Owners of older EVs don't necessarily have options if something breaks down after the original warranty period ends. One Bay Area startup called Amber thinks it can help navigate this minefield, starting with Tesla owners.
The company, founded in early 2023, announced Wednesday that it has launched a new aftermarket Tesla warranty product called AmberCare for Tesla Model Y, 3, S and X owners. There will be a variety of plans ranging from $40 per month to about $120 per month, covering things like drive units and batteries. When an owner files a claim, Amber works with a qualified repair shop to find the right parts, resolve the issue, and transport the vehicle.
The launch of AmberCare is a reminder that we are still in uncharted territory when it comes to EVs and what happens to them over years (and tens of thousands of miles) of use.
It's a tough market. Although EVs tend to require less regular maintenance than internal combustion engine vehicles, things can still break. And sometimes that broken part is more than what auto shops are used to dealing with. Some shops charge shocking prices for repairs or insist that damaged EVs be scrapped completely. Existing extended warranty products may not cover EV-specific parts. And when people own EVs with more limited driving (e.g. compliance cars or luxury cars from relatively new startups), the problem can become even more difficult to solve.
Amber CEO Joe Pak told TechCrunch that AmberCare is an attempt to address all of this. “Our vision is to build the first vertically integrated aftermarket warranty platform,” he says. [EVs]And the parts that actually replace what might have broken, that's not mature yet. ”
Image credit: Amber
To that end, Amber has been working with repair shops across the country to identify and assist in sourcing high-demand parts. To achieve that lofty goal, Amber is investing $3.18 million in newly announced seed funding from a round co-led by Era and Primer Sazze, Alcove Fund, Virta Ventures, Global Millennial Capital, Root & Shoot Ventures will also participate. The company is launching Ambercare in 10 states: Florida, Connecticut, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Rhode Island and Tennessee. (Amber aims to be available in California by the end of the year, since California requires non-auto dealers who sell aftermarket warranties to register them as insurance products.)
AmberCare is the latest addition to a growing economy built around used EVs. New companies such as Redwood Materials, founded by former Tesla CTO JB Straubel, are focusing on initiatives such as recycling the battery packs that power cars and “digital maintenance” of EVs and AVs. It is appearing. Kinetic, backed by Lux Capital.
Park said he believes AmberCare will have two groups of customers, at least initially. One group is people who are considering buying a used EV but are intimidated by the thought of expensive and time-consuming repairs. For them, AmberCare “gives them the idea that they can cap their repair costs,” he says. The second is a set of owners who hold the EV's past Tesla warranty.
Amber currently only has a team of five people, but they already have a small number of customers using the early access version of AmberCare. As the product launches, Pack believes the best way to attract new customers is to engage with the EV community, especially online forums. On online forums, enthusiasts tend to spend a lot of time discussing the details of his EV ownership. I harp on about the occasional troubles that come with major repairs.
There are other unexpected things to consider that Pack believes AmberCare can help with during the EV repair process, such as transportation. “Not all tow trucks can tow an EV; they have to be flatbed,” he says.
Park also said he recognizes the challenges of building a business around extended warranties at a time when people are pretty allergic to the phrase thanks to years of phone scams. But for now, “customers actually get it.”
“If you just say the words 'extended warranty,' they'll accept it. And in fact, for us, it's actually better to just say it outright like that,” he says. .
Plus, “Shipping a car from Ohio to San Diego, [their EVs] It has been fixed,” Park said. “There is already a gap in the market for this solution.”
This story has been updated to include information about Amber's timeline for release in California.