Tesla Restores Auto-Brakes Amid Consumer Reports Downgrade

“Tesla said they would have the software update soon,” Jake Fisher, director of automotive testing at Consumer Reports, said in a phone interview before Tesla announced the update had started. “Unfortunately, we have heard that in the past, as well.”

Investors have taken Consumer Reports’ whims seriously because the magazine has built credibility by paying for the vehicles it tests and refusing automakers’ advertising. Tesla’s stock has surged on Consumer Reports’ praise and plunged when its cars have come under criticism. The shares dropped 0.8 percent to $311.29 as of 10:21 a.m. in New York trading, valuing the company at about $51.1 billion.