Biz: Consumer Reports gives Tesla thumbs up.
Consumer Reports approves of car after software update
A week after saying it couldn’t recommend the Tesla Model 3 due to concerns about the car’s braking abilities, Consumer Reports has made a U-turn and now says it will give a thumbs up to the electric car.
Consumer Reports said Wednesday that its view of the Model 3 has changed after Tesla issued an over-theair software update which the consumer product reviewer said improved the car’s braking distance by almost 20 feet.
And Musk wasted little time getting back on Twitter Wednesday to thank CR for determining that the Model 3 is as good of a car as Musk believes it is.
Last week, Consumer Reports said it couldn’t recommend the Model 3 because when it tested the vehicle, it had a stopping distance
of 152 feet when traveling at 60 miles an hour. In its critique, Consumer Reports said the Model 3’s stopping performance was “far worse than any contemporary car we’ve tested” and seven feet longer than that of a full-size Ford F-150 pickup truck.
Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk went to Twitter after the Consumer Reports decision came out, and took CR’s assessment to task by saying it had used an earlier production version of the Model 3 for its review. Musk said then that Tesla had made improvements to the Model 3, suggested CR review the car again, and promised Model 3 owners would get free upgrades for their cars’ braking systems.
Consumer Reports took Musk up on his offer and said the Model 3’s braking was noticeably better the second time around.
“In retesting after the software update was downloaded, the sedan stopped in 133 feet from 60 mph, an improvement of 19 feet,” said CR in its new review of the Model 3. “The new shorter distance is typical for a compact luxury car and matches the 133 feet that Tesla claims its own testing found, using the same tires as those on our Model 3.”