Tesla Model S - Problems, Statistics, and Analysis

Tesla Model S owners have reported a total of 4,546 problems for their cars built in the 15 model years listed in the chart below. The chart shows the number of problems reported across all service years for each given model year of the Tesla Model S. The 2015 Tesla Model S cars have the most problems reported (912 problems).

Table 1. Total number of problems by model year for Tesla Model S

🔍 Common problems of Tesla Model S

The following chart shows the 26 most common problems for Tesla Model S cars. The number one most common problem is related to the vehicle's electrical system (936 problems). The second most common problem is related to the vehicle's equipment (822 problems).

Table 2. Common problems of Tesla Model S

Problem Category Number of Problems
  Electrical System
936
  Equipment
822
  Suspension
538
  Forward Collision Avoidance
332
  Steering
267
  Vehicle Speed Control
210
  Exterior Lighting
191
  Visibility
171
  Service Brakes
166
  Structure
143
   
  Power Train
136
  Lane Departure
114
  Other Fuel System
100
  Back Over Prevention
78
  Air Bag
77
  Wheel
72
  Engine And Engine Cooling
55
  Electronic Stability Control
43
  Seat Belt
26
  Latches/locks/linkage
24
  Tire
23
  Seats
14
  Parking Brake
5
  Equipment Adaptive/mobility
1
 
1
  Gasoline Fuel System
1

📉 Compare Reliability Across Model Years Using PPMY Index

It would not be fair to compare the Tesla Model S of an older model year to newer model years since older vehicles have been in service longer and thus are expected to have more problems. In order to compare the reliability across Model S model years, we use the PPMY index which is defined as the problems reported per thousand vehicles per Year. A smaller PPMY index indicates greater reliability of the given model year cars.

    PPMY = P / S / Y * 1000,

where P = total problems reported during the life of a Tesla Model S model year; S = total units sold of the model year; Y = years since the debut of the model year (the age of the vehicle).

The results are shown in Table 3.

Table 3. Use PPMY Index to Compare Reliability Across Model S Model Years

Model S
Model Year
Problems Sales [1] Vehicle
Age
PPMY Index
  2020 11514,0146    
1.37
  2019 658,9577    
1.04

📊 Number of Problems Reported During the First Year

Another way to measure the reliability across the model years of the Tesla Model S is to use the total number of problems reported during the vehicle's first year in service, as shown in the Table 4.

Table 4. Number of problems in vehicle's; first service year

Model YearProblems Reported
  2026 Model S
3
  2025 Model S
5
  2024 Model S
37
  2023 Model S
39
  2022 Model S
77
  2021 Model S
32
  2020 Model S
29
  2019 Model S
11
  2018 Model S
15
  2017 Model S
29
  2016 Model S
2
  2013 Model S
1


Model S Service Bulletins
Model S Defect Investigations
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