Tesla Promises to Improve Delivery Experience

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Taking delivery of a new Tesla is often described as a unique experience. It’s quite different from a traditional dealership model, where you can spend hours negotiating prices and loan rates.

While this efficiency appeals to many, it can sometimes be intimidating for first-time Tesla buyers, especially if they’re unfamiliar with how a Tesla works. Tesla often works to identify first-time customers in advance to offer in-person or online tutorials; however, this approach doesn’t always work well. Sometimes, the process can fall short, leaving people feeling overwhelmed.

The following tale of a delivery experience has a rough start, but Tesla has promised to improve the delivery experience. Let’s take a look at what happened and what Tesla plans to do.

Rough Start

Over on X, @jonbbc’s mother had some issues with her new Model Y Refresh delivery. It was a frustrating experience when she arrived early as a first-time Tesla owner at the Grand Rapids delivery center in Michigan. 

According to the post, she received a less-than-warm welcome from the staff. She had asked for assistance with her first-ever Tesla, but staff at the site were unhelpful, suggesting she conduct her vehicle inspection alone and then return to sign the paperwork when ready.

This turned what should have been an exciting day into an overwhelming experience, leaving her feeling anxious and isolated. Eventually, a Tesla technician stepped in to help and acknowledged her disappointment, and worked with her to straighten things out. However, as it was rightly pointed out, staff should be more accommodating, especially when a first-time owner explicitly asks for help and identifies themselves as new to electric vehicles.

My mom was really nervous to accept delivery of her new Tesla Model Y today in Grand Rapids, Michigan. When she arrived 15 minutes early, none of the staff gave her a warm welcome. They wouldn’t even go out to the car with her. She was really disappointed & she became even more… pic.twitter.com/qlEfWQqr1W

— TechGeek Tesla 🔋⚡️ (@jonbbc) April 16, 2025

Changes to Come

The good news is that the story didn’t end there. Tesla employees reached back out to @jonbbc on X with apologies. More significantly, they also stated that Tesla plans to make changes to its mobile and web interfaces within the next two to three weeks, specifically aimed at improving the delivery experience for first-time EV and Tesla owners.

Tesla’s current process, as mentioned, aims for efficiency, and uses the Tesla app for documentation and processes. Tesla also has systems in place to support newcomers, but these systems appear to have failed in this specific case.

Clearly the pre-delivery offers of tutorials didn’t work, as some customers just need a more human touch to the entire experience. On top of that, the on-site staff failed to offer support even when asked explicitly, making the entire experience rather disappointing. While we know this isn’t the experience at every location - some locations even make delivery a rather exciting event with bows, placards, and group tutorials - it is still an issue that Tesla will have to address, given their corporate ownership of each location.

What Will Change?

The key takeaway here is that the inherent nature of the Tesla model does work - but not for every single customer, and not for every single delivery location. While Tesla didn’t say exactly what will change, they will likely focus on bridging this gap.

This will likely include clearer step-by-step guidance within the app and on the website for new owners, as well as easier ways to request dedicated staff assistance during the delivery window - hopefully before finalizing the acceptance procedure.

We’d also love to see Tesla improve pre-delivery communications, with more prominent and frequent offers of tutorials to first-time customers.

Even if Tesla just had a viewing area that walked people through some of the newer or most popular Tesla features, this could be a big improvement for some buyers. It would also give others something to watch while they want to be attended.

It’s good to see Tesla’s staff reach out to @jonbbc to address the issue, but this was done behind closed doors - which really doesn’t help Tesla broadcast its commitment to improving its services. Tesla’s lack of a PR team really makes matters such as this frustrating as the message to other customers isn’t always clear.

Hopefully these planned changes will lead to a smoother and less intimidating experience for first-time buyers across all locations.

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Tesla FSD in Europe: June Update

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The road to bringing FSD to Europe has been a long and complex one and filled with regulatory and bureaucratic hurdles. Elon Musk, as well as other members of Tesla’s AI team, have previously voiced their grievances with the regulatory approval process on X.

However, it appears that there is finally some progress in getting things moving with recent changes to upcoming autonomy regulations, but the process still seems slow.

Waiting on the Dutch

Elon commented on X recently, stating that Tesla is waiting for approval from Dutch authorities and then the EU to start rolling out FSD in Europe. Tesla is focusing on acquiring approvals from the Dutch transportation authority, which will provide them with the platform they need to gain broader acceptance in Europe. Outside of the Netherlands, Tesla is also conducting testing in Norway, which provides a couple of avenues for them to obtain national-level approval.

The frustration has been ongoing, with multiple committee meetings bringing up autonomy regulation but always pulling back at the last second before approving anything. The last meeting on Regulation 157, which governs Automated Lane Keeping Systems, concluded with authorities from the UK and Spain requesting additional time to analyze the data before reaching a conclusion.

Tesla, as well as Elon, have motioned several times for owners to reach out to their elected representatives to move the process forward, as it seems that Tesla’s own efforts are being stymied. 

This can seem odd, especially since Tesla has previously demoed FSD working exceptionally smoothly on European roads - and just did it again in Rome when they shared the video below on X.

FSD Supervised testing in Rome, Italy

Pending regulatory approval pic.twitter.com/TXh3uQIfrx

— Tesla Europe & Middle East (@teslaeurope) June 12, 2025

DCAS Phase 3

While the approval process has been slow, Kees Roelandschap pointed out that there may be a different regulatory step that could allow FSD to gain a foothold in Europe.

According to Kees, the European Commission is now taking a new approach to approving ADAS systems under the new DCAS Phase 3 regulations. The Commission is now seeking data from systems currently operational in the United States that can perform System-Initiated Maneuvers and don’t require hands-on intervention for every request.

This is key because those are two of the core functionalities that make FSD so usable, and it also means that there may not be a need to wait years for proper regulations to be written from scratch. Now, the Commission will be looking at real-world data based on existing, deployed technology, which could speed up the process immensely.

What This Means

This new, data-driven regulatory approach could be the path for Tesla to reach its previous target of September for European FSD. While the cogs of bureaucracy are ever slow, sometimes all it takes is a little data to have them turn a bit faster in this case.

Alongside specific countries granting approval for limited field testing with employees, there is some light at the end of the tunnel for FSD in Europe, and hopes are that a release will occur by the end of 2025. With Europe now looking to North America for how FSD is performing, Tesla’s Robotaxi results could also play a role.

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Tesla Launches 'TeslaVision' Contest With Big Prizes — See Last Year’s Winner [VIDEO]

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Tesla’s marketing has always been relatively unconventional, relying on word-of-mouth rather than traditional advertising. The passion of the owner’s community is always massive, but it is especially high now with the launch of the Robotaxi network just around the corner.

Tesla is now tapping into that spring of fan creativity and announced the TeslaVision video contest, with some seriously impressive prizes up for grabs.

Announcing the TeslaVision fan video showcase

Tesla owners & supporters have always been able to see our products & mission for what they truly are.

Your word of mouth has made Tesla what it is today.

The OGs will remember that in 2017, we held our first video contest. 8 years… pic.twitter.com/6pPpkqmqOH

— Tesla (@Tesla) June 10, 2025

The Contest

The core of the contest is simple. Create a video that shows how your Tesla gives you more in life. Tesla is looking for submissions that highlight themes of freedom, safety, fun, and convenience.

Prizes

The prizes definitely make this contest worth entering if you’re good with a camera and have some basic video editing abilities.

For North America, the prizes include a brand new Model Y AWD Long Range, alongside an all-expenses-paid trip to Austin for a tour of Giga Texas. The grand prize winner will also be able to custom order their Model Y, allowing them to select their preferred wheels and color.

The two runners-up won’t get a Model Y, but they’ll also enjoy an all-expenses-paid trip to Giga Texas for a tour of the factory.

The travel and tour include lodging in Austin for 2 nights, as well as economy-class round-trip tickets from anywhere in North America. Tesla will also provide a vehicle for use during the trip.

Hopefully, these winners will also have the opportunity to experience the Robotaxi network while they’re in Austin, as it’s expected to be opened to the public later this month.

Project Loveday

For long-time followers of Tesla, this contest may feel familiar. The contest is a direct throwback to the 2017 Project Loveday contest, which was inspired by a letter to Tesla from a 10-year-old aspiring marketer. That contest was won by MKBHD, with his submission below:

How to Enter

If you’re ready to start filming, here are the key pieces of information you’ll need to know:

• Video must be 90 seconds or less

• Video must be uploaded to YouTube with a public URL

• Make a post on X and Instagram tagging “@Tesla” and include the words “TeslaVision contest” in the post.

• Provide links to both social media posts in your submission to Tesla’s form

• Provide your personal details in the form

• You have until July 17th, 2025, or until Tesla receives 10,000 entries, whichever comes first.

You can find the official submission form and all region-specific details on Tesla's website.

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