Tesla Motors is expanding quickly, and current vehicle owners have front-row seats to witness the small automaker's growing pains.
Model S and Model X owners report long waits to schedule service appointments -- from routine checkups to more pressing issues such as faulty door latches and suspicious engine noises.
"With my early Model S, they did a good job and fixed every issue immediately," said Ethan Shapiro, a project manager at an information technology company in Miami. "Now that the company has grown, service has become a problem."
Shapiro, 39, bought a Model S in January 2013, which he sold in 2015 to buy a Model X.When a window on the electric crossover would not close properly in September, Shapiro said his local service center did not have an opening until 10 days later.
"That's a long time for a $130,000 car," Shapiro said.
Shapiro previously had waited nearly a week to get a door latch fixed. He said the delays have been a major hassle because the service center is about an hour's drive away in Dania Beach, Fla. Tesla has notified him that a center is opening closer to his home in Miami, but Shapiro said he has yet to receive more details.