2021 TESLA MODEL S Complaints

My safety concern is with the 17 inch screen. Originally in the information about the car before it was purchased, said that the screen would tilt left or right to give the drive better a better view and access to the touch screen. I have talked to service about this and they have said they do not plan to retrofit our cars with the motors to make the screen move. This is now working on the same car that is one year newer. We were promised this and I believe this issue with the screen not moving is a serious concern. You cannot see the screen as well or touch it as well because it does not tilt towards the driver. Please investigate this problem, it is dangerous.

The position of the horn button on the steering yoke is problematic. The horn button on the 2021 Tesla model S is operated by the right thumb. This position causes activation problems in various situations. One example is where quick horn use is required, the natural muscle memory is to push the center of the yoke , (where the horn button is located on all manufactured vehicles). The initial reaction to push the center of the wheel, causes an UNSAFE delay in horn activation, as the user then struggles to find the small horn button with the right thumb. Most of the time, the horn button is missed and the windshield wipers are activated, which causes more confusion in a stressful situation. Another problem with the position of the horn button is that when making a tight turn and the wheel is spun 180 degrees, the horn button is impossible to find or activate in a timely manner. It is surprising to me that the horn button placement was allowed to be installed on a production vehicle. While driving the vehicle there have been numerous events where quick horn activation was needed. One of the events happened recently while exiting a public garage. While the yoke was turned 180 degrees to make a right turn, another vehicle almost hit our vehicle and when my wife tried to hit the horn, it was impossible to find the button since the wheel was upside down, ( spun 180 degrees). Only luck prevented an accident. Another event happened two days ago. While driving on a 4 lane highway, a vehicle aggressively changed lanes toward our car. The action of the other vehicle caused a startle response, when my wife tried to hit the horn, muscle memory caused her to push the center of the wheel, instead of the small button that is activated by the thumb. By the time she found the button, it was too late to prevent the other vehicle from swerving into our lane. Also, the windshield wipers were activated instead of the horn. The horn position needs to be changed to the center of the wheel.

On 4 Aug 2022, at 10:24am (CST), while traveling northbound on Hwy 287 just south of Henrietta, Texas with the Tesla Autopilot speed set at 80mph with a posted speed limit of 75mph, the car was in the left lane of a two-lane, high-speed highway, when the car suddenly and unexpectedly slammed on the brakes, gave a "TAKE CONTROL IMMEDIATELY" warning and rapidly shifted its lane position, almost causing a wreck with the car behind me. There were no vehicles beside me and nothing to the front or sides to cause concern or indicate that there was any reason for the sudden and abrupt braking maneuver.

The contact's wife owns a 2021 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that after his wife entered the vehicle and closed the driver's side front door, the driver's side front window exploded. There was no impact on the window that could have caused it to explode. The contact's wife did not sustain any injuries. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a claim with the insurance company. The failure mileage was approximately 10,700.

The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle approached another vehicle that had slowed for a traffic light and did not automatically start braking. The contact manually applied the brakes, but the vehicle crashed into the rear end of the vehicle in front. The contact stated he noticed no warning lights illuminated nor warning chimes sounded advising of a vehicle ahead. The contact said both air bags deployed. The vehicle had crashed and damaged the entire front end which crumpled to the front tires. The police were on the scene and filed a report. The contact and the occupant of the other vehicle were not injured. The vehicle was towed to a collision center. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 1,000.

Brakes are not strong enough to brake tires loose or cause anti lock. My Chevrolet Colorado out stops my Tesla. Hit an animal that my truck would not have. Helpless feeling.

The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH and attempting to switch lanes, he attempted to use the turn signals; however, the turn signals were inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed; however, the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure recurred. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 2,000.

While driving with a fully charged battery, the car dash warned “pull over to safe location. Battery cannot support all functions”. We were unable to fully pull over in the time before the car experienced a critical loss of functionality, as the car shut off in less than 1 minute from flashing the warning. The car lost all functionality, including loss of its flashers, putting us at significant risk since we were unable to alert other motorists to our presence on the side of the road as it was getting dark. The car is currently with the dealer and thus far they have been unable to identify the root cause of the issue but have acknowledged the existence of the problem. They’ve claimed the 12v battery died and the car does not have any safety redundancy built in to be able to access power from the main driving battery to power critical features such as the hazard lights. The biggest risk of safety is loss of indicators/flashers while on the side of the road. This feature in vehicles is meant to alert other drivers to the presence of a disabled vehicle. Consumer was told no physical problem was found with the car and a “firmware” problem is suspected. After repeated questioning, the Tesla dealer finally acknowledged that other 2021 Model S cars have experienced similar abrupt shut downs and the California engineers are aware of the problem. They cannot tell me when a firmware update will be available, but in the interim want to return the car to the consumer having done nothing to prevent the problem from recurring.

The airbag module installed in the yoke has popped out while driving. It currently hangs by a wire. This makes the car completely inoperable safely. In fact had the airbag ever gone off in this condition it could cause serious injury and possibly death. Reached out to Tesla for repair and they are estimating 20 days to begin a repair. If cars with this problem get into an accident that activated the airbag I believe there could be very serious consequences for the driver.

The vehicle put the brakes on when on adaptive cruise, but with very few cars around. The last time, there was no car in front of me, but the vehicle braked so fast the the car behind me almost rear ended me. I’ve noticed that it happened twice on a South bound stretch of I-35 in Temple texas. This needs to be addressed or there is a strong potential for an accident.