Tesla owners are keeping GM service techs busy

General Motors dealerships have tapped into a surprising new customer base: Tesla owners who need repairs.

GM President Mark Reuss said this month that the company's retailers had fixed 11,180 Teslas over the past two years. He didn't say what types of repairs were performed, though much of it was likely routine maintenance.

Reuss attributed the business to GM's dealership network being more convenient and more experienced than Tesla's.

"That's a growing business for us, I've got to say," he said during a presentation at GM's investor day event in New York. "It's a new business, which is great. Those customers brought their vehicles to us for service because they know we know and we have the expertise to fix them. They know that we have the customer service experience that they also want. And they know that we have the service bays and the dealerships in place."

GM says 90 percent of the U.S. population lives within 10 miles of one of its dealerships. Tesla's service network — made up of company-owned stores, in contrast to GM's franchised dealers — is much smaller and mostly centered around large cities. It also has mobile service vehicles that travel to customers' homes or offices.

"Tesla is now investing millions to replicate the brick-and-mortar service centers we already have," Reuss told investors. "In fact, they're actually locating some of those close to where we are."