Tesla slips in reliability rankings based on new owner surveys

Tesla has slipped in industry reliability rankings based on new owner surveys from Consumer Reports and J.D. Power.

Over the years, Tesla has often been knocked for reliability in owner surveys. The automaker’s innovative nature often prioritized speed over quality and reliability.

Last year, Tesla’s former VP of quality explained why it might not be a good idea to buy first batches of Tesla vehicles. Now new surveys show that it is still an issue for the automaker.

J.D. Power released its annual “2021 US Vehicle Dependability Study,” and Tesla placed toward the bottom in the industry:

Tesla is not in the official list because J.D. Power wasn’t able to survey owners in 15 states:

Tesla receives a score of 176 PP100. The automaker is not officially ranked among other brands in the study because it doesn’t meet the ranking criteria. Unlike other manufacturers, Tesla doesn’t grant J.D. Power permission to survey its owners in 15 states where it is required. However, Tesla’s score was calculated based on a robust sample of surveys from owners in the other 35 states.

If Tesla was in the official list, it would be 31st, with only Jaguar Alfa Romeo and Land Rover behind the electric automaker in terms of dependability.

Consumer Reports also updated its car brand rankings, and Tesla slipped five positions due to reliability issues:

Tesla has had its ups and downs with Consumer Reports.

The Tesla Model S famously broke Consumer Reports‘ rating system in 2015, scoring a 103 out of a maximum 100 points. This was due to the way CR balances their tests, and the Model S did so well in multiple categories that it scored a higher score than the scale could handle.

In the updated rankings, Tesla scored fifth best in “road test” scores behind Porsche, BMW, Audi, and Subaru.

Owner satisfaction has always been Tesla’s biggest strength in these rankings, with Tesla topping CR‘s list, as it has done consistently for several years.

But Consumer Reports has also been extremely critical of Tesla at times, going as far calling for the automaker to walk back the deployment of its Autopilot program.