Tesla gains in 2026 Consumer Reports’ auto brand rankings
Refurbished versions of the Tesla Model Y are shown outside a Tesla store in San Diego, California, USA on October 21, 2025.
Mike Blake | Reuters
DETROIT — US electric vehicle sales leader Tesla’s It has made significant progress in Consumer Reports’ impressive annual auto brand rankings, moving into the top 10 overall in the U.S.
The EV maker rose to 10th place, up from 18th last year on a list of more than 30 automotive brands, in the 2026 Consumer Reports Brand Report Card released Thursday.
“They’re definitely going through challenges, but by continuing to improve their models and not making major changes, they’re able to produce more reliable vehicles and move up our rankings,” Jake Fisher, Consumer Reports’ senior director of auto testing, told CNBC.
annual car brand report card Based on reliability, safety and overall customer satisfaction, based on consumer Reports’ testing as well as business owner surveys.
The surveys do not reflect broader consumer sentiment about models or automakers ranked by CR, other than customer satisfaction. Tesla has faced consumer backlash against CEO Elon Musk in response to his work with the Trump administration and support from far-right politicians and personalities around the world, including Germany’s extreme anti-immigrant party AfD.
Fisher said Tesla’s gains come from the fact that its vehicles have become more reliable over time, especially since the company hasn’t made major design changes to many of its vehicles like traditional automakers have.
Tesla instead relies on remote or over-the-air updates to revise many features in vehicles. According to Consumer Reports, powertrain reliability continues to stand out among electric vehicles.
The only Tesla model to score below average is the Cybertruck, its newest model with a 48-volt architecture system and a number of new technologies such as “steer-by-wire.”
A Tesla Cybertruck in front of a graffiti mural in Detroit on August 28, 2024.
Michael Wayland / CNBC
“They’re definitely improving by keeping up with everything and improving, but if you look at their current 5- to 10-year-old models, they rank last among all the brands when it comes to reliability,” Fisher said. “They may improve reliability if they don’t make major changes.”
At the other end of the report card, Rivian Automotive It moved up five places to 26th but remains near the bottom of the rankings. Fisher said Rivian models are the lowest in terms of reliability.
Despite Rivian’s reliability issues, the brand has the highest owner satisfaction rating, according to Consumer Reports. During an Automotive Press Association webinar on Thursday, Fisher said owners are largely early adopters and are likely more willing to deal with some of the growing issues than more mainstream consumers.
Brands with good reliability tend to perform well in the overall rankings. Reliability of new 2026 models is estimated based on each model’s overall reliability over the past three years, provided the model is not redesigned within that time.
Subaru topped the overall brand list for 2026, followed by BMW, Porsche, Honda and Toyota, completing the top five brands. Jeep, Land Rover, GMC, Dodge and Alfa Romeo were at the bottom of the rankings.
Ford Motor The top-ranked domestic brand, Lincoln, made the biggest leap in this year’s rankings, rising 17 places to 7th place with its reliability scores. Audi experienced the biggest decrease compared to last year, dropping 10 places to 16th place.
Traditional US automakers, especially Stellantis The brands fared poorly compared to their Asian rivals in Consumer Reports’ annual brand reliability rankings.
Remarkably, the Ford brand ranked 18th in the report card, but saw an improvement in reliability. The automaker, which struggled with quality problems and recalls, ranked 11th in the reliability rankings of the Ford brand. — Best position in 15 years.
GM’s top-ranked brand was Cadillac in 17th place, followed by Buick in 20th place, Chevrolet in 24th place and GMC in 29th place.
Consumer Reports said hybrid vehicles, which are growing in popularity, continue to stand out over traditional vehicles with internal combustion engines, as well as other “electric” vehicles.
Of nearly 30 hybrids analyzed by Consumer Reports, only the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid, Lincoln Nautilus Hybrid and Mazda CX-50 Hybrid have below-average predicted reliability scores.
