For years it has been known that Tesla has a monopoly when it comes to electric cars. They are the industry leaders and they have been for a long time now. They are the world’s most valuable car company and they also sell the best selling electric car ever, the Tesla Model 3 with an estimated 645,000 cars sold already since its launch in July 2017. Tesla has also invested so much into their charging network and battery technology, making them so much more convenient and sustainable. Tesla aims to make its cars just as easy to own as any gas car by increasing the range on their batteries, increasing charging speed, etc.
Tesla really is the might in the car industry. The game-changer really. Tesla was the company that put pressure on the big boys like GM and Ford to take electric cars seriously especially since the launch of the Model 3. Tesla is lightyears ahead of the mainstream car companies in terms of battery technology and infrastructure.
However, many car companies are rapidly catching up with Tesla. Take the VW-Audi group that wants to release more than 25 new electric cars by 2025. They too will be heavily investing in the electric car infrastructure along with companies like Shell. Actually, Shell is planning all-electric charge stations to be built all across the world and one of the first of these Shell charge stations will be based in London, UK.
Tesla does have competition and one-day things will get a lot harder for them. The reason being is that many manufacturers know Tesla’s secrets and their weaknesses. All manufacturers need to do is steal Tesla’s strength and improve or fix their weaknesses in their own cars. Its hard, time consuming, and costly to steal Tesla’s strengths and ideas since they are so advanced. However, it’s super easy to fix their weaknesses, and there are a lot of weaknesses in Tesla cars.
But what can Tesla do to address these weaknesses? Let’s find out.
The main weakness of Tesla is build quality. This is in fact a huge issue. The cheapest Tesla, the Model 3, starts at $39,990 which is a hefty bit of money. For that, you expect some luxury, nothing Rolls-Royce level but you do expect the same build-quality of Audi or Lexus. Well, that’s where things go wrong. The Model 3 has the build quality equivalent of maybe a $20,000 car if that. There are panel gaps everywhere, flimsy interior materials, glitchy screens, etc.
However, things get even worse. The Model S and the Model X, two of the more premium cars Tesla makes also have panel gap issues, glitchy screens, cheap interiors, etc. This is such a shame considering these are premium cars at premium luxury price points. Let’s not forget that most Tesla owners will be coming from already luxury brands like Mercedes or BMW. They expect a certain standard of quality in a car similarly priced to their old one. They are used to premium quality hence when they get into a Tesla they will be disappointed. Of course, they will still buy the Tesla because it’s the easiest electric car to own but if there are any other cars from other companies out there that offer similar benefits to their Tesla with better build quality, they will most likely switch brands.
That then is a huge concern. One day VW-Audi, Polestar, BMW, etc will be close or on the same level in terms of battery technology and infrastructure as Tesla. These companies prioritize build-quality massively and since most of them have been building premium cars for years, they know what customers want at each price point. Hence these companies can quite easily kill Tesla by building better quality cars with similar technologies. The reason why is because people want high-quality at premium prices.
Tesla’s customer service isn’t great either. In fact, it’s atrocious. This is something you do not expect for such a big car company that sells somewhat premium cars at premium prices. The warranty first of all is annoying. They are very picky about what they will cover. For example, in one case whereby someone’s bumper went flying off in the rain; Tesla stated they will not cover it as it was “an act of God.” It is quite silly and it’s not what you expect from such a big company. However, you can tweet Elon Musk any ideas you want for your car in updates, etc and he sometimes responds. However, when it comes to the negative sides, things get sticky. In fact, many Model 3 owners have reported bits falling off their car which is not what you expect from such new vehicles.
All Tesla’s rivals need to do is simply improve their customer service and warranty then job done. The thing is, many people get annoyed at Tesla’s service. However, most don’t leave the brand because they see no alternative right now. However, give it a few years, and then we will see more and more people switch. If a brand annoys you, are you going to want to stay with them? Course not.
Tesla needs to improve customer service immensely if they want to stay at the top. Other companies have far more experience in the motor industry and they know what customers want and what they expect. Of course, none of this is Elon’s fault as let’s face it, he doesn’t deal with all the complaints. The blame should be put more towards the customer service departments at Tesla.
Tesla really can conquer the electric car world forever if they want to. But they have to tackle their major weaknesses. They need to invest money into the customer experience side. The thing is as Elon Musk said, Tesla, doesn’t need to advertise their cars. It’s all word of mouth. You buy a Tesla because you have heard great things about it etc. However, what will deter people especially in the future in terms of word of mouth is criticism. People criticizing their build quality etc and with more and more electric cars coming out every year, there will be more alternatives to Tesla. Hence then the word of mouth will be don’t buy a Tesla, buy something else.
Tesla will always be big as let’s face it, they are the Apple of the car industry. It’s more of a status symbol nowadays than a car. But there is quite a large customer base who just want a car more than the badge and if they see no improvement and more competitors on the market, Tesla will lose a customer, and re-sale values will start to be affected.
Featured image via: motortrend.com