The Tesla Model S is one of the most technologically advanced cars on the road, and as recently as August was lauded by Consumer Reports for its best-ever scores on the magazine’s performance tests.
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Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla Motors, holds the charging nozzle as he demonstrates the company’s Model S electric sedan following a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, on Monday, september 8, 2014. It reported a “worse-than-average overall problem rate” and cautioned consumers that these issues may only exacerbate as the vehicle gets older. Whereas carmakers traditionally don’t release a new feature until they consider it 100-percent ready, Tesla is effectively turning its paying customers into software beta testers, and using their experiences to refine a product it readily admits is not complete. “As you expand the consumer base you get people who have less tolerance for problems”. Musk also said Tesla is already working with Chinese Internet company Baidu Inc. on Global Positioning System navigation and automated driving. It could even be a bigger problem for Tesla if they had not made themselves clear when they rolled out the new update.
Despite this warning, a few Tesla drivers haven’t fully absorbed the information… or that Tesla said it accepts no liability for collisions that happen in autopilot mode.
Tesla stock fell 6.6% to 213.04 on the stock market today, a six-month closing low.
“Close communication with our customers enables Tesla to receive input, proactively address issues and quickly fix problems”, the company said in a statement.
Tesla’s software update also allows its cars to scan and identify a parking spot and pull off a parallel parking manoeuvre by itself. “In instances when hardware needs to be fixed, we strive to make it painless”.
Nevertheless, survey respondents focused on specific areas and the auto scored this year than it had last year.
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“Squeaks and rattles appear to be the most prevalent complaint”, the magazine wrote.
