Tesla Model S Scores Near-Perfect 99 Score In Consumer Reports, After Earlier Poor Review In The New York Times

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is having a good day.

Tesla Motors Inc. (Nasdaq:TSLA) surged about 32 percent to about $74 by Thursday afternoon, fueled by its first profits posted in yesterday's earnings report and a glowing review from Consumer Reports.

The magazine gave Tesla's luxury electric sedan its highest score, a 99 out of 100. Only the Lexus LS has garnered the same score.

“There, we said it,” the review read. “The Tesla Model S outscores every other car in our test Ratings. It does so even though it’s an electric car. In fact, it does so because it is electric.”

The only thing that held Musk’s flagship automobile back from the coveted “Recommended Buy” – and completely acing the review – was a lack of serious road-time.

“Despite its stratospheric road-test score, we can’t recommend the Model S until we have sufficient reliability data,” Consumer Reports said.

And according to Jalopnik, the car would have received above a perfect score were it not for the “limitations still inherent in owning an electric car.”

The Palo Alto-based automaker began selling the car -- which begins at $69,900 and can cost as much $89,650 – last summer and sales have increased steadily.

The Model S was the subject of quite the media stir in February after a negative road test review in the New York Times prompted a furious series of retorts from Musk.

The Times’ own public editor, Margaret Sullivan, later found the reporter, John M. Broder, erred as he drove the car up the East Coast, eventually stalling out. Musk’s own analytics later revealed that Broder had not charged the car according to its guidelines.

For its part, Consumer Reports said the car’s 85-kWh lithium-ion battery consistently lasted about 200 miles, as is advertised, running from a cold-weather low of 180 miles to a warm-weather high of 225.