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Comment by axus | Hacker News Reader

Has Tesla been selling cars directly to consumers without these problems?

Telsa has precisely this problem; they want a lot of control over the repair process. It can be tough to find an independent mechanic to work on them.

https://service.tesla.com/docs/ModelS/ServiceManual/en-us/GU...

> Tesla does not allow the use of any used, recycled, alternative, aftermarket, or third-party replacement parts. Use only new parts ordered directly from Tesla.

That's quite an interesting statement from Tesla. How much weight does it actually hold beyond just being "their opinion" considering that the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act forbids the voiding of warranties for those reasons?

IIRC, they won't sell parts to a non-certified mechanic, and there's a lack of third-parties making the more complex parts. You're fine if you need a tire swap. You're not gonna have much fun if you have to replace the screen.

A Federal-level right to repair can't come soon enough.

But what can they legally do if you decide to use parts on the secondary market anyway? (... are they punishing consumers for this?)

Nothing. But they don't need to. They just tackle it at the supply side.

If you're a mechanic who wants Tesla parts, you need to go through Tesla. If you go through Telsa, you can't use third-party parts or resell the first-party ones. As a result, the market for third-party parts stays largely too small to exist.

You can buy (almost?) any part directly from Tesla as a plain Joe [1], but you may need a VIN for certain parts (mainly the actual computers?).

In the event you want to DIY a repair, Tesla publishes all their service manuals they use at their service centers (e.g. [2]) and you can can even use the exact same software their technicians use for the deeper repairs, albeit at a price that is expensive if you're a plain Joe, but for a repair shop it doesn't seem to be terribly expensive.

On the topic of 3rd party parts, there isn't quite as robust a marketplace.

[1] - https://epc.tesla.com/en-US/landingpage

[2] - https://service.tesla.com/docs/ModelY/ServiceManual/2025/en-...

[3] - https://service.tesla.com/en-US/diagnostic-software

> a price that is expensive if you're a plain Joe, but for a repair shop it doesn't seem to be terribly expensive.

That's actually a lot less than I was expecting. Toyota's is $1500/year.

I think Tesla's practices are gross here, but wouldn't a better solution to be Right-To-Repair legislation instead of protecting dealerships?

Absolutely.

Guess who donates a whole bunch to their local and state-level candidates to prevent precisely that?

Tesla had to fight in court in many of the states for the right to sell directly to customers.

I think Tesla has "show rooms", and then you buy the car from California and import it. So you're not actually visiting a dealership when you visit a Tesla store.

[flagged]

I was talking about in states that banned direct sales, not generally

No, you didn't pick them up at a dealership. Because Tesla doesn't operate dealerships. They call them stores, or galleries depending on if direct sales are legal. They hold dealer licenses, but that does not mean they are a dealership.

If you're going to be needlessly hostile, at least be correct.

https://www.tesla.com/findus/list/stores/United%20States

> You clearly don't know what you're talking about

Please omit swipes like this from comments on HN, regardless of who or what you're replying to. The guidelines make it clear we're aiming for something better here. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

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