In case you missed this article in our July/August edition...
Nate Oppedisano explains the vision behind Tesla’s new network of body repair centres.
Nate Oppedisano is manager of the Body Repair team at Tesla. With a life-long passion for automotive, he joined the company back in 2014 when it was launching the Model S in Australia.
In 2016 he moved to a Service Operations role in Australia and New Zealand. In 2021 he successfully applied for the opportunity to lead the Tesla Approved Body Repair program and internal body repair program.
“Our key focus has been building out and expanding our Tesla approved body repair network. That’s in addition to strengthening relationships with insurance companies because that’s an important piece of that whole overall program. It’s vital that insurance companies understand exactly how they can work with us and we can work with them.
“Tesla is a vertically integrated company. Our Tesla Body Repair Centres are one of the few services we didn’t offer our owners.
“We see it as a great opportunity to provide a seamless customer experience for both our owners and insurance companies. We are constantly looking at ways to reduce the overall cost of repairs, which, in turn, contributes to lowering vehicle ownership costs for our owners,” he said.
Initially Tesla is looking to open its own centres in Brisbane as well as Melbourne, Sydney and Auckland.
“Tesla Australia and New Zealand currently has 74 Tesla approved body repair centres. They’re doing a fantastic job in supporting our owners. They play, and will continue to play, a pivotal role in our ability to grow and provide great customer experience. Our team are continuing to strengthen and increase the amount of independent Tesla approved body repair centres we have in the region.”
New shops mean a big recruitment drive to source team members.
“We’ve have a great recruiting team that are actively onboarding. All of our current roles are available on our careers webpage through Tesla.com.
“We’re looking for enthusiastic and skilled individuals who are keen to work as a team,” he said.
Oppedisano sees working at a Tesla Body Repair Centre as a great opportunity for honing skills. “Technicians will work solely on our amazing vehicles. We’re going to provide ongoing technical and customer experience training, and we have our very own training program to host that.
“We have the ability to work for the team who actually create our global repair methods and processes. We’re dialled into that. I’ve even had the privilege of meeting our engineers and seeing our facility in Fremont and it’s an eye-opening experience.”
The Tesla team have been busy planning the new centres and building from the ground up. They have also set up new parts warehouses in Melbourne and Auckland.
“These distribution centres allow us to provide quicker turnaround times for orders being received, as well as dispatch to our Service Centres, our Tesla Body Repair Centres, and our Tesla approved body repair centres,” he said.
The team are also looking at hosting tech talk sessions throughout Australia and New Zealand. These will be designed as an open house for body repair professionals to see behind the curtains and learn more about the program, as well as Tesla vehicles.
This article was first published in the July/August 2023 edition of Paint & Panel.