• by Montgomery Miller
•  February 15th, 2020

Ushering in a New Era for Autocraft Bodywerks

When Tesla announced in March of 2016 that deliveries of the long-awaited Model 3 would begin in late 2017, Tesla enthusiasts breathed a collective sigh of relief.…then took a deep breath. There were some bumps along the way, but Tesla began deliveries in July of 2017, with the first 30 Model 3s being delivered to Tesla employees. Suddenly, it began to sink in that Elon Musk was truly going to bring a modestly priced electric vehicle to the masses.

It was an exciting promise, but hardly enough to quell the skeptics and naysayers. That is, until the numbers started coming in. Towards the end of 2018, Model 3s were starting to appear as a feature on roads across the country and 2018 sales closed at a whopping 139,000 units! As 2019 came to an end, production of the Model 3 had far exceeded expectations, topping well beyond 158,000 units just in the US alone. According to an October 2019 cleantechnica.com article, the Tesla Model 3 was the 6th best-selling car in the 3rd quarter of 2019, and the 9th best-selling car of the year.

Here in Austin, it’s estimated there are 10,000 Tesla models on the street currently and with the pace of Model 3 production increasing, the need for Tesla Approved body shops in Austin is only going to grow. Autocraft had already been planning to open a second location in North Austin and when the new location at Roxie Drive was selected, it turned out to be just a short distance from the Tesla Service Center on Research Blvd.

Repairing a Tesla is not quite the same as repairing most other vehicles. It takes specialized equipment to handle the 1,200lb Tesla battery, and high-level training by Tesla, including aluminum welding and working with the many sensors that must be properly calibrated to function properly. Tesla vehicles are not just cars, but rather a form of sophisticated technology on four wheels and standard automotive repair techniques cannot be used in the repair of Tesla’s advanced aluminum components.

So the concept for the second location on Roxie Drive, quickly developed into a concept for a new Tesla Approved body shop that would only service Tesla. After more than a year of construction and installation of the specialized equipment required to repair and restore damaged Tesla vehicles back to factory specifications, and after months of inspections and permitting, the newest location for Autocraft Bodywerks has finally opened at 12131 Roxie Dr
Austin, TX 78729. The new location is now managed by General Manager, Tammie Harper, who has nearly 25 years of experience in the collision repair industry. Each member of the team there, has received many hours of highly specialized Tesla training and have the most advanced tools, approved by Tesla, at their disposal.

While there are a few other Tesla Approved Body Shops in the Austin area, our second, new location on Roxie Drive, is the only one we’re aware of at this time, dedicated to repairing and restoring only Tesla models. The original location at 5411 Wasson Road, continues working on all brands including Tesla. So if your Tesla have been damaged in an accident, remember to tell your insurance company that you want it repaired and restored to original factory specifications by the experts at Tesla Approved Autocraft Bodywerks. Here in Texas, you choose where to have your vehicle repaired after an accident.