The graph of Test Aankoop also gives numbers on overall owner hapiness. Even while being last in terms of reliability, it scores 2nd in terms of overall hapiness (right after Porsche). So it must not be that bad, right?
Not really. Could be the case that if you're in the 90ish percent that has no problems, you love your car, but if you're in the 10% bucket you're screwed.
Similar analogy: I love JetBlue, when there aren't any problems. Wider seat pitch, better entertainment system, good value. When there are problems though, it's a nightmare. Once my flight was cancelled due to "weather" (mind you it was a beautiful sunny day, and I counted one other cancelled flight on the entire airport departure board). JetBlue said they could get me on a flight 3 days later, and gave 0 assistance getting on another airline because they don't have any of the "peering" relationships other airlines have. All they did was refund my money the day of, and no compensation because it was for "weather".
This jives generally with what I've heard about Teslas: people fanatically love the cars, except when autopilot steers you into a truck or a concrete divider.
Now that's what I call "survivor bias."
Yes, not everything fits right in my 2018 Model 3. The right headlight is not flush with the hood. You can hear that the windows aren't secured when rolled down and you close the door.
Everything else is brilliant. 95k miles in, I've had zero drive train or mechanical issues. Three sets of tires and an underbody shield that tore when I hit 6" of standing water at 70mph. Conversely, the punch when you hit the accelerator is exhilarating, takes curves flat and fast, the sound system is excellent, it's so quiet, I can drive for hours without physical discomfort, the seat material is durable and doesn't scuff or fade.
I drove a 328i for 20 years that I loved dearly. I haven't given it a 2nd thought since buying the Tesla.
If you look at the reasons CR gave them a low score, it's fit and finish + the HVAC system (which have seen some pretty drastic changes since our vehicles in 2018).
My experience, brand new the condenser pump was too close to the frame (causing a knocking sound). A mobile tech came out, added a rubber pad, and it's been perfect ever since.
When I read the consumer report article listing panel alignment as a reliability issue, I'm suspect. I'm not trying to ignore the fact that it's pretty terrible for tesla to pay so little attention to these things, especially at the price, at at the same time the issues these cars have are generally both cheap/free to repair (especially since they are often caught at the point of sale) and then done for the life of the car.
Side note: My prior car, a ford edge, was WAY worse in reliability towards it's EOL (130k). By the time it got there, the fan belt had cut through the brake line (Um, wtf?), the brake master cylinder had sprung a leak, the alternator went out, the battery died, and the transmission was on it's way out, the HVAC failed and the compressor needed to be replaced. All fairly spendy repairs from regular operations. That's not to mention the regular oil/fluid changes, brake changes, and new tires.
Volkswagen ID.3 and ID.4
Ford Mustang Mach-E
To me that suggests Tesla makes a cars for people who don't need a car, just want one.
Both of those things are pretty fixable after purchase and are (generally speaking) one and done problems.
It's not about the "smug" or "halo" factor. If it were, why would so many people be lining up to buy the electric F-150?
150,000 production target electric ~750,000 sales F-series 2021
You are literally the “smug” you are protesting. And I say all these things as a guy that wants all cars to become BEV as soon as possible (well, I’d rather have public transit be prioritized, but people are egotistical and shitty).
Apologies if I came off as smug!
FWIW, I did a quick calculation and satisfaction and reliability aren't really correlated (coefficient of 0.17). Fiddling with a few other models didn't find much more of a connection.