Tesla Breaks Into Consumer Reports’ Reliability Top 10

Tesla Inc. made its first appearance in the top 10 for reliability in Consumer Reports’ rankings released Thursday, a stark turnaround for the electric vehicle maker that was a laggard just a few years ago.

Thanks to improvement in its build quality and what the magazine called a “standout" electric drive system, Tesla rose to ninth in reliability out of 26 brands tested, up from 17th last year. Back in 2022, Tesla’s reliability ranked 27th out of 28 brands.

The gains come despite ongoing issues with its electrically controlled doors – a technology that has proliferated across the automotive industry. A Bloomberg investigation found hundreds of consumer complaints to US regulators about the door systems, with Tesla accounting for the largest share.

Tesla has been criticized for not updating the designs of its cars, putting pressure on sales, which are on track to fall for the second straight year. But that aging lineup actually is working in Tesla’s favor when it comes to reliability because it continues to build its cars better, according to Consumer Reports. The only Tesla with below-average reliability is its newest model — the Cybertruck.

“With Tesla, it’s not that they’ve suddenly changed, but the issue is that they’ve been building vehicles in the same plant that are very similar for a while now and they’re able to improve them," Jake Fisher, Consumer Reports’ senior director for auto testing, said in an interview. “Having an older lineup almost always helps when it comes to reliability."

Tesla’s oldest offering, the Model S, has been on the market since late 2011, but it has steadily improved over the last 14 years, Fisher said.

“The Tesla Model S is a dinosaur in the world of redesign," Fisher said. “To have a vehicle that’s going to soldier on without a full redesign is unheard of in the industry, but it’s helping them."

Tesla’s strong showing in reliability also helped the brand crack the top 10 in Consumer Reports’ more comprehensive “automotive report card," which also encompasses road test scores, safety performance and owner satisfaction surveys. The report card was derived from data on about 380,000 vehicles, up 27% from last year, the magazine said.

Tesla ranked 10th in the report card out of 31 brands, up from 17th last year. In 2018, Tesla also made the top 10 on the report card, ranking eighth.

Toyota Motor Corp. topped this year’s reliability rankings for the first time since 2022, narrowly edging out last year’s winner Subaru Corp. But Subaru ranked No. 1 in the overall brand report card, followed by BMW.

Check out Upcoming EV Cars in India.