The Model Y, which entered series production earlier this year, is expected to become Tesla’s best-selling vehicle. It received high marks from Consumer Reports in test drives earlier this year. But now we are talking about a reliability rating, which is based on a survey of real owners who reported serious problems with the new electric car model. Problems with the Model Y range from misaligned body panels to poor paint quality. One of the owners found dust, debris, and even human hair in the car’s paintwork.

“A car can be great to drive with all the features you need,” says Jake Fisher, Senior Director of Vehicle Testing at Consumer Reports, “ but it won’t matter much to you if you have to constantly contact repair service “.

Fischer noted that reliability issues are common when new cars are launched, but Tesla’s problems with the new model are extremely serious.

“ There are some basic things they don’t understand, and this is frustrating,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that the body panels are not aligned so that you cannot even close the tailgate. Unfortunately, there are many problems with the paintwork. You might think that they could decide this from the very beginning. ”

It should be noted that the Tesla Model S sedan’s reliability rating has also dropped to below average and it is no longer recommended for purchase by Consumer Reports. The Model X retained its previous “Not Recommended” rating due to ongoing reliability issues.

And only the Tesla Model 3 sedan, which is currently the company’s best-selling model, received a “Recommended” rating from Consumer Reports.

Problems with the Model Y have lowered Tesla’s overall rating by two places, and now the company is ranked second from the bottom among 26 car brands. Tesla is now only ahead of Ford’s luxury brand Lincoln, behind Volkswagen, which closed the Consumer Reports rankings in 2019.