I can't imagine an exoskeleton vehicle would have fared any better. That was one of my biggest concerns - would a dented side panel count as frame damage?
Yeah I cant imagine what repairs on that would be. It sounded like the structural integrity was pushed to the panels? So maybe it would be easier to repair but unlikely?
During the launch they bragged about the fancy alloy they were going to use for the exoskeleton, going so far as to hit it with a sledge hammer on stage. The alloy gets its strength from fancy hardening methods, which are undone by high heat, so welding weld repairs are not an option. I would guess that the exoskeleton idea was engineer driven, but had to be walked back by other departments.
You mean Musk hype driven walked back by engineering reality.
Tesla has never been concerned with post-sales support or maintenance.