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Well, this is not good news. TÜV of Germany — or Technischer Überwachungsverein if you want to try your tongue at the full name — is a collection of independent German organizations that evaluate the safety and quality of a variety of products and systems. It is a widely respected independent evaluator.
TÜV has just published its 2026 reliability report, and it included a thorough assessment of electric vehicles for the first time. Echoing concerns that rental car companies and fleet companies have shared in past, TÜV found that the Tesla Model Y had shockingly bad reliability — the worst in the industry in a decade. It had a 17.3% defect rate for cars 2–3 years old, the worst TÜV recorded in the auto industry in 10 years.
The Model 3 also didn’t do well, with a 13.1% defect rate. That made it the third worst car tested, with only the Ford Mondeo between it and the Model Y at the bottom. But what is this out of, 15 vehicles? 20? 30? Nope. The evaluation covered 110 different models in the 2–3 year old car category.
“The 2026 TUV Report relies on technical inspection information for about 9.5 million vehicles that underwent their mandatory technical inspection between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025, at TUV centers across Germany,” Auto Evolution writes. “The report notes the rate of significant defects that make a vehicle fail the mandatory inspection. It’s not an absolute assessment, considering the differences in mileage and maintenance that different vehicles experience. An executive sedan used by a sales representative will rack up more miles than a private city car. Just like a Mercedes will usually receive better care than a cheap Dacia that may never see an authorized repair shop.” By the way, yes, the little, cheap Dacia Spring even fared better than the Tesla models.
Most electric vehicles actually did quite well. The best of them were the Mini Cooper SE (3.5% defect rate), Audi Q4 e-tron (4.0% defect rate), and Fiat 500e (4.2% defect rate). So, yes, reliability does seem to be a problem specific to Tesla, not all EVs.
I just published my 6-year review of the 2019 Tesla Model 3 that I drive here in Florida. Knock on wood, but I have had very few issues with it in all this time. I know many other Tesla owners who say the same. But anecdotes don’t beat real statistics. The fact of the matter is, 87 out of 100 people with a Model 3 may be in my boat (as the TÜV report shows), but 13 out of 100 having problems is a very poor result, and 17 out of 100 is even worse. Would you rather have a one in six or one in seven chance of having a defect, or a one in 25 chance?
Perhaps things will be better next year?
Now, I have to say, it crossed my mind throughout the article that some Tesla fans will claim this is all part of a big legacy Germany auto conspiracy against Tesla and the evaluation was rigged. Looking at how the study is conducted, and how long it’s been going on, it’s hard to give even an ounce of weight to that idea. Of course, that won’t keep some people (probably many people) from making the claim.
Tip of the hat to eveee for the news tip.
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