Last year, Model S was highest rated in its class for reliability by Consumer Reports (look it up). And Tesla has stated on multiple occasions that "Model 3 is already the highest quality vehicle we have ever produced ...."
http://files.shareholder.com/downlo...1-495ED74E4194/TSLA_Update_Letter_2018-1Q.pdf
So your post is totally misinformed. Or FUD.
Well, to be accurate, CR also puts Model X dead last for reliability.
The OP is not entirely wrong here. For Tesla to move the needle they need a mass market car. A base Model 3 comes pretty close to that. At least, closer than previous Tesla products. You can't fault the company for not building a cheap car sooner, though. That way leads straight to bankruptcy. Doing it carefully, from the top down, makes all kinds of sense, even though it puts a beautiful EV out of reach for most.
One way Tesla might have gone astray is by adding "features" to Model 3 that have proven to be buggy. Technical hubris is something Tesla was supposed to know how to avoid after Model X. That lesson was not entirely learned.
Another issue is their relying on a friendly audience to put up with QC issues while they iterated them away. That works for owners inclined to bend way, way over backwards giving Tesla the benefit of the doubt. It fails miserably the minute you try to extend your market reach into the mass market, where buyers have been trained to expect few dramas, few issues, and quick resolutions to those that do arise. Because even ICE cars are wicked complex, and as the old sage has said, all complex systems operate in tn failure mode. Stuff happens.
Another problematic decision was in how Model 3 was hyped. People standing in line waiting for the store to open were definitely led to think they would be able to reserve a base model car, and that car would be built in a reasonable (for Tesla) amount of time. Discovering that Tesla could not afford to build base cars as soon as they'd hoped put a major bucket of ice water over the heads of a lot of line waiters.
I still think all these missteps are recoverable, though, and that patience will be rewarded with a great looking, great performing, but quirky EV.
It's too soon to know if that describes a product that will interest people outside the Tesla-friendly world. I hope so.
Robin