OSLO/SAN FRANCISCO -- Elon Musk said that the frustrations of Tesla owners in Norway, one of the automaker's biggest markets are justified.
"Norwegians are right to be upset with Tesla," the CEO said in a tweet. "We are having trouble expanding our service facilities in Oslo especially. Can solve quickly with Tesla mobile service vans, but awaiting government permission to do so."
The Palo Alto, California-based electric-car maker is fourth highest on a list of companies about which the Norwegian Consumer Council received complaints in the first-half of this year, the government-funded agency said in a report dated July 4. It was contacted 118 times by consumers regarding Tesla, moving the company up from 24th place last year.
Clients have struggled to get in contact with customer service and several have complained about late deliveries, Norwegian newswire NTB reported earlier. A Tesla representative in Norway told NTB that they are working to increase their capacity to respond to the sharp rise in the number of Teslas in the country.
Tesla has increased its service team in Norway by 30 percent and aims to double the size of the group by the end of the year, a spokeswoman said by email. The company, which is building a large service center in Oslo, is seeking approval to quadruple its mobile service capacity, she said.
The automaker's first-quarter revenue from sales in Norway amounted to about $162 million, according to the company's quarterly report. Sales in China were $509 million, while U.S. sales totaled $1.8 billion.
Tesla shares slipped 0.6 percent Thursday, extending their decline this week as analysts question whether the company can sustain higher levels of production of its Model 3 sedan.
Norway, with about 8,500 Teslas sold last year, is Europe's second-largest market for EVs after Germany.
