Now Tesla Has To Explain Away Another Test-Drive Debacle

While the car was still drivable, Edmunds lost control of the radio, navigation and phone functions.

Edmunds, who wrote a positive review of the Model S last September (and called the touchscreen the "star of the interior") described Monday's incident as a "meltdown."

Today, he wrote that his day ended at a Los Angeles service center, where two technicians eventually got the screen running again:

When all was said and done, the service writer said that they wanted to replace the screen entirely, presumably as a precaution against any further problems. I told him I would bring it back the following day.

On the drive home, the screen worked fine and I experienced no additional problems, but we're definitely bringing it back in to have the swap done. More on that later.

A negative review of the Model S by John Broder at the New York Times earlier this month sparked a fight between the newspaper and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who called the article "fake" on Twitter.

Now, less than a week after finally asking to "bury the hatchet" with the Times, Musk has a new potential public relations debacle to deal with.

So far, Musk has not responded to Edmunds' problem via Twitter or his blog.