Tesla Motors is used to accolades from Consumer Reports magazine. But its latest performance is the equivalent of an automotive spit take.
The all-wheel-drive version of Tesla's Model S electric sedan, called the P85D, scored 103 out of a possible 100 on the chart that the magazine uses to measure automobiles, according to Bloomberg.
Its combination of power and efficiency was so good that the magazine recalculated its methods "to account for the car's exceptionally strong performance."
Now, the Tesla Model S all-wheel drive performance is the new gold standard for Consumer Reports, equal to a revised score of 100. Or in Spinal Tap terms, the electric carmaker turned the dial up to 11.
"Everything is better, and that is something we're not used to seeing from cars. It's something you see on electrics," Jake Fisher, the head of automotive testing at Consumer Reports, told CNBC.
Earlier this month, FORBES named Tesla as the world's most innovative auto company, and there are a number of key differences between it and car companies in Detroit, Japan and Germany, as I wrote.
This isn't the first time the magazine has raved about the cars built by billionaire Elon Musk's company.
Last year, the Model S scored 98 out of a possible 100 on the magazine's survey of Tesla owners, on top of a score of 100 the previous year.
Such quality doesn't come cheap. The starting price of the model that Consumer Reports reviewed is $105,000 and the one that the magazine scrutinized was $127,820.
That earned Tesla a mild rebuke from the magazine for sub par interior materials. It also said the all-wheel-drive version had a firmer ride and was noisier than the base version. But that can be expected with all-wheel-drive.
The record-setting score for the Model S comes as Tesla is preparing to roll out the Model X, a sport utility vehicle that is going into production. On its Web site, Tesla says the delivery date for new reservations is 2016.
The timing couldn't be better to keep interest high in the Model S. "This is a nice feather in the cap for Tesla," said CNBC automotive correspondent Phil LeBeau.
