The Right to Repair is a concept that aims to make our throwaway society a bit more sustainable by requiring manufacturers to sell replacement parts for their products, and make their diagnostic codes and service manuals available to independent repair shops.

The Right to Repair is currently the law only in Massachusetts, which is thus the only state in which Tesla owners can register to access repair manuals, service documents, wiring diagrams, and parts information. However, Tesla President of Sales and Service Jon McNeill has said that the automaker hopes to extend the program to other states.

A Tesla Motors Club forum member recently brought up the issue, saying that Tesla should “allow us to perform our own maintenance, which involves releasing service info and software as well as selling us parts. Also, if you purchase a salvage vehicle they will not sell you parts at all. This will have to change if Tesla hopes to become mass-market.”

McNeill responded that such a program is “in the works.”

Right to Repair bills have been introduced in Nebraska, Minnesota, New York and Kansas. They are mainly aimed at electronics manufacturers, but are modeled after the Massachusetts Motor Vehicle Owners’ Right to Repair Act. Most automakers have agreed to implement the law nationwide, making their diagnostic codes and repair data available in a common format by the 2018 model year. Tesla hasn’t formally committed to doing the same, but McNeill’s comments suggest that it will.

Source: Electrek
Image: Nathania Johnson – CC BY 2.0