So the Tesla Model S isn't perfect after all.
Consumer Reports, an influential nonprofit publication that tests cars, found "many minor problems" after driving the electric sedan more than 10,000 miles, including the serious issue of not being able to see anything on the car's center screen, Bloomberg News reported.
The vehicle drives well but definitely needed some repairs by the time it was brought in for its annual service, said the publication, which last year gave the model a score of "average" for auto reliability after a survey of 637 owners of 2012 and 2013 Teslas.
The report noted that the flaws found in the test car were "purely anecdotal" and are not used to calculate Consumer Reports reliability rankings.
"Car nut or not, EV fan or not, everyone has raved about this car, impressed with its smoothness, effortless glide, and clever, elegant simplicity," Consumer Reports described. "In that time, it's also displayed a few quirks--some unique to Tesla."
When the car's center screen went blank, almost every vehicle function was essentially blocked, including opening the charge port. Consumer Reports test drivers also had issues with the vehicle's automatic-retracting door handles, a problem that was fixed by the Tesla dealer with a wireless programming update.
The Tesla repairs, which additionally included replacing a buckle on the third row, were covered by the dealership.
"One of the cool things about this car is that when it does need to be serviced by a mechanic, a company rep comes with a trailer and picks it up, delivering it back when the work is done--all free," Consumer Reports said.
Tesla CEO and founder Elon Musk said last month that production of the Tesla sedan, which starts $71,000 in the U.S., had flaws that were noticeable in early units.
"We definitely had some quality issues in the beginning for the early serial number cars, because we were just basically figuring out how to make the Model S," Musk said in July, as quoted by Bloomberg News. "I think we've addressed almost all of those for current production cars."
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