Tesla sank toward the bottom of Consumer Reports’ newest annual auto brand rankings, weighed down by poorly received design changes and reliability problems.
The electric-car maker placed No. 23 out of 32 brands on the 2021 list, down seven spots from the year before, Consumer Reports said Thursday. Tesla’s Model 3 was also beaten out as the “top pick” for 2022 in the electric-vehicle category by Ford’s Mustang Mach-E.
The new list is a blow to Tesla, which has been dogged by questions over build quality and reliability even as the company’s market value has soared to roughly US$1 trillion. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has lamented the difficulty in getting all the details right while ramping up production.
The Austin, Texas-based company suffered in the rankings in part because of changes to its Model S sedan, Jake Fisher, senior director of automotive testing at Consumer Reports, said in an interview. Tesla switched its steering wheel to a yoke design that Fisher said is a “chore” and “just does not work very well.”
Also, the placement of the turn signal and horn buttons on the yoke can lead to errant presses, while a lack of traditional gear selector “makes driving frustrating,” he said. The Model X had similar design changes.
Tesla, which doesn’t have a public relations department, didn’t respond to an emailed request for comment.
The S and X models represent a small portion of Tesla’s overall output. Tesla delivered 24,980 Model S sedans and Model X SUVs in 2021, compared with 911,242 Model 3 sedans and Model Y SUVs. Consumer Reports considers road tests, reliability, customer satisfaction and safety, and Fisher said ratings are determined by averaging the score of each vehicle in a company’s lineup.
The 2021 Tesla Model S Photo by Tesla
The Model 3 remains the only Tesla vehicle that Consumer Reports recommends, as the Model Y struggles with persistent reliability issues despite its popularity, Fisher said. “Everything from the rear hatch not closing, to trim pieces falling off, to electrical problems.”
Ford’s Mustang Mach-E unseated the Model 3 in the EV category, which Fisher said was in part because the sport utility vehicle is “a little bit easier to live with.” The Mach-E also has a driver monitoring system that uses eye-tracking to make sure drivers are paying attention to the road when using Ford’s upcoming advanced driver assistance software, BlueCruise — something Tesla doesn’t have in place with its Autopilot system.
Keyword: Tesla falls in Consumer Reports ranking after design changes