Do you want to stop Paying $600 for a three hour Tesla brake Job?
A new right-to-repair measure in Massachusetts passed in a landslide victory. This new law will force car manufacturers to ensure independent repair stores have access to the same diagnostic tools as manufacturers. In Massachusetts this changes the automobile repair landscape especially for Tesla, a secretive company that has made it very expensive and very hard to service its electric vehicles.
The right-to-repair bill is a game-changer, but there’s still a lot of work pending.
Independent repair facilities run into issues sourcing parts and accessing aspects of Tesla’s software. Starting in 2022, manufacturers will have to give third parties the same tools that they use at their dealerships.
In the past, Tesla has pushed back against these kinds of laws before. A similar law passed in 2012, which said dealerships had to make service manuals and diagnostic information available to repair stores. Tesla wasn’t part of a memorandum because they got it around it by saying they don’t have dealers.
Tesla did r offer some information by creating a portal that you could log in and access their diagnostics to Tesla certified shops. Anyone else looking to get repair has to pay for a subscription. An annual subscription costs $3,000 and $100 buys 24 hours of access.
Tesla didn’t want the new law passed and urged owners in the state to vote no. Tesla uses software to lock consumers out of certain aspects of their cars. Tesla has also fought against independent repair companies, and has at times refused to certify them.
Tesla owners face two big repair problems, the wait time and cost. Owners often wait weeks or months for simple jobs. When an owner does get their car repaired, some shops charge up to $200 an hour for labor.
Tesla will mostly likely fight to hold on to its repair secrets, but hopefully with the new law third party auto repair facilities will be able to perform work too.
