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Tesla must complete brake fix to regain top safety rating: Consumer Reports

[April 29, 2017] By Nick Carey

DETROIT (Reuters) - Tesla Inc needs to complete fixing its Model S sedan emergency braking system to regain Consumer Reports' top safety rating, the magazine said on Friday, noting that a recent update by the luxury electric car maker was not enough.

The magazine, which provides an annual rating of vehicles sold in the United States, said on Wednesday the sedan had lost its top ranking in the ultra-luxury car category for failing to install the feature that it had promised to owners as standard equipment.

The Model S fell to third place in Consumer Reports' ratings behind the Lexus LS made by Toyota Motor Corp and the BMW 7 Series.

Consumer Reports said both Tesla models previously came with standard automatic emergency braking (AEB), a feature that helps reduce accidents. The software issue affects more recent vehicles built since late October 2016.

The magazine said Friday that the Model S sedan it owns had received an automatic emergency braking software update Thursday, but the new version only operates up to 28 miles per hour (45 km).

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Signage is displayed outside of Tesla Motors before the Tesla Energy Powerwall Home Battery event in Hawthorne, California April 30, 2015.

That is far less than the current 90 mile per hour limit for the prior Tesla AEB system included on vehicles built before late October.

The magazine cited a statement from Tesla that "over the next several weeks" the car maker would increase the speed limit "until it is the most capable of any vehicle in the world."

The California automaker last week recalled 53,000 Model S and Model X vehicles to fix an unrelated parking brake issue.

Earlier this month, Tesla briefly edged out General Motors Co to become the most valuable U.S. car maker.

(Reporting by Nick Carey; Editing by Richard Chang)

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