Elon Musk confirms Tesla’s quality issues in a rare interview with Sandy Munro

Elon Musk is considered the leader in the electric car manufacturing industry. He created Tesla, and while he has always been praised for his achievements, his vehicles have critics too.

Tesla Model 3 glitches

Tesla has been slammed many times by experts in the field, and they claimed the cars have many flaws. In particular, the Model 3 was heavily criticized for years, and in 2018, Sandy Munro, a former Ford engineer who now owns a consultancy called Munro & Associates, tore the said unit apart and found many issues with its build quality.

Munro assessed the Tesla Model 3 and dropped some harsh criticisms with his honest review. He described Elon Musk’s car as having "flaws that will normally be seen in Kia cars made in the 90s. He also ruthlessly said, “I can't imagine how they released this.”

Elon Musk’s response

The Tesla CEO finally admits that his critic was correct after all. And what is surprising is that he confirmed this in front of Sandy Munro himself.

In a rare interview that was hosted by Munro, he spoke with Elon Musk about Tesla’s quality ups and down and explained everything in detail. The 49-year-old billionaire was surprisingly calm and open when flaws about his EVs were brought up.

There was a bit of awkwardness in the beginning when Munro mentioned his previous review about Tesla’s Model 3, but everything turned out good. In fact, Elon Musk's response was unexpected, and he basically agreed with Munro’s assessment then explained the imperfections that his interviewee pointed out, like the car’s paint.

"I thought your criticism was accurate," Musk simply told Munro during the interview.

CNN Business noted that the billionaire also admitted that it is not a good time to purchase a Tesla car during a new model's ramp-up period. He said that at that time, when Munro reviewed the Model 3 in 2018, it was the time when his company was still struggling to meet the production targets for the model.

“Friends ask, 'When should I buy a Tesla?'" Musk said. "Well, either buy it right at the beginning or when production reaches a steady state. During that production ramp, it's super hard to be in vertical climb mode and get everything right on the details."

At any rate, Munro later said that he really noticed big improvements in the newer Tesla units. Elon Musk stated that this is because they continue to make changes. They work on the flaws immediately until they come up with the best version.