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The Age of Tesla: Consumer Reports survey reveals that the EV era has begun

Credit: everything_tesla_pr0/Instagram

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6 years ago

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Amidst the release of Tesla’s record-breaking numbers for 2020, which saw the electric car maker produce and deliver half a million vehicles during a pandemic, it appears that the American public is just about ready to embrace the EV revolution. This was emphasized in a survey conducted by Consumer Reports, which revealed that the American car buyers are just about ready to embrace the Age of Tesla and EVs. 

Consumer Reports’ latest nationally representative survey on electric cars showed that public perception regarding EVs is taking steps towards the mainstream. While only about 30% of the survey’s respondents stated that they are notably familiar with electric cars, almost all the participants had at least heard of EVs. Interest in electric cars was extremely high, with 71% of US drivers stating that they would consider buying an electric car at some point in the future. 

Nearly a third of the survey’s respondents indicated that they are interested in purchasing an electric car for their next car. More than 70% of the study’s respondents also agreed on the notion that electric vehicles would be better for the environment, and that automakers should offer more vehicle types such as plug-in electric pickups and SUVs alongside their car EV offerings. 

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Overall, the results of Consumer Reports’ survey shows that consumers are now becoming steadily more aware of electric cars. And while there are still some concerns about challenges such as the availability of charging stations on the road, Chris Harto, CR’s senior sustainability policy analyst, noted that the use of public charging stations is actually quite rare for a good number of electric car owners. 

“American drivers are accustomed to having ready access to gas stations, and may not realize that if they have a personal garage or driveway, they’ll be doing most of their charging at home with an EV. Even though we have found that the typical driver would make as few as six stops at a public charging station every year, a more robust network of fast-charging stations would help alleviate buyers’ concerns about switching to an electric vehicle,” Harto said. 

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Amidst this shift, the progress and growth of companies like Tesla have been invaluable in pushing the electric vehicle revolution. Tesla’s Supercharger Network, for one, was established and ramped at a time when the company was only producing one vehicle, and at very limited numbers. But years down the road, the Supercharger Network stands as one of the most convenient and reliable rapid charging systems in the country. And considering that Tesla is only getting more aggressive with its Supercharger ramp, the rapid-charging system seems poised to be opened to other EVs as well. 

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What is rather remarkable is that the EV revolution is now going far beyond Tesla. While Tesla is still poised to lead the market thanks to its head start in battery tech and software, other compelling electric cars from other automakers are also being released. There’s Rivian with its R1T pickup and R1S SUV, both of which are designed to make waves in the luxury adventure market. Lucid Motors’s Air sedan is coming for luxury vehicles like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Even legacy automakers like Volkswagen are making some serious bets on electric vehicles, as evidenced by the efforts of VW exec Herbert Diess, a noted ally of Elon Musk. 

As electric cars go mainstream and vehicles like the Model 3 and Model Y become more attainable, reasons for sticking with the internal combustion engine decreases significantly. With numerous regions like Europe and China looking to ban ICE cars within the coming years, after all, gas and diesel-powered vehicles are only going to be less compelling. And amidst this decline, electric vehicles like Tesla’s lineup are only bound to get more and more attractive. 

EV-Survey-2020-Fact-Sheet-12.16.20-3 by Simon Alvarez on Scribd

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Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Investor's Corner

Lucid denies rumors of bankruptcy after over 40% stock drop

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6 hours ago

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July 14, 2026

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Credit: Lucid

Electric vehicle maker Lucid Group has denied rumors of an imminent bankruptcy after a report from this morning sent the stock on a dramatic drop on Wall Street, seeing losses of more than 40 percent during trading hours.

Lucid’s Director of Communications, Nick Twork, responded to the report from Eletric-Vehicles.com, which stated the company’s restructuring advisor, AlixPartners, was asked to review two decisions: taking Lucid shares private or filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The report also claims AlixPartners told the Lucid board to “concentrate on Gravity production while improving its quality, and to temporarily hold back the Lucid Air, the sedan that has defined the company since its launch.”

Twork said:

Shares rebounded after the response to the report, halving its losses as the trading day neared 3 p.m. Eastern.

Lucid has struggled to get its sales off the ground and into more respectable numbers, but the company is in its early years, when things are hard to begin with. It is also backed by several notable investors, including the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), which has nearly limitless money and likely would not ditch an investment of this size so soon.

Lucid shares were down just 14 percent at the time of publication, a far cry from the 55 percent its losses topped out at during the day.

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Tesla owner attempts resale of Model S Signature Edition for over $260k

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10 hours ago

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July 14, 2026

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Credit: Tesla

A Tesla owner who purchased a Model S Signature Edition, one of the final 250 units of the all-electric flagship vehicle that the company discontinued earlier this year, is attempting to sell the car despite a no-resale clause that prohibits reselling for the first year.

The car is being sold by J&S Autohaus in Ewing, New Jersey, and is priced at $260,490, well above the $159,420 that Tesla sold it for earlier this year.

To those who do not know, the Model S Signature was a highly exclusive, limited-run farewell variant of the Model S Plaid that was produced this year to mark the end of production of both the Model S and Model X, Tesla’s two flagship vehicles.

Limited to just 250 units with invite-only sales, it serves as a collector’s item celebrating the legacy of the Model S, which helped pioneer Tesla’s electric vehicle success since its 2012 launch.

It bundles top-tier performance with bespoke cosmetic and luxury upgrades, plus Tesla’s Luxe Package. Here’s what the Model S Signature has over the typical Model S Plaid:

  • Exclusive Exterior – Unique Garnet Red Paint, matching door handles, gold Tesla “T” badges upfront, gold Plaid and Signature badging at the rear.
  • Premium Interior – White Alcantara upholstery with gold piping/accents, gold Plaid seat badges, Signature-marked door sills, individually numbered dashboard plaque, gold puddle lights, special interior lighting sequence, and a custom Signature key fob.
  • Performance Upgrades – Carbon-ceramic brakes with gold calipers
  • Bundled Luxe Package – Full Self-Driving (Supervised), four years of Premium Connectivity, free lifetime Supercharging
  • Performance Metrics – ~1,020 horsepower, sub-2-second 0-60 MPH, ~390-mile range

Tesla quickly introduced a No Resale Agreement for the Signature Editions of the Model S and Model X, which would penalize the seller for “the amount of $50,000 or the value received as consideration for the sale or transfer, whichever is greater.”

The company continues:

“If you sell or otherwise transfer the ownership of your Model S or Model X, the remainder of the Recommended Maintenance, Wheel and Tire Protection Plan, and Windshield Protection Plan will transfer automatically to the buyer. The Full Self-Driving (Supervised), Free Supercharging and Premium Connectivity will not transfer with the vehicle and will terminate once the ownership of the Model S or Model X is transferred.”

Tesla will likely come after the seller, especially as it has been about two months since Tesla launched deliveries.

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Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.3.5 Early Impressions: new features and early performance

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13 hours ago

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July 14, 2026

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Credit: TESLARATI

Tesla rolled out Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14.3.5 yesterday, and about fifty miles of driving on the new version has given me enough time to highlight what seems to be strong about the release and what is not.

Additionally, Tesla has added a few new features with this specific update, which we’ll highlight as well.

Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.3.5 Performance

The new update is business as usual. Things seem to be running completely normal and necessary, but there are a few things that we’ve seemed to pick up on based on our own experience with v14.3.5, as well as what other users are seeing.

Initially, it seems to be more aware of its surroundings, making moves that are incredibly courteous to other drives and operating just a tad more reserved than what the suite might have done previously.

We had two instances where it showed this, the first being FSD needing to pass a Flagger Force vehicle that was placing down signage for the day. Their work truck was right at the front corner of a right-hand turn; typically where most cars travel when they take that turn.

FSD v14.3.5 recognized this, slowed down, and took the turn wide with no issues:

Additionally, v14.3.5 backed up for a semi truck that was making a wide turn onto a road my car was on. This is not new, but it seemed to be backing up for courtesy; it didn’t seem completely necessary, but it might have put some peace of mind in the truck driver’s head:

X user Mike P, also a Pennsylvania native like myself, shared three clips of his Tesla running v14.3.5 performing similar maneuvers. He said:

“FSD turns right into a small alley that only fits one car at a time, sees oncoming car, reverses out of alley to make space, realizes oncoming car is actually parking, re-enters alley.”
Check it out here:

It seems like Speed Profiles are still in need of some tweaking; I am adjusting what Speed Profile I’m in frequently, constantly changing it to get it to travel at the correct speed. This was an issue for me on v14.3.4. It seems like they’re just a little inconsistent.

Terrible Parking

Parking attempts on v14.3.5 were not good. There are quite a few people who have said this:

David Moss, the Tesla owner who has taken multiple coast-to-coast drives without any interventions, also has had some issues with parking early on with v14.3.5:

New Features

Tesla has added the ability to open Camera Preview at any time. Previously, it was only available in Park. Here’s what that feature looks like in action:

Check back later this week for a longer review of what we’ve noticed on Full Self-Driving v14.3.5.

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