No, they're not coming to kick down your door and take you away for "re-education." Tesla's Mobile Service Rangers are a new service offered by the California EV company to make it more convenient for owners to have their cars properly looked after.
It's not for the penny pinchers in the owner group, however, with a minimum $100 call-out fee, or $1 per mile, round-trip, from the nearest Tesla service center, whichever is greater. Not that we expect many owners of the $109,000 two-seat, electric-only Roadster will cringe at a single Ben Franklin. Owners of the much more practical upcoming $50,000 Model S sedan might not find it to be such a bargain, however. Tesla says the "buck a mile" charge is below the company's cost.
Tesla is pitching the Mobile Ranger service as yet another convenience, letting the owner keep their car at home. Since they already get to skip out on the gas station by charging at home, the house-call service is the next step. If the service required is too extensive to be accomplished with the mobile unit, it can be transported to the nearest service center.
The Mobile Ranger service can also be seen as an alternative to the unmarked enclosed trucks that arrive promptly to service injured cars of certain ultra-luxury makes, ensuring they aren't paraded across the country in a state of disrepair, tarnishing the brand image as they go.
Tesla owners can already download their Roadster's diagnostic data to a memory stick and send it in to Tesla, allowing some repair work to be handled remotely.
