TOPLINE
Tesla cars ranked worst among the top 32 automakers in an influential customer survey by research group JD Power, highlighting previously raised concerns that Tesla could be cutting corners in manufacturing to meet aggressive production targets .
Tesla cars scored worst among the top 32 automakers in the JD Power survey.
KEY FACTS
Tesla vehicles, which appeared in the first-ever survey, were found to have 250 problems for every 100 vehicles compared to an industry average of 166 problems this year.
The electric car maker had previously avoided showing up in the survey because some state laws require an automaker’s permission to use new vehicle registration data to contact customers, something Tesla had refused to provide in the past. .
Increased sales of Tesla’s lower-cost Model 3 compact car finally allowed JD Power to collect enough data from 35 states that does allow access to the data.
However, the research firm did not formally rank Telsa at the bottom of its list, as it was unable to collect data from all 50 states, including California, the largest Tesla market in the country.
The survey results follow news of an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) into touchscreen failures in the Model S luxury sedan.
The company also allegedly shipped earlier versions of the Model S despite its knowledge of a dangerous battery failure that could cause fires, Business Insider reported Wednesday.
Key background
Last year, CNBC reported that Tesla employees were being pressured to take shortcuts to achieve aggressive Model 3 production goals, including speedy repair of plastic shells with electrical tape, working in difficult conditions, and skipping previous vehicle testing. required. The company had established a temporary outdoor tent factor to meet CEO Elon Musk’s aggressive goal of producing 6,000 Model 3 units per week. Despite the complaints, the automaker has dismissed the quality complaints by citing its internal data and saying it takes customer feedback seriously and promptly addresses the issues. Despite this, several Tesla customers have taken their complaints to Twitter, in an attempt to capture the attention of Musk, who is an active user on the platform.
