Buyer Research

2021 Tesla Model S — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $30,000–$48,000. There are 3 high-severity known issues you need to know before handing over a check.

Deciding between model years? Compare the 13 Tesla Model S years we've written up →

Kestrel Take

The refresh year — new interior, the yoke, and the Plaid — and it carries 176 complaints and 24 recall campaigns, which is a lot of paperwork for one model year. Most of those campaigns are over-the-air software fixes, so they land by themselves if the car has been kept updated; the handful that matter are the ones needing a physical visit, on the seat belts, the curtain airbags and the driver airbag. Twenty-seven percent of complaints are forward collision avoidance, almost all of it phantom braking at highway speed, and the steering cluster is dominated by one design argument: the horn button on the yoke. Run the VIN through NHTSA's lookup, confirm the physical recalls are closed, and drive it on a freeway with Autopilot on before you decide.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 176 owner complaints for the 2021 Tesla Model S, and 24 recall campaigns.

A big number here usually means a lot of these were sold, not that it is a bad vehicle — popular models collect more complaints for the same rate of trouble. So the total on its own says little. What is worth reading is the shape of it. The largest single group is the driver-assist and automatic braking systems at 27%. That is notable without being overwhelming — worth checking, not worth panicking about.

24 recall campaigns cover this model year. Recalls are repaired free, for any owner, with no time limit on most safety campaigns — but only if someone books it in. Ask the seller to show it was done, or have any dealer check the VIN; it takes them a couple of minutes and costs nothing.

Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.

Known Issues for the 2021 Tesla Model S

Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.

Phantom braking — the car stops hard on an empty freewayHigh — wallet impact

Forty-seven complaints, 27% of the record and the largest cluster, and nine of them involve a crash. Owners describe Autopilot or cruise set at 60–75 mph and the car dropping 20 mph or standing on the brakes with clear road ahead — under an overpass, past oncoming high beams, alongside a car in the next lane. Tesla pushed an over-the-air fix in October 2021 under recall 21V846000 for a communication error causing unexpected automatic emergency braking, and filings continued after it. There is no part to buy: take it on a long freeway drive with Autopilot engaged and find out how this car behaves.

Repair cost: Not yet priced — a safety matter first, a repair bill second

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the driver-assist and automatic braking systems (47).

Power steering assist can quit after a pothole (recall)High — wallet impact

Recall 22V818000 covers 2017–2021 Model S and Model X: the electric power assist steering can lose assist after a rough road or a pothole strike, which means sudden heavy steering at low speed. The remedy is an over-the-air recalibration, so it only applies if the car has been updated. Inside the same steering cluster an owner describes the wheel locking up entirely after reversing out of a space, and several describe a popping and creaking front end when turning. Verify this campaign is closed on the VIN and turn the wheel lock to lock at walking pace, listening.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under steering (29); 24 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Seat belts, curtain airbags and driver airbag — the recalls that need a service visitHigh — wallet impact

Three of this year's campaigns cannot be fixed over the air and are the ones to check first. 23V488000: front-row seat belts may not be properly connected to their pretensioner anchors and can detach in a crash. 22V104000: left or right side curtain airbag inflators assembled incorrectly, causing delayed or improper deployment. 21V868000 and 24V967000: the driver airbag cushion can tear when it deploys. All three are free physical replacements at a Tesla service centre, and none of them shows any symptom you could spot standing at the car.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: 24 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

The yoke horn button, and an airbag fitted with the wrong horn pad (recall)Medium

The steering cluster is dominated by the yoke: the horn moved to a thumb button, and owners report reaching for the centre of the wheel in an emergency and getting nothing. One paid about $1,000 out of pocket for Tesla's retrofit to the newer centre-horn design. Two campaigns sit behind this — 25V172000, where an airbag with the incorrect horn pad was installed and the horn does not sound at all, and 23V743000, where swapping between a yoke and a round wheel left the wrong airbag in the car. Sit in the driver's seat and sound the horn the way you would in a panic.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under steering (29); 24 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Screen lag on fast-charge, and a rear camera that arrives lateMedium

Twenty-five electrical complaints, 14% of the record, and most are the centre screen rather than wiring. Recall 22V296000 covers the infotainment processor overheating while preparing to Supercharge, lagging or restarting so the screen cannot show the reverse camera, the gear selection or the demister controls; 26V283000 covers a delayed rearview image on a later software build. Both are over-the-air. Owners also report the capacitive hazard-light button needing five presses to respond. Plug into a Supercharger during the test drive, then select reverse and watch how long the picture takes.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (25); 24 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗A car sitting on old software — the over-the-air recall remedies only land if it has been updated
✗Phantom braking on the test drive: brakes applied for an overpass or a shadow with clear road ahead
✗A creak or pop from the front end as you turn the wheel at parking speed
✗The centre screen lagging or restarting while the car prepares to fast-charge
✗A horn you cannot find and sound inside a second from the driving position

Good Signs

✓All 24 campaigns showing closed on the NHTSA VIN lookup, the seat belt and airbag ones especially
✓Service records showing the front seat belt pretensioner inspection and the airbag replacement completed
✓A round steering wheel with a centre horn, factory-fitted or retrofitted, with the invoice to prove it
✓Current software on the screen, updated within the last few months
✓A rearview picture up within a second of selecting reverse, including straight after a Supercharger stop