Tesla owners, you can now cancel your AAA membership: Your long-distance tow is on Tesla.
Tesla Motors announced on Wednesday that it would begin covering the cost of a tow-truck up to 500 miles for its customers. This new policy represents a 10-fold increase in complementary towing coverage, which was previously capped at 50 miles.
Of course, the 500-mile towing coverage only applies to Teslas suffering from mechanical issues that are covered under the car's infinite-mile warranty. And that's a good thing because data collected by Plug-in America and analyzed by Green Car Reports found that two-thirds of early Tesla powertrains needed replacing within 60,000 miles.
Intriguingly, last week, Tesla had ended its policy of allowing owners to transfer extended factory warranties to second-hand customers. However, after public outcry, the company reversed course a day later and reinstated the full transfer of extended warranties.
Warranty and reliability concerns aside, the move to extend towing coverage signals Tesla's intent to offer exemplary customer service. Additionally, it could help quell fears current and potential owners might have surrounding the reliability of Tesla products.