Here in the US, you could say that Tesla’s reputation is a mixed bag, and even the Tesla Cybertruck’s biggest critics will likely concede that the Model Y is a capable, reliable EV. That’s not the case over in Germany, though, where a recent survey on 30 brands found the brand ranking below, well, literally everyone.
In the bottom third of the list, Tesla is outranked by everyone from McDonald’s to Nestle to Shein, and even Temu, a brand name that is itself something of a punchline. Is Germany treating Tesla fairly? Well, yes and no.
Tesla Scored Below Average In 7 Out Of 8 Categories – Including Workplace At Just 1.99/5
To be clear, the survey, conducted by Finnish company Reputation and Trust Analytics, does not just measure dependability. The survey is intended to get a broad overview of a brand’s reputation. To that end, it measures eight metrics for an overall rating.
Here’s how Tesla fared, ranking 30th out of 30 companies:
Metric
Score Out Of Five
Governance
2.15
Financial Performance
2.82
Leadership
2.32
Innovation
3.38
Dialogue
2.45
Product & Services
2.53
Workplace
1.99
Responsibility
2.25
Overall Rating
2.48
This marks an overall decline of 0.77 points since last year’s rankings.
It’s worth noting that no company on the list came anywhere close to a perfect 5/5 overall rating. The number one spot went to dm-drogerie markt, a German retail store chain, scoring an overall 4.14. Bearing that in mind, Tesla’s 3.38 rating for innovation might seem mediocre, but in the context of this survey, it amounts to glowing praise.
1,700 Berlin Layoffs Made Tesla’s Reputation Problem Personal For Germans
2026 Tesla Model Y StandardTesla
There is a long list of reasons why Germans might take issue with Elon Musk’s leadership, Tesla’s anti-union practices, and the brand’s political positioning. But a key factor in the automaker’s downfall may be the company’s decision to cut 1,700 jobs at its gigafactory in Berlin back in January.
If you live in Germany – a country where firing processes are strictly regulated – you either know someone who was laid off at Tesla, or you know someone who knows someone who was laid off at Tesla. Germans take such matters personally.
Germany Has Named The Model Y The Least Reliable Car On The Market
The survey respondents in the Reputation and Trust Analytics study rated Tesla at 2.53 out of five for products and services. That’s rough, but, even worse, Technischer Überwachungsverein (TÜV), Germany’s mandatory vehicle safety inspections group, named the Model Y the least reliable car on the road in the 2–3-year-old category last December.
The rating was published in the “TÜV Report 2026,” an analysis of 9.5 million vehicle inspections. TÜV stated that 17.3% of Model Ys failed inspection with “significant” or “dangerous” defects, compared to a typical failure rate of just 6.5%. 17.3% is the worst score TÜV has reported in this category in 10 years. One can only assume that if a company scores any worse than that, it would not even be welcome in Germany as a tourist, let alone to do business.
McDonald’s Isn’t Just Competing With Tesla On German Surveys
McDonald’s Plymouth BurgercudaMcDonald’s
McDonald’s has Tesla beat when it comes to the brand’s reputation in Germany, and it has thrown down the gauntlet on the track, too. In 2024, McDonald’s commissioned a one-off “Burgercuda,” a highly customized 1970 Plymouth Barracuda, decked out in red, white, and black Hamburglar stripes. The interior even features a burger warmer in the center console. The brand has also built a McDonald’s-themed Nissan GT-R in the past.
Temu, meanwhile, hasn’t slapped its name onto a muscle car, but it does offer a range of third-partygolf carts, e-Bikes, and even miniature remote control Teslas.
Apple Tried To Build A Car And Failed – And Still Beat Tesla On Reputation
Rendering of the failed Apple Car projectCarBuzz/Valnet
Apple, the survey’s 10th-ranked brand, has taken a few runs at the automotive market in the past, but those efforts have never resulted in anything you can get on the road. Project Titan saw the computer giant exploring the possibility of an electric self-driving car in the early 2010s, but Apple abandoned the project after concluding that the technology was not yet there. That, and cars come with slimmer profit margins than do iPhones and laptops.
Is Germany Being Fair To The Model Y?
Tesla Model Y Powershare Home Power Battery Backup CloseupTesla
Have you ever seen a Model Y broken down on the side of the road, its owner trying to hitch a ride into town for a gallon of electricity? Have you ever seen a junkyard full of Model Ys? The Model Y has almost single-handedly proven that EVs can be more reliable than a typical combustion-powered vehicle.
Let’s go over the safety and reliability numbers from some American institutions:
- JD Power: 86/100 Quality & Reliability Rating
- IIHS: Top Safety Pick+
- NHTSA: 5/5 Star Overall Safety Rating
- CarEdge:$3,977 10 Year Maintenance Estimate
- Consumer Reports:81/100 Predicted Reliability Rating
So, this has us wondering, what’s TÜV’s problem?
Well, it isn’t powertrain issues. TÜV noted suspension issues, rusty brake discs, and lighting defects.
Corroded brake discs stem from the fact that Tesla drivers rarely use their brakes. Regenerative braking means you don’t always have to engage the discs. Rusty brakes might work just fine, but they don’t cut the mustard in Germany.
As for the suspension, CarBuzz was reporting on those issues back when these 2–3-year-old cars were brand new. Meanwhile, Tesla has been recalling EVs in large numbers for low-beam headlights that exceed maximum federal light intensity limits, as well as software defects that could leave headlights inoperable.
In summary, the problem is not that a Model Y will break down in traffic, but that certain critical components may have been poorly conceived, planned, or implemented. This is all according to one of the strictest consumer safety groups on the planet, and a selection of German survey respondents.
Tesla’s reputation problem in Germany doesn’t exist in a vacuum — and the company that beat it on this survey has an automotive story of its own.
Even Volkswagen Scored Just 3.05 – Proof Germans Aren’t Playing Favorites
Germany is the world’s leader in overengineered cars, and Porsche, unsurprisingly, ranks in the top five, with Audi not far behind. But before you accuse the Germans of hometown bias, bear in mind that Volkswagen ranks in the bottom 10, at a rating of just 3.05 out of a possible five.
In other words, Germans will hold any company’s feet to the fire when they take issue with its business practices, even when the brand is a German institution.
Sources:Electrek, RepairPal, CarEdge, NHTSA, IIHS, JD Power, McDonald’s.
