There are times when small gestures can make the difference between a company that cares and a company that simply treats its customers like numbers on a balance sheet. Tesla recently proved that is an example of the above, with CEO Elon Musk notifying a Model 3 customer who is in a wheelchair that the electric car maker will install an electric liftgate on its all-electric sedan, and the upgrade it will be in the house.
Tesla China’s Twitter account shared the story of the Model 3 customer, which was recounted by letter. Writing to the company, the customer noted that the Model 3 had been the car of his dreams since April 2016, when he made a reservation for the all-electric sedan. Unfortunately, the tragedy occurred in 2018 when he encountered an accident, resulting in a spinal injury.
After the accident, the Model 3 client lost the ability to use her legs. Confined to a wheelchair and with the car of his dreams seemingly out of reach, the electric vehicle enthusiast chose to cancel his order for the Model 3. His dream of owning a Tesla Model 3 seemed to vanish until he returned to work and He learned that his wheelchair did not completely prevent him from doing his job correctly.
His work experience led him to dream of regaining his ability to drive. He firmly set the goal of applying for a C5 license in China, which is used by people with special needs. The owner of the Model 3 successfully received his C5 license in 2019, and when it was time to search for a vehicle, he immediately made his way to the Tesla midsize sedan.
Unfortunately, the imported Model 3 was out of its price range at the time. Tesla fan decided to get BYD Qin ProDM as it was affordable and also had a feature like Smart Summon. However, in the long run, BYD’s Smart Summon feature was unable to handle certain slopes, which was inconvenient. And so the idea of revisiting Model 3 was in order.
Fortunately, Gigafactory Shanghai had started producing the MIC Model 3 at that time, and it was available at a reasonable price. The Tesla enthusiast did not hesitate this time. He pulled the trigger on a long-range RWD variant of the locally manufactured sedan. Your vehicle will have a basic autopilot, which should help make driving easier. However, he chose not to order the Full Self Driving suite, at least for now, or at least until a good payment scheme is available.
With its order now on the way, the Model 3 customer asked the electric car maker if it could make features like the Smart Summon standard on its vehicles in the future. Those features, after all, may seem like party tricks to the layman, but they change the lives of people with mobility issues. The Tesla enthusiast also asked if Tesla could install an electric liftgate for the Model 3 frunk and trunk, since locking the frunk and trunk is very difficult for wheelchair users.
Interestingly, Elon Musk responded to the Model 3 customer’s request, stating that Tesla would add an electric liftgate at no additional cost. It’s a relatively small gesture, but it shows a degree of empathy that is quite rare among today’s automakers. The upgrade will cost Tesla a bit more to produce the vehicle, after all, but it would make a huge difference to the Model 3 customer.
Elon Musk is no stranger to gestures of goodwill towards Tesla customers. In 2017, for example, Musk offered to repair damage to a Model S for free after its owner used the vehicle to save a driver on the road. During the incident, the owner of the Model S noted that another driver was slumped over the wheel. Responding quickly, the Tesla owner used his Model S to stop the other vehicle. Once the two cars were stopped, the Tesla driver proceeded to administer first aid. The CEO praised the driver’s actions, then stated that Tesla will provide all repair costs free of charge.
