Refreshed variations of the Tesla Mannequin Y are proven outdoors a Tesla retailer in San Diego, California, U.S. October 21, 2025.
Mike Blake | Reuters
DETROIT — U.S. electrical automobile gross sales chief Tesla made notable strides in Shopper Reviews’ influential annual auto model rankings, cracking the highest 10 total for the U.S.
The EV producer jumped from No. 18 on final 12 months’s record of greater than 30 automotive manufacturers to tenth on the 2026 Shopper Reviews Model Report Card, which was launched Thursday.
“They undoubtedly have their struggles, however by persevering with to refine and never make large adjustments of their fashions, they’re capable of make extra dependable autos, and so they’ve moved up our rankings,” Jake Fisher, senior director of auto testing for Shopper Reviews, instructed CNBC.
The annual auto model report card is predicated on Shopper Reviews’ testing in addition to reliability, security and total buyer satisfaction based on proprietor surveys.
Fisher stated Tesla’s acquire occurred as its autos have turn into extra dependable over time, particularly as the corporate hasn’t made vital design adjustments to a lot of its autos like conventional automakers are inclined to do.
Tesla as an alternative depends on distant, or over-the-air, updates to revise many options on the autos. Its powertrain reliability stays a standout amongst EVs, based on Shopper Reviews.
The one Tesla mannequin to have a below-average rating is the Cybertruck, its latest mannequin that contains a host of latest applied sciences comparable to a 48-volt structure system and “steer by wire.”
A Tesla Cybertruck in entrance of a graffiti mural on Aug. 28, 2024 in Detroit.
Michael Wayland / CNBC
“They’re undoubtedly enhancing by maintaining with issues and refining, however should you have a look at their 5- to 10-year-old fashions which might be on the market, in the case of reliability, they’re useless final of all of the manufacturers,” Fisher stated. “They’re capable of enhance the reliability if they do not make main adjustments.”
On the opposite finish of report card, Rivian Automotive moved up 5 spots to No. 26 however stays close to the underside of the rankings. Fisher stated Rivian fashions are the bottom in reliability.
Manufacturers with good reliability are inclined to carry out properly within the total rankings. Reliability for brand new 2026 fashions is predicted primarily based on every mannequin’s total reliability for the previous three years, offered that the mannequin hasn’t been redesigned throughout that point.
Subaru topped the general 2026 model record, adopted by BMW, Porsche, Honda and Toyota to spherical out the highest 5 manufacturers. On the backside of the rankings had been Jeep, Land Rover, GMC, Dodge and Alfa Romeo.
Ford Motor’s Lincoln, the highest-ranked home model, made the largest soar on this 12 months’s rankings, climbing 17 positions to No. 7 because of its reliability scores. Audi dropped essentially the most from final 12 months, falling again 10 spots to No. 16.
Shopper Reviews stated hybrid autos, that are rising in reputation, proceed to face out over different “electrified” autos, in addition to conventional autos with inner combustion engines.
Of roughly 30 hybrids analyzed by Shopper Reviews, solely the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid, Lincoln Nautilus Hybrid and Mazda CX-50 Hybrid have below-average predicted reliability scores.
