Tesla is now going to install an electric trunk for free for wheelchair users who own Model 3 cars after one of them made a sensible plea with CEO Elon Musk on Twitter.
Musk often receives comments from Tesla owners and potential buyers on Twitter.
Tesla even makes employees check Twitter to find queries that grab Musk’s attention.
Today, there was a very interesting and moving one that could lead to a new feature for the automaker.
A Tesla Model 3 reserve owner who suffered a spinal injury that left him in a wheelchair before he could receive his new Tesla sent some comments to make Tesla vehicles more wheelchair-friendly.
The Tesla fan finally relearned how to drive with his disability and decided to buy his dream car, a Tesla Model 3, after putting his dream on hold.
One of the requests was to have an electric liftgate for the Model 3 trunk:
“I also hope that someone will leave a message for Musk and suggest installing the electric liftgate for the front and rear boot. I am always unable to close the trunk due to my disability. Or, perhaps, release an open protocol to guarantee the installation of third parties in the electric liftgate with the restriction that does not affect the guarantee. “
Musk replied on Twitter that Tesla would install an electric liftgate for free:
Unlike all its other vehicles, the Model 3 is not offered with an electric boot opening.
However, several third-party accessory manufacturers have been offering electric liftgate kits for the Model 3 for around $ 400.
Since Tesla plans to offer the upgrade for free to wheelchair users and currently doesn’t have an option even for a fee, the automaker might choose to add it as an option for other owners.
Interestingly, the new owner of the Model 3 also praised Tesla’s Smart Summon feature as extremely useful for wheelchair users.
We previously reported on an interesting video from the owner of the Model X that shows just how useful Tesla Smart Summon is for wheelchair users.
The owner of the Model 3 asked Tesla to transfer the feature to the basic autopilot so that buyers would not have to purchase Tesla’s $ 8,000 ‘autonomous driving’ package to access the feature.
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Good for Tesla for making it free for wheelchair owners, but selfishly, I’m interested in how Tesla plans to offer that product since they don’t currently have it.
It seems to me that if they are going to develop the feature for wheelchair users, could they also make it available as an after-sales option offered through their service centers for everyone?
As for the Smart Summon, I doubt Tesla will transfer it to the standard autopilot. It would significantly reduce the value of the FSD package.
However, I could see that Tesla is finally offering the feature separately as an over-the-air software update for people who didn’t apply for FSD.
What you think? Let us know in the comment section below.
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