Tesla Model S Gets 99 out of 100 Rating From Consumer Reports

By Charlie White2013-05-09 17:23:14 UTC

Consumer Reports has fallen in love with the Tesla Model S. On its scale of one to 100, the $70,000+ electric car scored a 99, tied with the highest rating the highly regarded publication has ever awarded to any car.

It's an enormous victory for Elon Musk's growing electric car company, which showed its first profit last quarter. The praise from Consumer Reports is in stark contrast to the controversial review from The New York Times three months ago, which showed the car running out of battery power and emphasized its limited range compared to vehicles powered by fossil fuels.

Consumer Reports lauded the car's "excellent handling," "comfortable ride," and "eerily hushed," roomy interior.

Consumer Reports lauded the car's "excellent handling," "comfortable ride," and "eerily hushed," roomy interior. The reviewers praised the car's 17-inch touchscreen with its high-resolution Google Earth maps, generous trunk space in the front and back, and powerful acceleration.

The review cited the car's need to recharge as its only flaw. Said the publication's head of auto testing Jake Fisher to CNN, "If it could recharge in any gas station in three minutes, this car would score about 110."

Citing a range of "180 and 225 miles on a charge, depending on the weather," Consumer Reports wrote that the car recharges in 5 hours when plugged into Tesla's optional high-power wall connector, or 12 hours on a standard 240 V electric car charger. The publication paid $89,654 its test car, which included the most powerful battery and fastest charger, and an additional $1,200 for that optional high power wall connector.

As a result of the Consumer Reports praise of the electric car, Tesla stock rose by 13% in after-hours trading on Wednesday, continuing that trend Thursday morning as it skyrocketed by an additional 25%, up 107.3% for the year.

Writes Consumer Reports, which buys all its review vehicles and accepts no paid advertising: "So is the Tesla Model S the best car ever? We wrestled with that question long and hard. It comes close." What do you think?

Photo courtesy Tesla Motors

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