Tesla is the poor pupil of the automakers as regards reliability. This is what emerges from the last annual report of the famous JD Power institute which is in the 34th edition of its study on the initial quality of vehicles. It is the first time that Tesla has been included in this investigation and the verdict is far from glorious for the American manufacturer.
Each year, JD Power Brush wore vehicles from dozens of automakers through a satisfaction survey conducted with thousands of customers in the United States. The company’s latest report on the initial quality of the cars brings some nice surprises. Of 34 manufacturers assessed, Tesla is the lowest rated and takes the last place in the ranking for its first participation.
Of the 50 US states, 15 require trademark authorization to be included in the survey. Tesla has always refused to give its approval. The increased sales of Model 3 ultimately allowed JDPower to collect enough data in 35 states that allow access to data without the consent of the contractors.
250 faults for 100 Tesla cars
The score assigned by JDPower takes into account the number of problems encountered by customers in the first 90 days following the receipt of their vehicle. Tesla comes out with the worst score with a total of 250 problems recorded on average for 100 cars. The brand is far from the industry average of 166 problems per 100 vehicles.
The other surprise of the classification comes from Dodge and Kia which are the best students this year with a score of 136 PP100, which represents 136 faults for 100 vehicles on average. The two are tied first. If Tesla’s ranking is surprising at first glance, the facts do not cast doubt on the credibility of this investigation. The brand pays the price of accelerating the production process in its factories to achieve its delivery targets.
The result of this study is falling short when the manufacturer is under fire from critics. A recent Business Insider investigation found that Tesla Model S were shipped with defective batteries. The manufacturer would have turned a blind eye to this defect of which he was aware to respect his production schedule.
Another report released recently by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a United States federal agency responsible for road safety, pin Tesla for failures concerning the touch screen of the Model S. Concerns that Elon Musk prioritizing quantity at the expense of quality are a recurring theme for Tesla which nevertheless benefits from a good brand image.
Below is the classification of JDPower accompanied by the notes of each manufacturer. The institute, however, grants Tesla a mitigating circumstance for being unable to access customer assessment data in 15 states.