Model 3 Gets Slammed by Benchmarking Specialist: "How Could They Release This?"

And since not all the people who get their hands on one of Tesla's new electric sedans are necessarily fans of the brand willing to accept all sorts of flaws in the vehicle just because they love Tesla and have a picture of Elon Musk on the desktop of their computer, not all the reviews are going to be favorable.

To be fair, some long-time Tesla owners have complained about a few issues with the car too. Mostly, they have to do with the door handles - nobody particularly likes them, apparently, but they do add to the car's maximum range without the added complexity of the retractable ones on the Model S and X - and the absence of an instrument cluster or a head-up display.

However, nothing we've seen so far is as drastic or direct as this static inspection of the EV conducted by Sandy Munro, CEO of Munro & Associates. His company specializes in automotive benchmarking and - and this is a key aspect - is based in Detroit.

Mr. Munro starts off by revealing a pretty serious safety hazard with the Model 3 in case of an accident. Apparently, popping the hood of the trunk where the high-voltage orange cable that needs to be cut resides requires a lot of fiddling as well as some extra equipment: a 12-volt battery and some jumper cables. Alternatively, it could be done from the inside, but only using the main display which might not be functional following the crash.

There's a similar issue with opening the doors from the inside. It's done via the push of a button, but there's also a mechanical failsafe in the shape of a switch. The rear seats, however, lack the same luxury, prompting Munro to joke "I guess the kids don't matter."

He also mentions the huge panel gaps, saying they can be seen from Mars. In our opinion, his veiled jab at Elon Musk didn't help the credibility of his review in any way, making it sound more like a personal vendetta than an actual fact stating (even though most of what he says is true).

And despite the fact Mr. Munro raises some valid points and with all due respect to both people involved, the whole clip feels like two pensioners complaining about the outfit of a teenager. They might be right about lots of things, but you can just feel they wouldn't have agreed to it even if there wasn't actually anything to complain about.

Plus, there's the fact that Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors are the biggest clients of Munro & Associates, which doesn't exactly make him biased. It doesn't make him wrong either, as you can definitely see the gaps in the panels (not as large as he described them, but still larger than anything that would have passed a European manufacturer's QC) or that flimsy piece of fabric on the driver's door. We guess the best way to deal with this is to listen to both sides, and then go out there and see (or even try) the car for yourself.