Frustrated trying to figure out Tesla quality

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in Detroit and worked at a big 3 auto company in college. Tesla quality is highly-variable. The car has some great, innovative design features, and it's impossible to argue against the fact that Tesla has made incredible contributions to the shift toward vehicle electrification. They've also innovated in other ways, such as direct-to-consumer sales. But it's a hit or miss car quality-wise.

I think a big part is that it's designed by SV engineers who think they know more than anyone [full disclosure: I'm a know-it-all SV engineer]. A friend of mine worked at Tesla in a manufacturing group, and about 5-6 years ago she was telling me her boss was interested in using data science to help with supply chain QC...stuff like sampling parts from a lot and tracking manufacturing lots. I laughed, because I did all of this with a spreadsheet and a notebook in the 90s! For whatever reason, early on Tesla opted not to learn from the things the legacy automakers did well and the lessons they'd learned from a century of mass producing consumer vehicles. They've started to hire more from legacy companies, but they're playing catch up in some ways.

If it matters, we are on our second Nissan Leaf, and DH has put in a pre-order reservation for a Cybertruck. But both he and I are on the fence of whether we'll actually want to buy it pending quality issues.

DH went to test drive a Model X a couple of years ago, and in the showroom one of the falcon doors didn't work and the back seats were stuck in an unusable position. That's in a showroom! A huge fraction of the cars have issues. People make fun of the Detroit automakers' quality, but none of them have the kind of issues that Teslas do. And stuff like the retractable door handles just feel like a part failure waiting to happen. DH and I are both trained in fields where we design for failure contingencies, longevity, and reliability...and nothing about a Tesla feels solid from that perspective.

Excellent post. Tesla refused to learn from the mistakes that the larger automakers made in the past.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

they are rarer than gas stations and the ones convenient to interstates seem to have lines, and that can mean a half hour or more of waiting

this is so wildly incorrect

[Anonymous]

whoops, "this is so wildly incorrect" obviously should have been outside the quote

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm quite frustrated trying to gauge whether Tesla is a good buy. You constantly read about the quality control issues that have plagued Tesla, but Teslas constantly get outstanding reviews in Car and Driver etc. So which is it? Were the quality issues only a rough patch that Tesla is over? Or are quality issues still a problem? Are reviews on Tesla giving them high marks accurate? Really hard to discern between the extreme haters, the hardcore fanboys, and just s good 'ol honest to good unbiased opinion about Teslas.

I haven't read through the thread but I bought a Tesla Model 3 last December. I had the same question you did, and where I landed was that Tesla was terrible early on with quality as they were literally figuring out how to manufacture at scale. They are better now, although I still wouldn't buy the first run model of any vehicle, for instance the first Cybertruck. The Model 3 and Y seem "safe" to buy because they have been making them for a while now from a factory (Fremont) that has been up and running for a while. FWIW, no issues in the last 13 months with my M3. One flat tire due to a nail, and one factory recall for a climate/heat sensor that took them a couple hrs to replace.

[Anonymous]

Tesla = Junk

[Anonymous]

As others have mentioned, Tesla quality really varies by component. The motor and batteries are amazing, but the screen-based interface is a disaster since a system crash will leave you locked out the car or stranded on a roadside.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As others have mentioned, Tesla quality really varies by component. The motor and batteries are amazing, but the screen-based interface is a disaster since a system crash will leave you locked out the car or stranded on a roadside.

I commented on the other thread about Teslas, and I owned a Model X for four years and now own a Model 3 and Y. We've owned Teslas since 2014. We've NEVER had our screen interface crash. Ever. We've never been shut out of the car. You do have to make sure your phone is always charged with a 3 and Y because you drive using your app. There is a key card so you should keep that on you in case of a dead phone battery. Model S and X have a key fob.

There are regular software updates that add new features and improve functionality.

As I said on the other thread, the only maintenance we ever have to do is put air in the tires and windshield wiper fluid in as needed.

As a PP mentioned, I think there were problems in the earlier years, but everyone I know who has a newer model has never had any serious problems. But that's the same for any model car. I remember we had a first year BMW X5 and it was a maintenance NIGHTMARE!