TESLA · vehicle model
TESLA MODEL S
5,136 NHTSA complaints and 39 safety recalls across model years 2012–2026.
- Complaints
- 5,136
- Recalls
- 39
- Model years
- 15
The TESLAMODEL S appears in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database with 5,136 consumer safety complaints and 39 recall campaigns across 15 model years (2012–2026). That averages roughly 342 complaints per model year. Report counts can differ between model years for many reasons; this dataset does not establish the cause of a difference.
Complaint volume on a nameplate alone is not a reliability verdict: a long-running bestseller can accumulate more filings than a low-volume niche model because more vehicles are on the road. The table below shows report counts and published NHTSA crash-test ratings side by side for each model year. The filing-year histogram shows the timing of submitted reports, not a causal trend.
NHTSA has 6 investigation files tied to this model. Investigation records, complaint reports, and recall campaigns each provide different context. Use the official NHTSA VIN lookup and the underlying notices to research a specific vehicle; PlainCars does not infer a vehicle-risk or pricing conclusion from these records.
Complaints by Year
| Year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 3 |
| 2025 | 7 |
| 2024 | 75 |
| 2023 | 149 |
| 2022 | 184 |
| 2021 | 269 |
| 2020 | 120 |
| 2019 | 69 |
| 2018 | 282 |
| 2017 | 663 |
| 2016 | 993 |
| 2015 | 1044 |
| 2014 | 531 |
| 2013 | 661 |
| 2012 | 86 |
Complaint Filing Trend
NHTSA complaint volume by year filed (not model year).
Filings moved from 2,800 in 2017-2021 to 1,971 in 2022-2026, a fall of 29.6%. That is the 51th percentile of change across the 772 nameplates with enough filings in both windows to compare, where 0 is the steepest fall and 100 the steepest rise.
Filing volume, not a reliability verdict: counts also move with how many vehicles are on the road, how old they are, and whether a recall drew attention. Computed from this portal's NHTSA filing-year records over the same two windows the trend rankings use.
Year filed (bar labels show the complaint count).
Compare TESLAMODEL S to Similar Vehicles
NHTSA Investigations
Fore Link Failure
Loss of rearview camera
Loss of rearview camera
Battery Management Software Updates
Automatic vehicle control systems
Fire - Propulsion Battery - Road Debris
Frequently Asked Questions
How reliable is the TESLA MODEL S?▼
What years of TESLA MODEL S are available?▼
Does the TESLA MODEL S have safety ratings?▼
What are the most common TESLA MODEL S complaints?▼
How do I check if my TESLA MODEL S has been recalled?▼
Data sources
Data vintage: August 2026. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Every figure on PlainCars is rendered directly from NHTSA complaint and safety data, no number is typed in by an editor. TESLA MODEL S totals are aggregated from the linked NHTSA model-year rows; no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.