2021 Tesla Model S problems
NHTSA has received 284 complaints about the 2021 Tesla Model S, and 22% of them involve forward collision avoidance. After that come steering (10%) and electrical system (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 284 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Forward collision avoidance 22% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 30 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 6 and 2
- Typical mileage
- 6,000 miles 24 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 17 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 2 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 3 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 2 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 0 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 0 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 0 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 24 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 6,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 30 complaints mention a crash; 2 complaints mention a fire; 6 injuries reported; 2 deaths reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2021 ranks 4th most-complained-about out of 13 model years of the Tesla Model S with enough data (284 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 23 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
During afternoon commute in a residential area, driving at 19 mph, a cat running after some type of lizard run in front of my car. I have been driving for the last 40 years, safe driver designation on my license, and have more than 1,000,000 miles on my back without major accident. I instinctively went for the horn in the center of the steering and tried to catch the top of the steering wheel (absent in my car) to change course.
I was in full self driving mode and was travelling North bound 110 freeway transitioning to 405 freeway Northbound. In the right lane. Transition curved left. looked at my speed for a split second and as i looked up we were a split second from hitting freeway barrier head-on. We crashed through the barrier and ended on the embankment of the freeway. My car front end was totally demolished, front airbags went off.
Driving on highway at 65-70 MPH with auto pilot and speed control engaged. Went to change lanes from left to right. Put on turn signal, cancelled auto pilot by turning steering wheel to right and moved to open right lane. There were no vehicles around us at all. The car suddenly, unexpectedly, and very shockingly slammed on the brakes causing items to be tossed around in the car, engaging all of our seat belts with some discomfort, and sending some loud alarm or warning sound to go off in the car.
The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving 72 MPH with the autonomous self-driving feature activated, the vehicle experienced phantom braking. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 56,292.