The Tesla Model S has earned more accolades in the past two years than anyone though possible, and it did this at a time when electric cars were being widely criticized. So how’d they do it? Quite simply, Elon Musk set out to build a great car that just happened to be electric. That decision is paying off both in sales and awards as the Model S sets a new standard for automotive quality.
The latest feather in the cap of the Tesla team comes from Strategic Vision, which reports that Model S received the highest rating in the Total Quality Index. And what is the Total Quality Index? From the press release:
“The Strategic Vision Total Quality Index score is a holistic measure that encompasses positive and negative product experiences including reliability, actual problems, driving excitement and other measures that collectively are energized by the emotional response associated with the aggregate of all those experiences – hence Total Quality.”
In other words, its more than just measuring what goes right and wrong in a car; it’s about the emotion owners associate with their cars. Strategic Vision interviewed over 38,000 vehicle owners, though Christopher Chaney, Strategic Vision Senior Vice President, sums it up best.
“Tesla built a vehicle that generated love in attributes that were most important to segment buyers. Tesla isn’t an electric vehicle that just has good features, but instead it’s a luxurious sports sedan that has ‘True Innovation,’ as well as a rocket-like speed and drive feeling, that just happens to be an electric vehicle. I would call on all I would call on all manufacturers looking towards electrification to implement a mantra of building super cool transportation that impresses the heck out of customers, and ‘happens to be electric.’”
Strategic Vision isn’t alone, with respected publications like Consumer Reports also acclaiming the Model S the best car on the road. Other automakers are most certainly paying attention to Tesla’s success, with companies like GM assigning a “Tesla team” to help Cadillac keep pace with the electric automaker, though companies like Toyota aren’t yet convinced. How many more awards will Tesla have to take home before the rest of the auto industry follows suit?
Source: Gas 2.
