Tesla Model 3 receives poor feedback for reliability in Consumer Reports survey

Tesla had a setback as its Model 3 car received poor feedback for reliability in Consumer Reports survey. The US publication noted that it can’t recommend the vehicle to drivers. The surprising news comes a month after the magazine put the sedan on its ‘customer satisfaction’ list. After the negative report, Tesla stock fell before slightly rising in the US stock market.

Why can’t Consumer Reports recommend Tesla?

Consumer Reports has written that it can’t recommend the Model 3 sedan after conducting a survey of Tesla customers in the magazine. They reported problems with the body trim coming loose and car window cracks. One participant in the survey also wrote that there were issues with the vehicle’s touch screen.

‘The touch screen would intermittently begin acting as if someone was touching it rapidly at many different points. This fault would cause music to play, volume to increase to maximum, and would rescale and pan the map in the navigation system,’ wrote one customer.

Jake Fisher, senior director of automotive testing at Consumer Reports, noted that Tesla failed a reliability test because of the numerous issues the carmaker’s customers reported.

‘Consumers expect their cars to last — and not be in the repair shop. That's why reliability is so important,’ said Jake Fisher, senior director of automotive testing at Consumer Reports.

Tesla responds to Consumer Reports

Tesla answered Consumer Reports’ criticism in a statement.

‘We take feedback from our customers very seriously and quickly implement improvements any time we hear about issues. The vast majority of these issues have already been corrected through design and manufacturing improvements, and we are already seeing a significant improvement in our field data,’ said a Tesla spokesperson in a statement.

Despite the controversy with the Model 3, the car was the bestselling luxury car of 2018 in the US and new vehicles just arrived in Europe. Tesla will have to make many changes to the Model 3 to meet Consumer Reports’ standards.

(Corrects headline and paragraphs 1 to show Tesla Model 3 has not been deemed unsafe, but received poor feedback for reliability in Consumer Reports survey)