Tesla Insurance

I’m in California and I’m trying to figure out if I’m at the point where I need to get an attorney involved with my insurance company.
My Tesla was dropped off at a repair shop on May 12, 2026 after an accident. The initial estimate was approved around June 2 for roughly $4,000, but the shop found additional damage and submitted a supplemental estimate.
This is where everything went to shit.
The repair shop says they submitted the supplement multiple times. Tesla Insurance kept saying they never received it. I later found out there was apparently some kind of issue involving their third-party vendor where the information wasn’t being properly passed along. Meanwhile, my car has basically just been sitting at the shop for months.
I’ve called repeatedly, escalated the claim, gotten a supervisor involved, and tried to get answers. At this point we’re in September and the vehicle still isn’t repaired. I’ve been without the car this entire time while continuing to pay the lease and insurance.
Now there’s another problem: my Tesla lease is ending and the car is STILL stuck at the repair shop. I physically cannot return the vehicle normally because it hasn’t been repaired/released, and I’ve been trying to get Tesla to tell me how they expect the lease return to be handled. I’m not willing to keep making lease payments indefinitely because their insurance side couldn’t get a supplement processed.
I’m also still trying to get access to personal belongings that are in the vehicle.
I’ve documented emails, calls, dates, the supplement issue, and my attempts to escalate everything. I’m also looking into filing a complaint with the California Department of Insurance.
My questions are:

1. At what point does this go beyond a normal insurance delay and potentially become bad faith or an unreasonable claims-handling delay in California?

2. Can I potentially recover damages beyond simply getting the repair paid for, considering I’ve been paying for a vehicle I haven’t been able to use for months?

3. Does the fact that the lease is now expiring and I can’t return the vehicle because of the unresolved insurance claim create any additional damages or liability?

4. If Tesla tries to charge me additional lease payments, late fees, lease-return fees, etc. because the vehicle can’t be returned, would those potentially be damages I could pursue against the insurance company?

5. What type of attorney should I actually be looking for here? Insurance bad faith, consumer protection, auto insurance litigation, etc.?

I’m not expecting Reddit to tell me I have some million-dollar lawsuit. I just want to know whether this has crossed the line from “insurance companies are slow” into something I should actually have an attorney handle.

Location: California/Orange County