Consumer Reports stated on Friday that Tesla Inc had misunderstood the “average” reliability score the magazine designated to the electric automaker’s Model 3 sedan last week, calling it generally “positive” for an all-new vehicle.
Tesla slammed the rating on Thursday, saying “it is important to note that Consumer Reports has not yet driven a Model 3, not to mention do they understand anything considerable about how the Model 3 was created and engineered.”
The rating for the Model 3, which is lower priced than earlier Tesla models and focused on providing the Silicon Valley automaker mass market appeal, was part of magazine’s yearly survey of new vehicle reliability.
The survey predicts which automobiles will give owners less or more issues than their rivals, based on data collected. Its scorecard is effective among customers and industry executives.
“Tesla appears to misconstrue or is conflating some of exactly what we fundamentally do,” the magazine, in some cases called the buyer’s bible for car consumers, stated.
“Tesla seems unhappy that CR expects the new-to-market Tesla Model 3 to be of average reliability, which is generally a favorable projection for any first model year of a car,” the magazine stated.
Tesla launched production of the Model 3, its most recent car, over the summer.
Consumer Reports stated its ranking was based on 2,000 customer survey response regarding Tesla models. It also noted that its study listed Model S sedan as the magazine’s top rated car having “above average reliability for the first time ever.”
Tesla said previously this month that “production bottlenecks” had left it running behind in ramp-up plans for the Model 3, which remains short in supply with long waiting lists for deliveries.
“As with all the cars we evaluate … we will thoroughly test and examine the Model 3 with the same care and scrutiny we apply to all the automobiles we test just as soon as we can get one – we’re waiting patiently along with other consumers,” Consumer Reports stated.
