Nowadays with nationwide fast shipping and the internet these aren’t really problems… but in the 1950s I could see how there would be some benefits to having a dealership near you.
https://service.tesla.com/docs/ModelS/ServiceManual/en-us/GU...
> Tesla does not allow the use of any used, recycled, alternative, aftermarket, or third-party replacement parts. Use only new parts ordered directly from Tesla.
A Federal-level right to repair can't come soon enough.
In the event you want to DIY a repair, Tesla publishes all their service manuals they use at their service centers (e.g. [2]) and you can can even use the exact same software their technicians use for the deeper repairs, albeit at a price that is expensive if you're a plain Joe, but for a repair shop it doesn't seem to be terribly expensive.
On the topic of 3rd party parts, there isn't quite as robust a marketplace.
[1] - https://epc.tesla.com/en-US/landingpage
[2] - https://service.tesla.com/docs/ModelY/ServiceManual/2025/en-...
That's actually a lot less than I was expecting. Toyota's is $1500/year.
If you're a mechanic who wants Tesla parts, you need to go through Tesla. If you go through Telsa, you can't use third-party parts or resell the first-party ones. As a result, the market for third-party parts stays largely too small to exist.
Guess who donates a whole bunch to their local and state-level candidates to prevent precisely that?
I bought two Telsas online, and picked them up at the dealership within my state. They are fully licensed to operate in most US states as dealers.
They were much easier to work with than Huyndai.
No, you didn't pick them up at a dealership. Because Tesla doesn't operate dealerships. They call them stores, or galleries depending on if direct sales are legal. They hold dealer licenses, but that does not mean they are a dealership.
If you're going to be needlessly hostile, at least be correct.
Please omit swipes like this from comments on HN, regardless of who or what you're replying to. The guidelines make it clear we're aiming for something better here. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
Car dealerships tend to be keystone businesses in towns; they wind up with outsized political power on the state and local level.
Locally powerful people can have a lot of leverage, even against a much bigger national-level entity.
This whole thing sounds like dealership with extra steps and a middleman fee.
"Yeah but that TruCoat.... Lemme talk to my boss..."
3 months ago, I had to navigate multiple froms and dropdowns to even reach a chat representative. And when I did, they had none of the information I spent several minutes filling out. The rep then grilled me about my order, seemingly incredulous that Amazon had sent me a "new" product that was clearly used and repackaged when I opened it (this has been common for years as Amazon commingles its own stock with that of 3rd party sellers).
Why did you need to talk to support?
I can't imagine any support experience worse than dealing with Amazon "customer support"
christ help you if you mix that with a car dealership
The real question is: who's on the hook if things aren't as described/pictured? It sounds like these all come with extended warranties, so that would mean it would be the dealer. They're no picnic to deal with, but that's going to be the case no matter whether you buy the car from them or from Amazon. If you can have a more pleasant buying experience by starting with Amazon, that's a win in my book.
As a knock-on effect, it could help bring down prices on used cars sold by other dealers, since buyers could point to these car listings as comparables.
This is a gross misunderstanding of what vertical integration is.
YKK zippers makes an unbeatable product because of vertical integration.
A lack of vertical integration means that you're subject to the whims of larger markets (and increased interest and costs at every step).
The flip side to this is "control nothing". Buy the building your office is in and own an asset, or get a triple net lease and then pay margin on top of that. Own your own hardware or pay AWS to have 30percent profit margins...
It potentially means you can only get parts going through the company that sells the complete product.
It potentially means that you have to pay whatever price the company sets because they control the distribution pipeline.
A company could be vertically integrated, and have a small portion of the market. A company could be a full on monopoly and have little to no vertical integration.
YKK processing raw metals and plastics, building its own zipper making machines has nothing to do with how much market share it has. It has everything to do with product quality.
Faunc is another example of "vertical integration" where they make the mills, software and controllers for their devices, as well as servos and spindles. Servos and spindles are commodity items (you can buy them cheaply from china) yet Faunc makes their own for quality and reliability reasons.
I would like to add some nuance though: As the supply chain becomes longer, the value of vertical integration rises. Now if we acknowledge that bigger players can profit more from vertical integration as well, and assume that players play equally well, we have a "devil poops on the big pile" situation, pulling the market towards a monopoly as the bigger player gets to profit more.
So it's not got exactly ZERO to do with market dominance ;)
YKK zippers make an unbeatable product because they are a monopoly.
Also makes great zippers. They are more vertically integrated than most of their other competitors.
This is the only reason so far as I understand it.
Generously, protecting local labor is important in an environment that demands labor for survival and where considering alternative systems of providing for people is verboten. This is a confederation-level version of protections against offshoring jobs. Whether the jobs add value or not is its own dilemma.
> Forty-eight states have laws that limit or ban manufacturers from selling vehicles directly to consumers
Why on earth is this a law? (I mean besides the obvious lobbying efforts and likely scare-mongering from powerful auto dealers) Is there an actual reason/benefit for this though for consumers?