Tesla’s Model 3, the electric vehicle that revolutionized the automotive industry, continues to win the hearts of its owners. When it was unveiled, hundreds of people worldwide lined up to place a $1,000 reservation. By 2021, it became the first EV to sell over a million units, marking a significant milestone in the EV market.
A new survey from Bloomberg that sought feedback from original Model 3 owners, found that the EV is still a huge hit.
The survey is a follow-up to Bloomberg’s Model 3 Tracker, a project launched in 2018 to generate real-time production estimates for Tesla’s first mass-market car. The Model 3 Tracker relied in part on thousands of owners reporting their Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs); these early adopters formed the basis for an extensive email survey of more than 7,000 owners in 2019.
For the 2023 update, Bloomberg contacted the original survey respondents with a new questionnaire of approximately 200 questions. Some questions were repeated from the original survey to track opinions over time, while others explored newly relevant topics. The publication also initiated a separate survey of new Tesla owners of all model types to supplement some findings, such as battery degradation for the Model Y. More than 5,600 completed surveys were included in the final analysis.
To ensure the responses came from true Tesla owners, Bloomberg established a credibility score in 2019 based on 14 weighted metrics, including verification of government-issued VINs and checking the internal consistency of answers. Based on this score, they excluded results from about 3% of the respondents.
The survey reveals that the Model 3 has stood the test of time. Owners still love the sedan, particularly its handling, and continue to recommend it to friends and family, albeit with slightly less enthusiasm than before.
Despite initial manufacturing defects, including chipped paint and misaligned panels, the Model 3 has proven its reliability on the open road. In fact, reliability scores have increased over time, with owners reporting that major systems have held up well once initial defects were corrected.
The survey also revealed that 87% of Model 3 owners are considering another Tesla for their next vehicle purchase, and 96% are considering another electric vehicle for their next purchase. This indicates a strong loyalty to the brand and a growing preference for electric vehicles.
Owners rated the reliability of different areas of the vehicle, with the battery and electric-drive systems receiving some of the highest scores. However, exterior reliability was rated the lowest, with some owners reporting continued dissatisfaction with paint quality.
Despite the high satisfaction scores, there was a slight downward trend across the board when compared to 2019. The highest feature score was for Tesla’s over-the-air updates (4.79), which allow the company to carry out recalls and add new features remotely. Other highly rated features include the sound system, maps and directions, keyless entry, seat comfort, touchscreen controls, and the Tesla phone app.
After 100,000 miles on the odometer, Model 3 and Model Y owners said they saw 91% of their initial battery performance retained, although some results varied.
However, voice-activated commands and automatic windshield wipers received lower scores. The wipers’ performance has been a point of contention due to Tesla’s unconventional decision to use Autopilot driving sensors to detect rain instead of traditional sensors used by other automakers. This issue has been acknowledged by Elon Musk, who recently promised improvements in the near future.
The survey said 28% of Tesla owners report that Autopilot has landed them in dangerous situations, an increase from the 13% reported in 2019. Conversely, 38% of owners credit Autopilot with saving them from hazardous situations, an increase from the 28% reported in 2019.
The three-part Bloomberg series is paywalled. The first part is oddly free, where it tries to push an anti-Elon Musk narrative it seems. But still, owners continued to say they loved their Model 3 vehicles. The third part talks about Autopilot and Full Self-Driving, along with Superchargers, Solar and Insurance, which also saw positive results with the products, but also said customer service needed improvement.
