Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to twitter – as he often does – to defend his company and the Model 3 and explain problems that Consumer Reports told its readers about were easily fixed.
The magazine, which stopped short of giving the Model 3 an endorsement, pointed out that the new sedan performed poorly in braking tests. In fact, it said it tested two vehicles and each of them performed worse in the 60-to-0 mph test than a new Ford F-150 truck.
This happened even after the car it owned received a software update to improve the vehicle’s braking system.
In a series of tweets late yesterday, Musk said the magazine’s tests were conducted with older versions of the car that had already been improved upon.
(Tesla Model 3 not faring will in media spotlight. Click Here for the story.)
“With further refinement, we can improve braking distance beyond initial specs. Tesla won’t stop until Model 3 has better braking than any remotely comparable car,” Musk tweeted.
“Also Consumer Reports has an early production car. Model 3 now has improved ride comfort, lower wind noise & many other small improvements. Will request that they test current production,” he wrote.
The Tesla’s stopping distance of 152 feet from 60-to-0 mph was “far worse than any contemporary car we’ve tested.” In fact, it was about 7 feet longer than of the Ford F-150. Tesla offered up its own results saying that using the same tires that Consumer Reports model was equipped with that it performed the same test in an average of 133 feet.
(Click Here for more about Musk looking beyond Model 3 problems, but creating some headache in the process.)
After Musk’s twitter rant, the magazine agreed to retest the Model 3 after an over-the-air update from the Tesla.
“If Tesla can update the brakes over the air – an industry first – we’d be happy to retest our Model 3,” said Jake Fisher, Consumer Reports’ director of automotive testing.
The company took a hit on the stock market after Consumer Reports and Edmunds.com each published stories about problems with their Model 3 sedans. While a lack of endorsement by Consumer Reports is tough, the Edmunds piece revealed many more problems with a model. Analysts said the magazine’s story was a bad advertisement for Tesla.
(To see more about Tesla’s California plant shutting down for six days later this month, Click Here.)
The company’s stock took a hit yesterday after Tesla shares had been rebounding from about a $100 slide, in the wake of reports of crashes involving its vehicles and growing skepticism over its questionable finances.
