Tesla CEO Elon Musk acknowledged braking issues in the flagship Model 3 after a damning Consumer Reports review providing a non-recommendation.
According to Consumer Reports, significant flaws were discovered with the Model 3 braking systems, guilty of long stopping distances in emergency braking tests.
"The Tesla's stopping distance of 152 feet from 60 mph was far worse than any contemporary car we've tested and about 7 feet longer than the stopping distance of a Ford F-150 full-sized pickup," wrote Consumer Reports in its report.
Initially, Musk disputed the reports, citing its own testing showing a stopping distance much less than reported, before acknowledging it was accurate.
Looks like this can be fixed with a firmware update. Will be rolling that out in a few days. With further refinement, we can improve braking distance beyond initial specs. Tesla won?t stop until Model 3 has better braking than any remotely comparable car.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 22, 2018
Musk attributed the issue to a faulty braking system calibration algorithm, with a May 25th over-the-air update to correct the issue. No word on when Consumer Reports is planning to retest.
Also, firmware fix for upgraded brake performance on standard Model 3 started rolling out yesterday. Should improve braking distance by ~20 ft for repeated heavy braking events. Thanks @ConsumerReports for excellent critical feedback!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 27, 2018
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