Technology: Tesla Sets The Pace - Shatters Consumer Reports Record

by Industry Week | Technology

High-Scoring Tesla Keeps The Records Vector Upwards As It Shatters Consumer Reports Expectation

It is any manufacturer's ultimate dream to churn out products that will be acceptable in the market - but when the acceptance exceeds expectations, even shareholders smile to the bank too.

The case of Elon Musk's Tesla is inspiring. Not too long ago, his Space X project suffered a set-back while the reports from the Battery charging arm wasn't so encouraging.

But it's all different with the latest report by Industry Week regarding the fortunes of the auto maker, who produces electric cars.

In a recent report in IW said Tesla's electric earned the `best-ever' vehicle rating from Consumer Reports.  Expected this sent Tesla's shares racing higher last week.

A week after last Thursday's report, Tesla remains Bullish on the Nasdaq, loosing marginally and closing at $238.63 on September 1 after opening at  $ 240.34. Still it's one year target remains at $275.

Tesla scored high not just on performance, but on fuel savings and for a car that costs $35,000 (£23,000) it sound like a compensation to buyers.

According to the report,  Mark Rechtin, automotive editor for the consumer group said: "With a six-figure price tag, the P85D is expensive, meaning its virtues will be experienced by a rare few. But its significance as a breakthrough model that is pushing the boundaries of both performance and fuel-efficiency is dramatic."

"The P85D is brutally quick, with instant acceleration," Rechtin wrote, noting that it could reach 60 miles (100 kilometers) per hour in 3.5 seconds.

"The car’s thrust is forceful and immediate." Its near-instant g-forces can otherwise be achieved only by leaping off a building—literally, and according to him, the acceleration "makes it frighteningly eerie in its silent velocity. It's so explosively quick that Tesla has created an 'insane' driving mode."

Consumer Reports gave the P85D a 100/100 rating, topping the 99/100 rating of the Tesla S two years ago, IW said, adding that the vehicle "initially scored 103 in the Consumer Reports' Ratings system, which by definition doesn’t go past 100." 

"So we had to make changes to our scoring to account for it" he said.

But the four-wheel drive P85D, which is a modified version of the Tesla S sedan, will cost upwards of $125,000 (£82,000) with typical equipment, Consumer Reports noted.

But analysts think the breakthroughs suggest positive things for the sector as a whole. New models are due in 2016 and 2018.

* Industry Week.