Consumer Reports says Tesla Model S is Unreliable

Consumer Reports has dealt a devastating blow to the high-flying Tesla Motors brand by saying that the Tesla Model S that had previously won its highest score ever, was unreliable.

The consumer advocacy organization's decision to say the vehicle was unreliable made Tesla's stocks tumble more than six percent by the end of the day's trading, ending at $213.03, according to Reuters. They had fallen as much as 11.4 percent after Consumer Reports released its annual report on vehicle reliability.

The report was based on surveys of 1,400 owners and found that the Model S had worse than average reliability. The vehicle had particular trouble with its transmission, which the company had tweaked to achieve better fuel efficiency. Issues also plagued the car's multimedia system.

Even while reliability was an issue, the company said that 97 percent of Tesla owners said they would buy another one because of responsive customer service that worked to fix any problems that came up with as little inconvenience as possible.

The change of heart by Consumer Reports is all the more striking given the rave reviews Tesla's newest model, the Model X SUV, received from both automobile and technology types.

The Model X boasts a range of 250 miles and is able to accelerate from 0 to 60 in 3.2 seconds and Tesla has said that it is already taking reservations for its newest model, with expected delivery of the first orders in the second half of 2016.

Tesla was founded by Elon Musk, who established PayPal and is also the force behind SpaceX, a commercial space travel operation that regularly supplies the International Space Station and is working to create a reusable rocket, which would revolutionize the space travel.