Tesla is hiring new customer service people to address complaints sent by customers to Elon Musk on Twitter.
Tesla’s new customer service
If you want to work from home and look at Elon Musk’s @ replies on Twitter all day, Tesla has the perfect job for you.
The automaker is listing a new remote customer service job and as part of the role, Tesla wants the candidate to address “social media escalations directed at the CEO”:
“The role of a specialist is to resolve or escalate complaints through appropriate channels and address social media escalations directed at the CEO with critical thinking. Deliver on Tesla Measures of Excellence, perform other duties and assignments including administrative, special projects.”
While the description mentions “social media,” CEO Elon Musk is known to primarily use Twitter.
That’s Tesla’s Communications
It’s not new that Tesla has people looking at social media to get customer feedback and even address direct customer complaints.
We’ve received many reports from owners having issues getting Tesla to address specific problems only to get a call back after posting to social media and tagging Tesla and/or Elon Musk.
Historically, Tesla has made it hard to contact customer service as it focused on communications going through its mobile app.
The automaker has made efforts to improve with new features, like an issue escalation feature on its website, but people had mixed results with it.
Last year, Tesla continued with its unorthodox communication approach by dissolving its PR department.
Right now, it’s crazy to say, but one of the best ways to put something on Tesla’s radar is to tweet at Elon Musk on Twitter.
Electrek’s Take
I’ve often shared my thoughts on Tesla’s communications in the past. I think they are poor and one of the company’s biggest weakness.
Reliance on social media like Twitter is also a bad idea long term, in my opinion.
I’m not saying that someone with this position within Tesla wouldn’t be valuable, it probably would, but there’s a lot more they could on the communication front that would be more efficient than looking at Elon’s replies.
When it comes to customer service, Tesla is not only competing with other automakers, but it’s also competing with car dealerships, which we all agree have their negative aspects, but one of their main advantages is that they offer regional customer service.
I think that Tesla would do better by investing in hiring more general customer service specialists at their centers to provide a better experience locally.
Also, a PR department to respond to media inquiry would be a good start.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Subscribe to Electrek on YouTube for exclusive videos and subscribe to the podcast.