Tesla has lost its top safety rating from Consumer Reports

Tesla failed to install an emergency-braking feature it promised to owners as standard equipment. As a result, the electric carmaker has lost its top safety rating from Consumer Reports. The magazine, which provides an annual rating of vehicles sold in the US, said the Tesla Model S sedan was losing its top ranking in the ultra-luxury car category, falling to third place behind the Lexus LS and the BMW 7 Series. In a statement, Tesla said it had begun enabling the automatic emergency-braking feature on Tuesday via a software update.

The California automaker last week recalled 53,000 Model S and Model X vehicles to fix an unrelated parking brake issue. Consumer Reports said both Tesla models previously came with standard automatic emergency braking, a feature that helps reduce accidents. It said Tesla had cited a software issue for delays of up to six months in enabling the feature on more recent vehicles built since late October. Numerous auto companies have agreed to phase in standard automatic emergency braking on most vehicles over the next four years, including such mainstream models as the Toyota Corolla. Read more