Home · 2014 Tesla Model S Bev · Complaints

What 365 owners told NHTSA about the 2014 Tesla Model S Bev

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (365)Crash / fire / injury (59)Electrical system (132)Suspension (90)Lights (27)Steering (27)Transmission & drivetrain (27)Body & structure (26)Fuel system (24)Speed control (22)Visibility & wipers (17)Airbags (13)

1 of 365 complaints match · Lights · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Jan 29, 2020LightsBody & structureFuel systemCrash

MY TESLA DID AN UNCOMMANDED ACCELERATION, JUMPED THE CURB AND HIT A CHICK-FIL-A RESTAURANT ON 9/04/2019: 1) FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, I AM 100% CERTAIN THAT I DID NOT TOUCH THE ACCELERATOR OR IN ANY WAY CAUSE THE UNCOMMANDED AND UNINTENTIONAL ACCELERATION OF THE VEHICLE. I HAVE DRIVEN CARS AND TRUCKS WELL OVER A MILLION MILES AND NEVER ONCE ACCIDENTALLY PRESSED AN ACCELERATOR OR JUMPED A CURB WHEN PARKING. 2) I HAVE BEEN DRIVING MY TESLA DAILY FOR FOUR MONTHS AND I AM VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE VEHICLE AND IT'S SYSTEMS AND CONTROLS. I AM ALSO VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE SPECIFIC PARKING SPACE WHERE THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED. I HAVE PARKED THERE MANY TIMES IN THE PAST, AND MOSTLY IN THE TESLA DURING THE LAST FOUR MONTHS. 3) THE DETAILS OF WHAT TOOK PLACE IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE ACCIDENT ARE AS FOLLOWS: THE WEATHER WAS CLEAR AND SUNNY. WHILE GOING SLOWLY DOWN A SLIGHT SLOPE APPROACHING THE INTENDED PARKING AREA, I REMOVED MY RIGHT FOOT FROM THE ACCELERATOR AND ALLOWED REGENERATIVE BRAKING* TO SLOW THE CAR EVEN MORE WHILE I POSITIONED MY RIGHT FOOT VERY LIGHTLY ON THE BRAKE PEDAL WHILE CREEP MODE* KEPT THE CAR SLOWLY MOVING FORWARD. WITH ABOUT TWO FEET TO GO, I MODULATED THE BRAKE PEDAL PRESSURE TO SLOW THE CAR MORE AND MAKE SURE THAT THE FRONT SPLITTER DIDN'T BUMP THE CURB..... SUDDENLY THERE WAS A HARD IMPACT, A LOUD BANG, AND THE FRONT RIGHT CORNER** OF MY CAR WAS IN THE BRICK WALL, ALL IN A VERY SMALL FRACTION OF A SECOND. IT FELT LIKE I HAD BEEN REAR-ENDED, BUT THERE WAS NO OTHER VEHICLE INVOLVED. * CREEP MODE & REGENERATIVE BRAKING -- SEE ONLINE OWNER'S MANUAL ** HIT ON "FRONT CORNER" BECAUSE PARKING SPACE IS AT AN ANGLE TO THE BUILDING.

NHTSA ODI 11302849

Working with the data? Download all 365 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 21, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2014 Tesla Model S Bev verdict →