Elon Musk and the Tesla crew made a huge announcement last night (well, late at night my time, but I guess daytime in California). Addressing some concerns of Tesla Model S owners, Elon titled his blog post, “Infinite Mile Warranty.” The infinite mile warranty is for the drive units of 85 kWh Model S’s, and it isn’t just for the first owner, but for anyone a Model S might be sold to. It also applies retroactively.
After seeing the news and before we got our piece up, one of our readers, Steve Grinwis, sent along his thoughts for a short piece here on CleanTechnica. It includes some good context and insights, so I’m republishing it below, but first, I thought these closing lines from Elon in his post were the most important, and is one critical reason why Tesla is going to have more fanboys and fangirls in 10 years than an other automaker out there (if it doesn’t already):
To investors in Tesla, I must acknowledge that this will have a moderately negative effect on Tesla earnings in the short term, as our warranty reserves will necessarily have to increase above current levels. This is amplified by the fact that we are doing so retroactively, not just for new customers. 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.
The long term — ah, yes, that thing that so many company CEOs don’t think much about. How refreshing.
Here’s the piece from Steve:
By Steve Grinwis
Elon Musk did what he always does: He nailed it.
He announced today that the 85 kWh version of the Model S will now come with an 8 year unlimited mile warranty in a blog post.
Recently the media has been abuzz with issues experienced by both Edmunds and Consumer Reports which had the worrying detail of a number of complete drivetrain units replaced. These turned out to be minor issues, and the drivetrain units were replaced out of convenience to the customer rather than because the driveunits were seriously damaged, or beyond repair.
This should help accomplish a few things for Tesla Motors:
1) It will help assuage the fears of potential customers like myself.
2) It will help show that there are no serious design flaws, and that Tesla Motors will stand behind their product.
3) It will get them another round of amazing media attention!
Way to go Elon! You’ve made my purchase of a Model III that much more a sure thing.
–Steve Grinwis
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