NEWS
Tesla announces unlimited distance warranty
Model S drive unit coverage now matches battery pack – eight years or unlimited km for 85kWh variantElectric vehicle specialist Tesla has improved the warranty for the Model S to match the warranty for the car's battery pack.
The upshot of this is the 85kWh variant in the Model S range now offers an eight-year/unlimited distance warranty for the drive unit, an electric motor. Tesla is applying the warranty upgrade retrospectively too, so existing owners will enjoy the same benefits as new buyers.
Tesla has been in damage control recently, after incidents of the Model S catching fire were reported in the media, although combustion was apparently unrelated to the drive unit that is the subject of the warranty upgrade.
In a blog over the weekend, company CEO Elon Musk admitted that Tesla should have offered this level of warranty coverage from the moment the Model S was introduced.
"If we truly believe that electric motors are fundamentally more reliable than gasoline engines, with far fewer moving parts and no oily residue or combustion byproducts to gum up the works, then our warranty policy should reflect that," Musk wrote.
The Tesla boss acknowledges that the new initiative will have some impact on the company's "earnings in the short term."
Warranty reserves will be expanded to make allowance for the additional drive unit coverage, and earnings will be further eroded by the retrospective nature of the change. In his conclusion, however, Musk puts the interests of the paying customer ahead of the shareholders'.
"However, by doing the right thing for Tesla vehicle owners at this early stage of our company, I am confident that it will work out well in the long term."
RedBook Warranty provides peace of mind when the factory warranty expires.
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Written byCarsales Staff
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Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
If the price does not contain the notation that it is "Drive Away", the price may not include additional costs, such as stamp duty and other government charges.
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
If the price does not contain the notation that it is "Drive Away", the price may not include additional costs, such as stamp duty and other government charges.
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