Yahoo Autos Tesla Owner Says It'll Cost Him $2300 to Replace Model X Windshield
Other than the wild Falcon Wing doors, one of the defining features of the Tesla Model X is its panoramic windshield that extends all the way beyond the roof. At the Model X's launch event, Tesla CEO Elon Musk claimed the windshield is the largest piece of glass ever used in a car and boasted about its complexity. It's for this reason we initially wondered how much it would cost to "replace that hot-tub-sized windshield" after a rock chip.
Well, now we might have an answer. A Model X owner on the Tesla Motors Club forum claims that a windshield replacement for his Model X is estimated to cost $2290, following a "medium-sized" crack from a rock. We tried to confirm this cost with a Tesla service center, but the cost can only be estimated with a specific VIN number provided. A Tesla spokesperson has yet to respond to an R&T request for comment.
Now, $2300 is a pretty high cost for a windshield replacement, but it's also useful to place that number into context. A "ballpark" estimate for a 2016 Porsche Cayenne windshield (not including labor) is $566, and a 2016 Range Rover windshield costs around $866 before tax, according to service centers for each respective company. The windshield for a 2017 Bentley Bentayga costs $4300 for the part alone, though the Bentayga starts at nearly $230,000.
High replacement cost for complex parts isn't an issue unique to Tesla–it's far from the only luxury brand to offer high-tech components that are expensive to fix. The Model X's front glass is certainly more expensive than your run-of-the-mill SUV, but the Model X isn't exactly your run-of-the-mill SUV. When base price starts at a little over $83,000, expensive parts are to be expected. Even still, that service bill is going to hurt.
