Tesla / Model S / 2021

2021 Tesla Model S problems

Owners have filed 279 complaints about the 2021 Tesla Model S with NHTSA. Forward collision avoidance accounts for 22.2% of them — the clear leader, ahead of steering at 10.4%. A further 15.4% were filed without a specific system named.

Complaints279

Crashes30

Fires2

Injuries5

Deaths2

What owners report breaking

Forward collision avoidance 22.2% · 62

Unknown or other 15.4% · 43

Steering 10.4% · 29

Electrical system 9.0% · 25

Service brakes 5.7% · 16

Suspension 5.7% · 16

Vehicle speed control 5.4% · 15

Lane departure 4.7% · 13

Severity

Of those complaints, 30 describe a crash, 2 describe a fire, 5 report an injury and 2 report a death.

Reading the numbers

Across the 10 model years of the Tesla Model S in this data, 2021 sits 7th by complaint volume. 2015 draws the most.

Filings have fallen off, 74 in the last three years against 199 in the three before. The issues here may already have been addressed.

The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 6,000 miles.

In owners' own words

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. Forward collision avoidance · reported at 56,292 miles

Third time this has happened on my new Model S Plaid. On Autopilot, the car randomly slams on the brakes when we were driving down the interstate at 70 mph for no reason. There were no other cars around us. Forward collision avoidance

My 2021 Tesla S has on multiple occasions hard braked when in cruise control when there were no vehicles in view. All occurrences were on four lane interstate highways with no surrounding vehicles. Forward collision avoidance

Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.

Safety recalls

Checking NHTSA for open recalls…

Other Tesla Model S years

2016 1,027 complaints · 20.4% suspension 2017 673 complaints · 16.9% electrical system 2018 288 complaints · 24.0% forward collision avoidance 2020 123 complaints · 25.2% forward collision avoidance 2022 198 complaints · 22.7% forward collision avoidance 2023 162 complaints · 15.4% forward collision avoidance

Compare all 10 model years →