The forum that Tesla has hosted on its website is about to become "read only," as of the 15th of this month. The auto/solar/battery maker will instead shift its community-building efforts to something it's calling the Tesla Engagement Hub.
It's a move that makes sense. Its forums were not well moderated, if at all, and no one from the company seemed to respond to problems or inquiries from owners on it. That lack of interest has helped fuel the growth of several third-party forum sites, such as Tesla Motors Club and Tesla Owners Online.
Of course, InsideEVs has its own Tesla subforum. While it is admittedly, not as active as some of our other owner communities, such as those for the Hyundai Kona Electric or Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid, there are owners who share good info there. Perhaps this development will help spur further activity as Tesla isn't replacing its forums with a platform that offers the same sort of information exchange.
Its new "engagement hub," instead, appears to set up a framework that leverages Tesla owners and fans to facilitate political and charitable actions, as well as build regional communities. It introduces itself with this message:
Engage Tesla is a new platform for both Tesla's public policy team and Tesla Owner's Clubs. Its goal is to create a digital home base for all of our work, and make it easier for Tesla community members to learn what's top of mind for us, take meaningful action, and stay in the loop.
So far, the hub offers a "Texas Campaign," with links to a number of organizations providing relief to residents of that state impacted by the recent severe winter storm, a "Nebraska — Take Action" campaign to help organize residents of certain Nebraska districts, in an attempt to have the company allowed to sell its vehicles in the state.
It also features a calendar of events being put on by various Tesla Owners Clubs from around the world, as well as a heart-warming video of owners responding to a "bucket list" request from a 16-year old cancer patient for a ride in a Tesla.
Source: Tesla via TechCrunch