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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2021 Tesla Model S — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 179 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

179
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
13
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
2
Involved Fire
owner-reported
5 / 1
Injuries / Deaths
across all reports
Years to Avoid

Tesla Model S — Complaints by Model Year

Years flagged AVOID have at least twice this model's average complaint count — the strongest public-data signal of a bad year.

366 complaints

0 complaints

0 complaints

0 complaints

0 complaints

0 complaints

0 complaints

179 complaints

0 complaints

0 complaints

0 complaints

0 complaints

0 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Forward Collision Avoidance 48 reports
Unknown Or Other 45 reports
Steering 29 reports
Electrical System 25 reports
Vehicle Speed Control 16 reports
Service Brakes 16 reports
Suspension 16 reports
Wheels 10 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Steering ODI 11562326 12/28/2023

Went to a Tesla dealership to get my car aligned. 4 days later they told me that my car couldn’t be aligned because my fron lower control arm was bent or broken. I purchased the car from Tesla with 5700 miles. The cad had about 19k miles when it went in for alignment. Seen owning the vehicle I never had an accident or damage to vehicle that would cause such damage. Like always…

Vehicle Speed Control ODI 11562107 12/27/2023

Driving on divided highway at night, the car slowed dramatically at each exit from the highway.

Steering ODI 11444925 12/24/2021

I’ve reported a continually present rack and pinion issue.. FOUR times. Tesla techs claim they don’t experience it or that it is ‘normal’ for this car. The car emits an audible grinding sound plus a visible wheel skipping when turned hard left or right. Today, the right front wheel began to emit a loud whirring sound in addition to the steering issue. Tesla refuses to inve…

Power Train ODI 11706190 12/19/2025

7/30/2025 The vehicle experienced a confirmed TOTAL loss of function to include steering, restraint, and braking functionality at approximately 60 to 65 miles per hour. This catastrophic failure placed myself and and others at severe risk. Although Tesla’s service notes confirm the event occurred, no corrective repair was performed. The vehicle was completely inoperative with …

Unknown Or Other ODI 11497969 12/19/2022

All 2021 Tesla Model S and/or X do not have horns in the center of the steering wheel. Instead, they have a button, which is impossible to find during an emergency situation, especially after many decades of muscle memory has been developed. Keep in mind that many, if not most, who can afford one of these cars do have decades of driving experience. I would really appreciate i…

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2021 Tesla Model S, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.

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Problems Checker

Any year, make and model: open the Car Problems Checker. Data: NHTSA (US DOT, public domain), cached up to 7 days.

Questions

FAQ

Is the 2021 Tesla Model S reliable?
Owners have filed 179 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2021 Tesla Model S, most often about forward collision avoidance. Compare the complaint counts across model years above — a year with far more complaints than the model's average is the strongest 'avoid' signal in public data.
Which Tesla Model S years should I avoid?
The rule of thumb used by analysts: a model year whose complaint count is well above the model's own average (we flag 2× or more) usually had a real manufacturing or design problem — not just noisy reporting. Use the year-by-year strip on this page.
Where do these complaints come from?
Directly from NHTSA, the US government road-safety agency. Any owner can file a Vehicle Owner Questionnaire; NHTSA publishes them as public domain data. We cache each lookup for up to 7 days.
Do complaints mean a recall is coming?
Sometimes. NHTSA opens defect investigations when complaint patterns emerge, and investigations can end in recalls. Check the recalls page for this vehicle to see what has already been recalled.