Vote Here For Tesla Model S As Most Influential Automotive Product Of the Decade

Tesla fans and owners know that it was the single most important automotive product of the past decade. Sure there were a lot of big stories over the previous ten years, but nothing in the auto industry compares to the impact Tesla has starting in 2012 with the introduction of the Model S and ending the decade with the Model 3 dominating its vehicle segment.

Related Story (2013) - Why driving the Tesla Model S makes older reviews meaningless

Consumer Reports is presently running a poll at which you can vote for the following options regarding the most influential products of the past decade in various categories. In the automotive section your choices are:
- Apple CarPlay (and Android Auto)
- Cadillac CT6 With Super Cruise
- Tesla Model S
- Volvo S60 with pedestrian detection

Related Story (2013): A surprising look at who buys the Tesla Model S

Given those choices, it seems obvious to us which is the most influential of the decade. We love Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and we feel that it is certainly the most important infotainment story of the decade. The Cadillac CT6 and SuperCruise? No. The car barely sells. The Volvo S60 with Pedestrian Detection? Heck, the S60 is a great car, but it is not the leader in its segment by any measure. Pedestrian detection is now commonplace on every mainstream affordable car in America and Toyota has put it in more vehicles than any other automaker.

Given the choices above our choice would be the Tesla Model S. The Model S was the vehicle that proved to the planet that electric vehicles can:
1) Be fantastic to drive
2) Top liquid-fueled vehicles for performance
3) Dominate a luxury vehicle segment
4) Compete on a value analysis vs ICE cars
5) Be cool

That is a long list of accomplishments. The Model S is also the reason Tesla exists. The Roadster was an EV conversion of a Lotus model. Almost nobody owned one outside of the California elite and they are as rare as unicorns. The Model S is one of the most common luxury cars its size and price and is now ubiquitous on America's roads.

To vote in the Consumer Reports poll you can try this link. We are not certain if you need to be a member/subscriber (we are). Give it a shot. Let's support the Tesla Model S in this cool poll. Both of you Cadillac CT6 owners are permitted to vote for your car.

If we've left out a reason to vote for the Tesla Model S please tell us in the comments below.

John Goreham is a life-long car nut and recovering engineer. John's focus areas are technology, safety, and green vehicles. In the 1990s, he was part of a team that built a solar-electric vehicle from scratch. His was the role of battery thermal control designer. For 20 years he applied his engineering and sales talents in the high tech world and published numerous articles in technical journals such as Chemical Processing Magazine. In 2008 he retired from that career and dedicated himself to chasing his dream of being an auto writer. In addition to Torque News, John's work has appeared in print in dozens of American newspapers and he provides reviews to many vehicle shopping sites. You can follow John on Twitter, and connect with him at Linkedin.