Tesla worst for reliability in American driver survey

Perhaps it should be redefined as build quality, but it is still a decent metric worth analyzing.

I don't doubt that Tesla's are less reliable by other definitions, but I agree that this isn't a great measure.

Tesla's have lots of new and untested technology. That's their appeal. If toyota wanted to be less conservative and start using blazing new technologies in their cars, I'm sure we'd see the same issues there.

Teslas are notorious for software bugs that eventually get fixed. What i'm more interested in is whether Teslas end up lasting a long time. Electric motors are a lot simpler and so in a sense, I suspect they have the potential to last for more years with fewer issues.

Here's another source (consumer reports) that backs up the idea that Teslas are on the less reliable end:

https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-makes-big-leap-consume...

My thoughts are that Tesla is a newer company, they are trying things that others aren't, and third, reliability never seemed to be a top goal for them.

I drove a rental Tesla recently. We were parked in a long line waiting to board a ferry and I was playing chess on the main console. When the line started to move, I tried to too and car just wouldn't go or start. People stuck behind me started getting impatient and honking while I was trying to figure out what had happened, turning off and on again, pressing random buttons, accidentally popping the trunk, etc. It took several minutes to realize that the car wouldn't start while you were playing a game on the console, so I had to quit the game, and then drive.

My point with this anecdote is that it seems to me that Tesla has many such features, some of which may change with software updates, and, given the expansive definition of "reliability" used here, perhaps this is a driver of issues.

I wonder what the rates would be if you restricted it to "issues requiring professional repair" or something like that.