i agree with the right to repair stuff. but there should also be some limits to this.
my case in point.
i work in a VW dealer body shop. VW restricts selling structural body parts to only qualified repair shops with the proper equipment to install them properly. i know GM does this also. i hear a steady stream of stories from the guys in the parts departments about joe blow hack autobody car rebuilder who try to buy them and are denied. they are screaming about how they are violating the right to repair laws.
i myself agree 100% with VW on this. they should be allowed to restrict who buys these parts. if you are not qualified and don't have the proper equipment to install them. chances are they won't be installed properly and in extreme views can de value the car brand.
What a load of crap. VW is concerned that some independent repairs may de-value their brand? After they got caught lying to the government and their customers about their emissions? That's rich!
And to think that denying anyone structural parts will stop that kind of repair by 'un-certified' reapir facilities is equally delusional. If someone can't get the parts from VW, they will either get them from a salvaged vehicle or worse yet, patch the damaged parts back as best they can. Either way, not VW or Tesla or the government have any power what-so-ever to prevent shoddy repairs if someone is determined to do it.
What you're describing does happen, but not often with actual collision repair facilities. Backyard hacks, Youtube guys (like the Russian bodyman everyone here was singing the praises of), sure. But Google "John Eagle Collision Center," and you'll see why the vast majority of real collision repair shops are not deviating from OEM repair procedures.
Also, there are plenty of independent shops that are OE certified for this brand or that brand. My friend owns a shop that is OE Toyota and Lexus certified. He's 2 miles from a Toyota dealer, too, but the Toyota dealer doesn't own their own body shop. They lease space to a body shop, and that shop uses the dealer's name. My friend's shop gets all of the good Toyota/Acura jobs. The dealership shop gets the leftovers.The OE's are not concerned with who fixes it, whether it's a dealer, an independent, a consolidator (like Gerber), etc. They care that it's done right, and one way to ensure that it is done right is by placing limitations on who can order certain parts.
