Tesla Model S

Which Tesla Model S years should you avoid?

Going by 3,419 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the Tesla Model S years to avoid are 2014, 2015, 2016, 2013 and 2017.

• 2014367 complaints, 2.2× a typical Model S year, most often about the electrical system; and 2.7× the usual share of fires, crashes and deaths for a car of its age (9 fires, 52 crashes, 13 deaths).
• 2015669 complaints, 3.9× a typical Model S year, most often about the electrical system.
• 2016650 complaints, 3.8× a typical Model S year, most often about the suspension.
• 2013461 complaints, 2.7× a typical Model S year, most often about the electrical system.
• 2017431 complaints, 2.5× a typical Model S year, most often about the electrical system.

Better bets: among years old enough for a low count to mean something, the 2019 and 2020 drew the fewest complaints without an unusual share of serious ones.

Too new to judge: 2025 and 2026. Complaints take a few years to arrive, so a new model year looks better than it is.

How this is worked out: each year is compared with a typical year of the same model, which takes most of the difference in sales out of it, and its share of serious failures is compared with every other car of the same model year, because older cars were complained about differently. A year needs 25 complaints to be judged at all. Complaints are unverified owner reports. Full method →