t make sense to go back and forth. The expenses could be even higher if you r car isn’t drivable and you have to tow it to Halifax.
While Tesla hasn’t officially commented on the change in policy, it is likely to do with the recent layoffs, which have impacted service staff across the country. Based on what we have heard, many of the service layoffs included staff with the most experience.
This change will obviously have an impact on current owners, but it will also impact potential owners who now know they will not have regular access to service. Add in the fact that there are no Superchargers, and none planned for the foreseeable future after the Supercharger team was let go, and that Tesla was recently excluded from the provincial rebate program, Tesla’s sales in the province could be taking a hit this year.
Are you a Tesla owner in Newfoundland and Labrador? Let us know in the comments below how you will be impacted by this change.
