Skip to content
Menu, you are in Cars
Sign in

2021 Tesla Model S

The verdict on the 2021 Tesla Model S

Loading our take
Loading the verdict
Loading the high mileage verdict

Car Hunt Pass or Pro

Odometer check

From the listing or the dash. See which problem zones it has reached.

See plans, from $15

Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.

WhipWorthy sticker

2021 Tesla Model S

  • Loading owner complaints
  • Loading recalls
  • Loading crash ratings
  • Loading fuel economy

Complaints are unverified owner reports, not adjusted for how many were sold.

Compare this carEvery Model S year

Car report, a Pro feature

Park this car in My Garage and see its recalls at a glance.Car Hunt Pass or Pro

Value signals

We do not price cars.

These help you judge whether this one is worth its price.

  • Costly problem zones ahead at your miles come with a Car Hunt Pass or Pro. See plans

  • Loading the EPA's yearly fuel cost

  • Have the VIN? Check it is this car, and see its open recalls at NHTSA.

    On the dash at the base of the windshield, or on the driver’s door sticker.

What about the price? Check the asking price on two listing sites. Buying from a dealer? Run its offer through the offer X ray.

Education, not financial or mechanical advice. Have any used car checked by a mechanic you trust before you buy.

The full record

Tap to open

What owners complain about

Loading owner complaints

Seller kit

Questions for the seller, test drive checks and price points

Car Hunt Pass or Pro

Walk up to the seller ready

Questions to ask the seller of a 2021 Tesla Model S, built from this year's owner complaints and recalls. What to feel, hear and look at on the test drive, with boxes to tick at the car. Honest points to raise on price, from the records and never from guesses. Copy the questions to your phone in one tap.

See plans, from $15

Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.

Write your offer

A ready to send offer for the seller, by text or email

Car Hunt Pass or Pro

Send the seller a fair offer

Type the asking price and your own offer for the 2021 Tesla Model S, tick what you found, and get a polite message ready to text or email. Its reasons come from this year's owner complaints, recalls and crash ratings, and never from made up repair prices.

See plans, from $15

Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.

When problems show up

Loading mileage at failure

Will it outlast the loan?

The month of your loan each problem zone lands in
Loading the problem zones

Recalls

Loading recalls

Crash ratings

NHTSA's stars out of five, for each version it tested. Front crash stars only compare cars of about the same size and weight.

Loading crash ratings

Fuel economy

The EPA's estimates for each engine and transmission, and its own yearly fuel cost. Yours depends on how you drive and the shape the car is in.

Loading fuel economy

True cost to own

The loan, fuel, insurance and upkeep, a month and over 5 years

Car Hunt Pass or Pro

What it really costs to own

What the 2021 Tesla Model S costs a month and over 5 years: the loan and its interest, fuel worked out from the EPA's figures for the version you pick, and your own insurance, registration and upkeep. A cost a mile, a link that reopens your numbers, and the breakdown copied to your phone in one tap.

See plans, from $15

Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.

Every year of the Model S

Owner complaints for each model year, this one outlined. Tap a year to open it. The newest 2 are not judged yet. Bars are totals, so older years stand taller; the verdict compares every year at the same age.

Loading every year of this model

Before you buy this one

Built from this year's numbers. Whatever the data says, the car in front of you is the one that counts.

Loading the checklist
Going to see it? Take the checklist52 checks with the bad signs to look for, saved on your phone.

Check this exact car

The verdict is about the model year. These checks are about the one in front of you. Most are free or a few dollars.

Copy it, then paste it into each check. Nothing is sent until you open one.

Official checks on this VIN

  1. Open recallsFree

    NHTSA

    Safety recalls on this VIN that are not fixed yet, from the last 15 years.

    A recall already fixed does not show.

    Check recalls at NHTSAnhtsa.gov (opens in a new tab)

  2. Theft and total lossFree

    NICB VINCheck

    Whether an insurer reported it stolen and not found, or wrote it off as a total loss.

    Only insurer records. Five checks a day.

    Open NICB VINChecknicb.org (opens in a new tab)

  3. Title brandsA few dollars

    NMVTIS, the federal title system

    Salvage, flood, junk and rebuilt brands from any state, and the last miles on the title.

    No repairs, service or recalls. Sold by approved sellers listed on the site.

    See the approved sellersvehiclehistory.bja.ojp.gov (opens in a new tab)

  4. Title statusVaries by state

    The state motor vehicle office

    Whether the title is branded in that state and, where the state offers it, whether a lender still has a lien.

    It will not name the owner. Each state asks its own way, and some only by mail. Ask to see the seller’s title too.

    Find your state’s officeusa.gov (opens in a new tab)

What a paid report adds

A history report such as Carfax or AutoCheck pulls in more of the car’s past than these checks can:

  • Crashes and damage reported by police, insurers or shops, even when it was fixed.
  • Service visits that shops reported, with the miles each time.
  • How many owners, for how long, and the states it was registered in.
  • Whether it was a rental, fleet or lease car, when that was reported.

It only knows what was reported to it. A clean report is not proof of a clean car. Ask the seller first: many dealers hand one over for free.

Red flags in a history

  • Salvage title

    Usually an insurer called it a total loss. In most states it cannot be driven on the road until it is rebuilt and inspected.

  • Rebuilt title

    A salvage car that was fixed and passed a state check. It can be fine, but it is worth less, can be harder to insure, and needs a careful inspection.

  • Flood damage

    Water can ruin wiring and sensors months later. Be wary of a flood brand that vanished after a move to another state.

  • Lemon or maker buyback

    The maker bought it back over a defect it could not fix. Ask what the defect was and how it was fixed.

  • Odometer rollback

    A mileage reading lower than an earlier one, or a title marked not actual miles.

  • Many owners, fast

    Three owners in two years can mean a problem each one passed along.

  • Gaps in the records

    Years with no service or registration. Ask why: it may have sat, been off the road, or been rebuilt.

Title words and rules differ by state. Not legal advice.

Before you pay

  • Pre purchase inspection

    Have a mechanic you choose, not the seller, put it on a lift and look it over before you pay.

  • Insurance quote

    Get a quote on this exact car before you sign. Ask your own insurer and one or two others.

Beta

Send feedback

What broke, what you wish it did, what the price should be, or what you loved. Two lines is plenty.

2021 Tesla Model S: problems, recalls, verdict · WhipWorthy