Tesla Buyers Having More Regrets After Actually Using Their Cars, Research Finds

Road Race

Like a Tesla battery during a cold winter, buyer satisfaction with the Elon Musk-helmed vehicles has declined compared to a year ago.

A new report from the prestigious JD Power's long-running US Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) study shows that Tesla has slipped a full nine points in satisfaction to 878 points for 2023 versus 2022 —  while more established luxury brands like Jaguar (887), Land Rover (883), and Porsche (883) landed on top.

Even while being bested by those car brands, Tesla "still remains one of the higher performing brands in the industry," the report says, especially as you compare it with average satisfaction for vehicles on the market, which stands at 845 points.

The study's numbers, out of a total of 1,000 points, are based on a survey given to buyers of 2023 models who rank the vehicles on more than three dozen "attributes," such as the exterior styling, fuel economy, infotainment systems, sense of comfort when getting inside the vehicle, and other factors.

The new JD Power report comes on the heels of some bad news for Tesla, including a previous JD Power study in which Teslas were found to be breaking down more often than ever before, even more than gas-powered vehicles — problematizing the narrative on how electric vehicles are supposedly far easier to maintain compared to vehicles with internal combustion engines.

Rocky Road

What will be really interesting to see is Tesla buyer satisfaction for year 2024, since the 2023 numbers don't yet reflect the sweeping layoffs Musk ordered this year, with a double-digit percentage of its worldwide staff getting pinkslipped.

The layoffs included important personnel who oversee, develop, maintain and fix the vast network of Tesla's flagship Superchargers, a huge selling point to many Tesla buyers. The ensuing backlash convinced Musk to rehire some of the people already fired, but the damage was almost certainly done.

Overall, it's hard to shake a sense of chaos at the electric carmaker, the once-sterling reputation of which has been increasingly blemished by quality control issues, the divisive and long-delayed Cybertruck, and Musk's preoccupation with as-yet-unrealized autonomous driving systems and robotaxis.

So needless to say, let's check back with JD Power in a year's time.

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