There’s a lot of data available online on Tesla owners. For instance, Jerry highlighted that men made up 83 percent of Tesla drivers, compared to 49 percent of drivers of all other types of vehicles. Also, we discovered that Tesla owners are quite young, with roughly 70 percent of drivers being 34 or younger. Needless to say that these drivers also have a higher disposable income. According to Hedges and Company, the average household income of a Tesla Model X owner surged from $143,177 a few years ago, to $146,623 annually in 2022. Meanwhile, the average household income of a Tesla Model S owner reached $151,096 annually in 2022.

Using demographic information, we may forecast consumer wants and needs and make sensible business decisions. These data allow Tesla to recognize that these young, wealthy buyers are more demanding consumers, thus they will have higher expectations. This means that Tesla needs to find innovative ways to engage these consumers and personalize the experience. We’ve already seen it with the move towards video games and the Steam integration in new Model S and X vehicles. But it also means that the electric car manufacturer needs to pay more attention to consumer feedback and respond to owners’ concerns. This is even more important now when owners are discussing the brutal truth about owning a Tesla directly on social media platforms like Reddit. So, here are the issues that Tesla should address ASAP.

Related: 11 Problems With Tesla Nobody Talks About

10 Some Tesla Features Cause Chaos

Tesla Smart Summon
via DragTimes on YouTube

Back in 2019, Tesla owners were in a state of panic and dissatisfaction due to the Smart Summon feature. Tesla said that customers could touch a button to activate their car's self-driving feature, which would enable the Teslas to look for their owners. But while the function had a highly futuristic vibe, several users were quick to point out its shortcomings.

A Twitter user named @abgoswami said, “Enhanced summon isn’t safe or production ready. Tried in my empty driveway. Car went forward and ran into the side of garage. Love the car but saddened.” Other owners shared similar negative experiences.

9 Tesla After Purchase Customer Service Is Bad

Tesla Model S at Service Center
Mashable

Tesla received an overall score of 27.84 out of 200 on CustomerServiceScoreboard.com, based on 45 reviews. With 43 negative reviews or 95.56 percent of the feedback, Tesla received a “terrible” rating. The most recent comment says, “horrible customer service. No value to their buyers.”

“Horrible experience even before I have taken delivery, they have no one to pick up calls, tested by patience for 2 hours plus - all useless. They simply do not care, all employees at NJ stores behave with arrogance,” commented another Tesla owner. “Nothing is customer friendly - very frustrated.”

Meanwhile, on the Tesla Motors Club forum, a Tesla owner asks, “Why is Tesla service department (SD) customer service so bad?” Other gear heads recount their own unpleasant experiences. For example, a Tesla owner explained that “literally every part of Tesla Service is just as bad as it was in 2015. From communication, to sourcing parts.”

8 Tesla Supercharger Bug

Tesla Model S at supercharger
Via: Tesla

Renewable Energy Magazine reports that there is a Supercharger bug that has impacted some Tesla owners who charged at Superchargers. However, the bug could impact more EV drivers when they leave their vehicles idle and in a charging stations without charging them.

“The Supercharger bug exploits this payment cycle and sometimes shows that a driver owes hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees,” says Renewable Energy Magazine.

Supposedly because of the high fees, the app will block the Tesla owner and leave him in a situation that he needs to contact customer service and sort the problem out.

7 Tesla Has High Maintenance And Repair Costs

Tesla repair 1
HotCars

According to RepairPal’s estimates, the average annual service and repair cost for a Tesla is $832. However, for the Tesla S, the annual service and repair cost surges to $1,047 on average. As car aficionados and Tesla fans know, the Tesla S has issues with the door handles, problems with the touchscreen, and issues with the suspension components.

6 Tesla Has Insufficient Service Centers

A Tesla-Service-Center
via Auto Body Shop News

Back in June, Elon Musk announced that Tesla wants to “revolutionize” service and become far better than its rivals. It also set an ambitious goal of booking appointments for same-day repairs. Until that happens, Musk needs to have a reality check and reduce Tesla’s service waiting times to something that is realistic and manageable. On social media, users complain that they have to wait for weeks to have simple procedures done. On the Tesla Motors Club forum, a Tesla owner said that on July 21st, 2022, he was waiting since June 10th “for an alignment and then to fix a subsequent rattle that emerged after performing the alignment.”

Another user replied to the comment, “my windshield has a 2-foot crack in it currently. Nearest service center is Charlotte, 3–4 weeks before I can even get an appointment, mind you I don't even know if they have a windshield in stock. Also, every time I go there it is a terrible experience. So I'm driving even further to the traffic capital of the world, Atlanta (2-2.5 hrs one way), to get it replaced next week, as obviously ATL has 3 service centers so much better availability. And by "much better availability" I mean 1–2 weeks vs 3–4 weeks, still not ideal.”

Related: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About The Tesla Semi Truck

5 Tesla Service Delays And Questionable Repairs

A Tesla service center
Tesla 

While Tesla owners are furious about the delays, they also point out that some of the repairs are excessively expensive and not up to the standard expected by customers. For instance, on Reddit, a user titled his post A Repair Would Cost $16,000 at Tesla: the Electrified Garage Did It for $700, and he explained how insanely overpriced Tesla services are. To be fair, the combo of high prices and “untrained employees” can be devastating to your financial situation.

4 Tesla Employed Untrained Workers In Its Service Shops

A Tesla service center
Tesla

Last June, Electrek claimed that Tesla was “sending untrained employees to work on cars as service becomes problematic.” Inside EVs also recalled the issue in an article from September. Evidently, moving “untrained sales employees” in the service department can do more damage than good. This approach is equally awful as asking an accountant to write a medical prescription.

3 Tesla Hidden Costs

red Tesla Roadster Concept front
Via: Tesla

From the costs associated with installing a home charger to those of using the Supercharger network, Tesla ownership comes with different hidden costs. EV consumers should take into account that Tesla car insurance is more expensive. They also need to keep in mind the high costs of additional features as well as the pricey maintenance and repair services.

2 Tesla Cars Have Several Technical Problems

blue Tesla Model 3 from back
Tesla

Back in November 2022, Tesla issued two back-to-back recalls, which affected a staggering 350,000 vehicles in the U.S. alone. Tesla mentioned a software flaw that prevents some cars from using their rear lights as the reason for which it recalled 321,000 vehicles. A couple of days later, Tesla issued another recall for 30,000 Model X because of an issue with the front passenger airbag. Needless to say that these aren’t the only issues that have plagued Tesla vehicles in the past years.

1 Tesla Has A Blunt Style That Isn’t Made For A Collector’s Car

red Tesla Model 3 from above
Tesla

Many gear heads point out on social media that Tesla vehicles look “generic," “boring and stale.” This minimalist approach might be fashionable right now with certain demographics, but it doesn’t have the potential to become more trendy in the future. If you go by appearances only, Tesla cars won't end up being classics any time soon.