Tesla ‘diversion team’ secretly dodged driver complaints

Tesla reportedly established a “diversion team” to subvert driver complaints about battery power not being up to par.

The electric car manufacturer created a “diversion team” last summer meant to dissuade customers from visiting maintenance centers when they were getting less mileage out of their batteries than expected, according to Reuters.

Underperformance is a common issue with Telsa automobiles, reportedly due in part to the company’s practices of overhyping the capabilities of the battery power in their popular cars.

One customer told Reuters his Tesla sports sedan got less than half the mileage he was expecting on a road trip from Colorado to California and seemed to lose energy in cold weather. When he tried to book an appointment with Tesla technicians, he was assured a “remote diagnostics” test determined there was no problem and the company wanted to cancel his visit if he had no other concerns.

“Of course I still have concerns,” that driver said. “I have 150 miles of range on a full charge!”

He was expecting to travel more than twice than distance with a fully charged batteries.

Canceling customer reservations was encouraged by Tesla management, according to Reuters, which reports that one “diversion team” office in Nevada celebrated by striking a xylophone every time a customer’s attempt to visit a technician was rebuffed. Employees stood on their desks and applauded nixed appointments. Management reportedly told workers the company saved $1,000 every time a concerned driver was turned away.

According to Reuters, the appointments were considered unnecessary because the automobiles were doing what they were supposed to do, even if customers were led to expect more from their cars. Canceling appointments over misunderstood battery issues also freed up service centers to deal with problems that required maintenance.

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Reuters reported the “diversion team” in Nevada was no longer active and range cases were now being handled by virtual service advisors in Utah. It’s not clear why that change was made.

A Tesla insider told Reuters the order to overhype battery performance came directly from company owner Elon Musk, who admitted to Korean regulators in June that Tesla engaged in “false/exaggerated advertising” with regards to how far at least one of its vehicles can travel on a single charge.

Musk — who repeatedly engages in disinformation on the Twitter social media platform he purchased for $44 billion in October — didn’t comment on CNBC’s report. That company is believed to have lost more than half its value since Musk’s takeover. On Thursday, Musk wrote on Twitter (which he recently started calling “X”) that “I’m not saying there are aliens, but…”

Thanks largely to the success of Tesla, Forbes still ranks Musk as the world’s wealthiest person.