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Tesla Model S Owner Makes Long Video Explaining How Bad His Car Is

Tesla cars are known to have some build quality issues, but the company is also famous for doing its best to sort them out as quickly as possible and, more often than not, also for offering a very friendly experience during servicing.
Tesla Model S build quality issues 1 photo
Photo: YouTube screenshot
That being said, Tesla was still angry at Consumer Reports after the independent organization gave the Model 3 an "average reliability" prediction, saying its analysis was "inaccurate and misleading to consumers." CR gave a detailed response on how it came to that forecast and why it's sticking to it, and the whole thing appeared to have gone under the radar.

The funny thing is that together with the Model 3 prediction, Consumer Reports also bumped the Model S reliability rating from "average" to "above average," making it the first Tesla to ever reach this level. But after watching this video, you get the impression CR might have hastened a bit.

A Tesla Model S owner called Martin posted a video on YouTube where he goes through his horrific experience with the car. He took delivery of the electric sedan in December 2016 and up until now, he's had his car in the shops six times and is scheduled for a seventh, all with build quality issues.

The clip is 25 minutes long, but if you think about buying a Model S - or any other Tesla for that matter - it might be worth giving it a look. The man says he kind of knew what he was getting into, but he never thought it could be that bad.

The list of things that went wrong is unbelievable long and diverse, ranging from a mere rattle in one of the doors (or two), to door panels coming off, small horizontal lines in the windshield, noisy HVAC fan, yellow lines on the main display or a crooked steering wheel when driving straight.

At one point, the owner started wondering whether all these relatively minor issues shouldn't be considered a warning that other, more important components might fail as well. Things like the motor or the battery pack, for example. And let's not forget that we are supposed to trust a company that still can't get the panels aligned to develop a car that can drive by itself.

Despite all this ordeal, Martin is still very much in love with his Tesla. He says the customer support was great (despite having his defective windshield replaced twice) on every occasion and he doesn't appear to regret his choice. "Despite all these little tiny problems that I've had, this is a fantastic car, and I've enjoyed driving it almost every single day," he says.

Tesla definitely has a certain aura around it, but it can't keep relying on that for much longer. If the other carmakers catch up to it in terms of performance and range, then it really needs to up its build quality game, or risk remaining a niche manufacturer until its extinction. Hopefully, the company's claims hold out, and the Model 3 turns out to be its first properly built vehicle.

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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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