I think most of the theorists are pointing out the biggest skew is likely due to selection bias rather than a big conspiriacy of fake numbers.
The people who buy a dodge know theyre buying a dodge so their expectations on quality are lower. The people who buy a tesla are nitpicky and fastidious so have higher standards.
I will point out n the prev. years the commentary used selection bias to explain the exact opposite theory though that Tesla early adopters were fanboys and were ranking the car as good despite having real flaws. So which is it? Can you have it both ways?
This years subtext is implying that the honeymoon is over, and there is a double skew swinging the numbers, first years were overly high, current years are overly low. I'm not sure you can have it both ways. Maybe it is saying you these type of survey results are too fickle and too far open to human interpretation (and potentially manipulation through marketing).
Overall though I think the survey is legit but as a subjective metric that layers in human emotions and sentiment. The takeaway is: Is an average Tesla buyer happy with the quality of their Tesla? Is average Dodge buyer happy with the quality of their Dodge? Regardless of the subjective skew, if you aren't managing expectations vs what you're delivering, goodwill will only last so long and the numbers will catch up.
Beyond the jdpower ranking, I also don't doubt those real stories of many Tesla being delivered with flaws, and some serious. Especially with such high focus to produce volume instead of quality. Since there is a backlog and literally no shortage of demand at this time, there is no shortterm motivation to pursue quality.
Consumer reports which is the bastion of practically and soulless applicance vehicles, dropped Tesla rankings a long time ago due to quality and I don't think they are swayed as much by emotions.
The recent stories on the Y and people refusing delivery show the jd power stats is not totally bogus.
www.latimes.com
