Carl Medlock, who was once a territory manager for Tesla, today owns Medlock & Sons, an aftermarket repair shop in Seattle that exclusively services electric vehicles (EVs).
Medlock worked for Tesla from 2009 to 2013, helping Elon Musk’s EV startup deliver and service its first production vehicle, the low-volume Roadster. After his departure from Tesla, Medlock put his extensive knowledge of EVs and repair experience to work for himself — reports CNBC.
“We’re one of the only places that someone can go for EVs, electric cars,” said Medlock.
EV adoption is growing at a stellar rate across the world, but repair and service infrastructure for electric propulsion-powered cars is not expanding at the same rate.
Almost every major manufacturer struggles with service and repair in some instances or regions. EV owners often have trouble finding a first-party service location near them, scheduling a service appointment no later than needed, or getting a service appointment in the first place.
When EV owners can’t get an (early enough) appointment with their manufacturer’s service division, they turn to Medlock & Sons. Since he set up shop, Medlock says business has been booming. Today, the establishment is the key place in the Pacific Northwest for owners looking for third-party service.
However, a shop that only services EVs operates quite differently from your average repair shop.
“There are hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of tools you need for an ICE [internal combustion engine] repair shop you don’t need here,” said Medlock. “You do need an electrical engineering background or an understanding of diagnostics.”
Medlock’s job can become a lot harder if the manufacturer of an EV he is working on does not provide repair/service manuals.
In August 2021, Tesla launched Service Subscriptions, which offer access to service manuals, part catalogs, body repair resources, tooling indexes, and even diagnostic software for all of the company’s vehicles (a workaround discovered in 2020 even gives you free access to repair manuals and other service info).
One of the biggest challenges Medlock faces is getting parts for the Tesla Roadster, so he often has to come up with creative solutions. “I contact people all over the world, I find out where the wrecked ones are,” he said. “I buy stuff every day from people who have bought these cars and have a little something on their shelf and I’ll buy those parts.”
If he cannot find a part, Medlock makes it himself.
The entrepreneur and EV repair expert also imparted some advice for the rest of the industry. “Embrace these electric cars and start tooling up for it,” he said. “If you don’t, you’re going to be behind.”
