Tesla's Model S Reliability Questioned by Consumer Reports

This is a pretty damning report. I've been a Tesla fan for years and it gives me serious pause. Not an insurmountable obstacle, but certainly something Tesla needs to address.

Elon shouldn't fix what ain't broke.

Am concerned for the Xs' gull wing doors, in the long term -

It takes a lot of experience and know how to design and build cars. I've heard jokes about how the big 3 can't get it right and how the imports are beating them - hands down.

Think about the first Honda car - T360. I was too young to know much about it, but I doubt it was as good as a domestic. The Toyoda AA was their first car (1936) - it was suppose to be a pretty neat car, but I don't think the quality was that good, because only one car survived and it's in horrible condition.

So, if Honda and Toyota had problems mass producing cars, why shouldn't Tesla. There are a lot of things that must go into the design and production of a car.

I think a lot of people were expecting too much from Tesla.

It was an Iowan - W. Edwards Deming - who taught the Japs about QC - after Detroit had continually ignored him.

Now it looks like the Koreans have elevated Demingism to an art form.

I learned about him in graduate school! He was born in Iowa, but his family left when he was a young boy. He was really a Wyoming man.

The Koreans still have manufacturing problems. Hyundai has a huge recall on the 2011 and early 2012's - 470,000 Sonatas with engine problems - crankshaft was not cleaned properly and metal debris can come off and damage the engine.

Ask someone who's in the auto business and goes to auto auctions which manufacturer typically has the highest mileage used cars (gives a good idea of reliability) and it's Toyota, Lexus, GMC, Honda and Infiniti (in that order). Hyundai, Kia and Daewoo are nowhere on the list.

As a mechanic what he thinks of Hyundai and Kia parts and he'll tell you there are some problematic parts on their cars - timing belts that go at 60K miles (150K plus for most Toyotas) and destroy the engine, where the Toyota is a non-interference design.

When one promotes and boast a great deal, the expectations of the purchaser is no lower than that which has been presented to them. I seriously doubt anyone expected too much from Tesla!

I have some clients who bought a Tesla expecting a car that is better than anything else ever made. I tried to let them know that there will be issues with the car and that there were better choices, but they didn't listen.

I've seen used 2014 P85's for under $60K for a $110K sticker car. S550's are still selling for $75K or so.

The early Hondas and Toyotas were not at the upper end of of the price range. Tesla is selling cars for higher than the average salary in the U.S. I think people have a right to expect a reasonable level of reliability.

There was a lot of hype about the new Model S when it came out. The car is beautiful, but something is a little off. I look at a Jaguar XJ and it looks great from all angles. The Model S looks good from some angles, but a little plain and in some cases odd, from other angles.

I have owned Jaguars since the mid 00's and I love them. They are quirky, switches and knobs are placed in odd places and for such a large car, there's not a lot of room inside. There is however a charm to them and out of every car I've owned, Jaguars are the nicest place to sit (interior is phenomenal). The reliability is actually pretty good and I've had less problems with my Jaguars than with my BMW's, Mercedes and Porsches. Heck, it's even been more troublefree than my Volvo! Don't get me wrong, it's not as reliable as our Toyota's, Honda's, Infiniti or Nissan!

Would I buy a Tesla? Not yet. Maybe after they're seasoned a bit and the charging infrastructure is much better.

There is no enterprise more daunting than starting a car company in America.

The smaller version is however, getting rave reviews.....