Rich Benoit of Rich Rebuilds; a major benefactor of Massachusetts’ new “right-to-repair” law. Photo: VICE
Last Tuesday, a measure in Massachusetts passed in a landslide win, forcing automakers to ensure the same diagnostic tools are available to third-party repair shops, as reported by VICE.
The “right-to-repair” measure also includes Tesla, which has been particularly quiet about its servicing measures and tools, making it difficult for other mechanics to work on its cars.
One mechanic and YouTube host, Rich Benoit rebuilds broken Teslas, and has mentioned difficulty getting access to the right parts and software in times past, due to Tesla’s secretive nature.
The right to repair Bill has passed in Massachusetts with a 75% landslide victory! Thank you everyone that went out and voted! This means that third party repair shops like the electrified garage will now have the same tools needed to diagnose and repair vehicles. Huge win! pic.twitter.com/mGVD18vdm6
— Rich Rebuilds (@RebuildsRich) November 5, 2020
Benoit told VICE’s Motherboard, “For us, that means that starting the model year 2022, manufacturers have to give the same tools that they use at the dealerships available to a lot of third parties.”
In spite of the good news, Benoit doesn’t seem optimistic about Tesla letting go of its tools easily. In 2012, a similar law was passed, but Tesla was foregone in a national automaker memorandum which effectively nationalized the law. They also claimed “they don’t have dealers,” in order to avoid the legislation.
In spite of Tesla’s secrecy in sharing diagnostic tools for servicing cars and quality control practices, recent stories have also reported major service and design flaws, like one person’s Model Y roof falling off in the middle of the freeway.
Fortunately, the new law opens up major opportunities for mechanics like Benoit, who have previously been kept out of the world of Tesla service and maintenance. The fight to gain access to Tesla tools and repair documentation sounds similar to how people want Apple to allow for right-to-repair for its products as well.
