Tesla car owner became so frustrated with the company's poor customer service he ended up fixing his car himself
- Greg Furstenwerth became one of the first Tesla owners in Hawaii in 2013 after pre-ordering his Model S
- But when his warranty ran out he says he was left with few - and all very expensive - options for servicing his car
- As there were no Tesla stations nearby, and most garages don't have Tesla parts, he decided to fix it himself, and was surprised how easy it was
- 'It’s the easiest car I’ve ever worked on,' he said. 'It’s like putting together Legos, taking apart Legos'
- This is the latest grievance to hit Tesla in recent weeks which has been struggling to bounce back from it's owner's impulsive tweet
- Elon Musk tweeted that Tesla was going private on August 7, promising that investors would be paid $420 per share
- Six days later in a blog post he said the funding for that deal hadn't been secured
- Late Friday he issued a statement saying that after talking to investors, the plan to go private would be scrubbed
- Experts say the episode could further erode his credibility with stakeholders
A Tesla car owner became so frustrated with the company's poor customer service he ended up fixing his car himself.
Greg Furstenwerth became one of the first Tesla owners in Hawaii in 2013 after pre-ordering his Model S.
He told CNBC that everything was fine while the car was still under warranty. In fact, the company would even call him up to say they 'noticed that there’s something going wrong with your car.’
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'They really took care of me, actually, as an original preorder,' he said.
But that all came to an abrupt end when his warranty period ended.
With Tesla no longer willing to help him, Furstenwerth said he struggled to find somewhere to service his vehicles. Tesla stations are still few and far between, and many small town garages don't have the parts he needed.
It is especially difficult because he says Tesla doesn’t make spare parts, diagnostic tools, or repair manuals readily available.
Eventually, he tracked down some parts online but was horrified when the total cost came to more than $14,000.
Furstenwerth admitted he considered destroying his car in frustration rather than pay an extortionate fee to get it fixed. But instead, he popped the hood to see if there was anything he could do.
And he says he was stunned to find the engine so simple it appeared as though it was assembled of 'Lego.'
'It’s the easiest car I’ve ever worked on,' he said. 'Easiest device I’ve ever worked on.
'They built a Lego car. It’s like putting together Legos, taking apart Legos. If you can put together Legos you can put together a Tesla Model S.'
Furstenwerth said he still has a lot of love for the company, owned and run by Elon Musk, but was disappointed how they dealt with their loyal customers.
In a tweet, directly to Musk and Tesla, in February, he wrote: 'Tesla is it really your goal to make your customers feel like this?
'Why can you not address my grievances? Why can you not fix my car on whats obviously broken? @elonmusk I branded myself TESLA, I once loved your ideas and company.'
He added that he still wanted to 'see Tesla wildly succeed' but said the company needed to be able to serve customers out of warranty, whether by providing more parts or service stations, if they were ever to get into the mass market.
This is the latest grievance to hit Tesla in recent weeks which has been struggling to bounce back from it's owner's impulsive tweet claiming that funding was secured and Tesla may go private.
Then a statement that the money wasn't locked down after all.
Two weeks later it's never mind, the whole deal is off.
Experts say it all could wind up with Tesla exposed to a fine for misleading investors. And even though Musk has almost legendary status, the episode could further erode his credibility with stakeholders who have endured multiple broken promises and years of losses as a public company.
'Prior to the go-private episode, his credibility was in question, although investors still had overall confidence in the guy,' Erik Gordon, a business and law professor at the University of Michigan, said Saturday.
'This whole go-private episode has taken his credibility close to zero.'
The bizarre story began August 7 when Musk, while driving to the airport, tweeted he was considering taking the company private and that funding had been secured for the deal.
Investors would be paid $420 per share, a 23 percent premium over the August 6 closing price. No other details were given, but Tesla's stock shot up 11 percent that day. At $420, buying all Tesla shares would cost around $72billion.
Then, in a blog post six days later, Musk wrote the money wasn't locked down, revealing that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund was the source of the cash but was still doing due diligence.
Musk said the Tesla board and some big investors had been told he was considering taking the company private before he tweeted that information. He said he tweeted the disclosure so everyone could have the information.
Musk, who owns 20 percent of Tesla, also said he expected only a third of shareholders to sell, meaning the deal would be valued around $24billion.
The episode drew attention from the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which reportedly is investigating Tesla for possible manipulation of the stock price.
At least two lawsuits seeking class-action status also have been filed alleging Musk broke securities laws by making it sound like financing for the buyout was lined up.
James Cox, a Duke University professor who specializes in corporate governance and securities law, said regulations prohibit companies from making misleading statements that influence the markets.
'The fact that he's now backing off so quickly, within a matter of weeks, indicates the insincerity in which the first statement was made,' Cox said.
While Musk disclosed the possible buy-back on August 7, he didn't reveal all contingencies including that the Saudi fund had to investigate, said Peter Henning, a Wayne State University law professor and former SEC attorney.
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'I think his most recent statement shows that this wasn't thought through,' Henning said. 'That's going to be a concern for the SEC because that's how investors can be misled, with incomplete information.'
The SEC also is likely to look at Musk's disclosure to some investors before others, which also is prohibited if there's reason to believe the investors might trade stock based on the information, Cox said.
Calling the whole thing off, though, might also be a defense for Musk, according to Henning.
'He could say I was just testing the waters. I was just thinking out loud, so I didn't mean to mislead anyone on this,' he said.
Normally, if a company was mulling a plan to go private, the CEO would notify the board and a process would be put in place to evaluate the move, Henning says. Lawyers would be involved and it would be disclosed in a filing with the SEC.
Cox predicts that Tesla will settle with the SEC, pay a penalty and agree not to violate securities laws in the future.
On top of all this drama, last week Musk disclosed in an interview with the New York Times that he was stressed out from trying to meet long-delayed production targets for the Model 3 mass-market electric car. He said he was working 120 hours a week and had to take Ambien to sleep.
Investors stuck with the company, although since the run-up on August 7 shares have retreated.
Tesla declined comment. Six board members said in a statement last week that the board supports Musk and Tesla.
Some bullish investors still say Tesla has great growth potential. Shareholder ARK Invest recently wrote to Musk urging him to keep the company public and saying that $420 per share is too low.
But Consumer Edge analyst Jamie Albertine, who had been a Tesla optimist, cut his rating on the company and urged the board to bring on a seasoned executive to help manage it.
Albertine said that while second-quarter earnings indicated positive trends, the events of the past few weeks are 'enough to make us uncomfortable'.
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