What 123 owners told NHTSA about the 2020 Tesla Model X (all Variants 7psgr)

I am submitting information regarding repair access and repair estimate concerns involving a Tesla vehicle after a collision. During an insurance claim handled by Tesla Insurance Company, a repair estimate from a Tesla-preferred repair facility was used to declare the vehicle a total loss. However, a manufacturer-owned repair facility estimate would be significantly lower and could make the vehicle repairable. When I attempted to obtain an inspection and estimate from a Tesla manufacturer repair facility, the appointment was cancelled after communication between the insurance company and the repair facility. This prevented me from obtaining a competing repair estimate. Because Tesla operates the vehicle manufacturing, repair network, and insurance services within the same ecosystem, I am submitting this information for review regarding potential impacts on repair access, repairability, and consumer choice.

NHTSA ODI 11722287

The contact owns a 2020 Tesla Model X. The contact stated that upon activating Smart Summon, the vehicle turned directly towards a vehicle parked to the left at an undisclosed speed, resulting in a crash before that contact was able to cancel Smart Summon, after which the vehicle came to a complete stop. The air bags did not deploy. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. A Police report was not filed, and no injuries were reported. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 57,000.

NHTSA ODI 11592440

"On August 18, 2023, I was driving at 70 mph on I-95 near the 100-mile mark using Full Self-Drive. The front driver-side suspension housing cracked, causing the bottom part of the suspension to detach. This led to the front tire striking the upper part of the wheel, resulting in a tire blowout. A piece of metal from the suspension fell onto the road and hit the rear driver-side tire, causing it to also blow out. The vehicle lost control and came to a stop on the left side of the road."

NHTSA ODI 11556906

Sudden acceleration

NHTSA ODI 11507642

Was pulling out of the Starbucks drive thru when the car accelerated quickly on it's own. The brakes also failed. The vehicle only stopped after hitting a tree and a light pole. Very dangerous situation as this occurred in the morning when Starbucks is busy. State Farm insurance is in possession of the car currently. We are awaiting their findings. Police report is also pending. I did not see a warning indicator on the car or any indications of any problems. However, the car had been serviced frequently for different issues with Tesla. After the accident, Tesla offered no assistance regarding finding out if there was a safety issue and said we were on our own.

NHTSA ODI 11484959

On 8/16/2022 Tuesday, I went to work at about 10:24 and parked by the road next to mcDonalds to call my husband. I wanted him to take the car to park elsewhere as that spot had no parking starting at 10:30. My husband was not available so I was about to move the car and had my feet slightly touching the brake. At that point the car suddenly accelerated and jumped forward without any control and hit a car that was coming out of mcDonalds driveway. That car was about 15/20 feet away from my car and I hit on the driver’s side. My car was in such speed that it pushed the other car 6 feet on the other side which in turn hit a pedestrian crossing the road. I am 100% sure that I did not press the accelerator and the car moved by itself in such force that I had no chance of controlling it. I’ve asked Tesla to investigate as well

NHTSA ODI 11482661

While idling in drive having applied my foot to the break, the dash displayed H for holding the break. My car accelerated by itself forcefully into the vehicle in front. My seat belt did not lock up, air bags did not deploy, emergency braking didn’t work, the Tesla box report does not match the dash cam timeline. This was sudden unintended acceleration and I pray it doesn’t happen to anyone else.

NHTSA ODI 11459836

As I was slowly backing into a supercharging parking space watching the rear view video on the car's LCD screen, unbeknownst to me the image from the rear view camera froze. To me it appeared that the car had stopped moving so I applied a little more juice and promptly ran into the protective bollard at the back of the parking space, at which point the rear view camera started working again. If there had been someone behind me, I would have hit them. As it was, I only damaged the car's rear hatch. I tried backing up again and had the image freeze again. I then re-booted the car's system and the problem was not experienced again on that trip. Since then I have had the problem occur one other time and re-booting the system again seemed to fix it. The problem appears to be due to a failure in the car's software as it relates to the rear view camera. I have not taken the car to a dealer yet to see if they can fix the problem and the car has not been inspected by another party. There were no warnings or messages when the problem occurred.

NHTSA ODI 11459330

Around 1:50 P.M May 27, 2021, I left my house driving my Tesla 2020 Model X with my son in the front passenger seat to his school. We returned to our home around 2:19 P.M. At our front gate, I slowed down to a close stop as I turned the vehicle into my driveway. Once descending the driveway, my Tesla vehicle suddenly accelerated to an extremely high speed. While I attempted to brake; however, none of the speed controls seemed to work. The vehicle hit my 2009 Toyota Camry parked on the left side of my driveway first, then took out the heavy duty wrought iron fence post and gate door located about 100 ft from my front gate. My Tesla vehicle kept moving at a very high speed and knocked down and damaged all trees, plants, and garden arbors along the vehicle’s path and, then, crashed through the rear wrought iron fences about 200 ft from my front gate. Finally, the vehicle stopped after crashing into two large trees and stop there. My son got injured and was taken to an urgent care facility after the crash. Two of my vehicles including 2020 Tesla Model X and 2009 Camry LE were totaled and a large portion of my backyard, fence and gate were destroyed due to this Tesla crash. This Tesla vehicle suddenly accelerated for no reason, indicating that there must have been something seriously wrong with this vehicle at that time. The resulting skid marks on my driveway discovered after the incident demonstrates that braking was applied even though the vehicle accelerated. I had reported this crash to Tesla on May 27 and followed up on May 29, June 1 and June 3 and have not received a response from Tesla at this time. The investigation shall be performed to find why this Tesla vehicle suddenly accelerated to prevent other Tesla vehicle drivers from similar dangerous incidents caused by the vehicle’s sudden accelerations. I have the videos and photos from the crash. Please let me know should you need this information for the investigation.

NHTSA ODI 11423276

Sudden forward unintened rapid acceleration resulting in personal injury and property damage

NHTSA ODI 11422222

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2020 TESLA MODEL X. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 5 MPH, WHEN THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO ACCELERATE INDEPENDENTLY. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO DEPRESS THE BRAKES PEDAL AND STOP THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT STATED NO WARNING LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT STATED SHE HAD EXPERIENCE THE FAILURE AGAIN ON 12/14/2020, AFTER PARKING THE VEHICLE AND WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS OFF WHEN IT ACCELERATE INDEPENDENTLY AND DROVE INTO A BUILDING. THE AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. THE CONTACT DID NOT SUSTAIN ANY INJURIES OR SEEK MEDICATION ATTENTION. A POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORT WAS FILED. THE CONTACT CALLED LOCAL DEALER TESLA (6701 AMADOR PLAZA RD, DUBLIN, CA 94568; (925) 361-1173) AND WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE.THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED AS OF YET. A THE MANUFACTURER HAD BEEN INFORMED OF FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 200. *BF THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE'S LIGHTS INDEPENDENTLY TURN ON AND OF.

NHTSA ODI 11383955

ON THE BEGINNING OF OCTOBER 11, MY REVERSE CAMERA STOPS FUNCTIONING. AT NIGHT, WHEN I PARK MY CAR IN THE GARAGE, MY FRONT SCREEN (BEHIND STEERING WHEEL) WAS BLANK. SHORTLY AFTER, MY CAR SUDDENLY SELF-ACCELERATED WHILE I WAS PARKED. THIS RESULTED IN THE CAR SMASHING THROUGH MY GARAGE WALL, CAUSING LOADS OF DAMAGE IN THE ROOM OPPOSITE OF THE WALL. SOME DAMAGE INCLUDED: A BROKEN WOODEN BAR, SHATTERED GLASSES & LIQUOR BOTTLES, AND DAMAGES TO THE FRONT OF MY TESLA. THIS CAR WAS NEWLY PURCHASED, WITH A MILAGE OF SIMPLY 40 MILES.

NHTSA ODI 11383233

I WAS THE FOURTH VEHICLE IN LINE AT A BANK DRIVE THRU AND WHEN THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME MOVED UP IN LINE, I PLACED THE VEHICLE IN DRIVE AND SUDDENLY THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED OUT OF CONTROL AND HIT TWO VEHICLES AND THEN WENT OVER A CURB INTO A PARKING LOT AND CRASHED INTO TWO OTHER VEHICLES, WHICH RESULTED IN A SERIOUS ACCIDENT INVOLVING FOUR OTHER VEHICLES. FORTUNATELY, NO ONE WAS SERIOUSLY HURT. MY VEHICLE WAS A TOTAL LOSS.

NHTSA ODI 11337072

WHEN PULLING INTO A PARKING SPACE THE VEHICLE UNEXPECTEDLY ACCELERATED CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO JUMP THE PARKING CURB AND STRIKE A RETAINING WALL. I HAVE THE VIDEO FROM THE CAR. WHILE TURNING RIGHT INTO AN AVAILABLE PARKING SPOT, I WAS ABOUT 80% INTO THE SPOT WHEN THE VEHICLE SURGED.

NHTSA ODI 11320402

WHILE I WAS PARKING, MY TESLA MODEL X SUDDENLY ACCELERATED INTO MY OFFICE BUILDING. I AM SURE THAT MY FOOT WAS ON THE BRAKE AT THE TIME.

NHTSA ODI 11320351

AT APPROXIMATELY 6:18 PM ON 3/21/2020, I WAS DRIVING MY BRAND NEW 2020 TESLA MODEL X (7 MILES STARTING ODOMETER) HOME FROM TAKING DELIVERY OF IT (!), AND AFTER 20 MILES OF MOSTLY HIGHWAY DRIVING, I WAS NEARING HOME AND STOPPED AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT (WITH SEVERAL CARS STOPPED AHEAD OF ME). AFTER ABOUT 30 SECONDS OF SITTING DEAD-STOPPED, THE CAR VIGOROUSLY ACCELERATED WITH NO ACTION ON MY PART, AND I HAD TO TURN THE CAR HARD TO THE RIGHT TO AVOID A FULL-ON COLLISION WITH THE STOPPED CAR IN FRONT OF ME. FORTUNATELY, TO MY RIGHT THERE WAS A CURB AND THEN AN EMPTY PARKING LOT AND SO I WAS ABLE TO AVOID ANY SERIOUS PROPERTY DAMAGE OR INJURY. BOTH OF THE PASSENGER SIDE TIRES ON MY VEHICLE WERE FLATTENED, AND THERE WAS SOME VERY MINOR DAMAGE TO THE FRONT DRIVERS SIDE BUMPER, AND TO THE REAR PASSENGER SIDE FENDER OF THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME. (I HAD LEFT ENOUGH DISTANCE WHEN STOPPING AT THE LIGHT IN BETWEEN MY CAR AND THEIRS AND I ALSO SOMEHOW REACTED VERY QUICKLY GIVEN HOW IN SHOCK I WAS.) THE CAR WAS NOT DRIVE-ABLE BECAUSE OF THE FLAT TIRES, AND SO I CONTACTED TESLA ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE. THEY TOWED THE VEHICLE BACK TO THE TESLA FACILITY FROM WHERE I HAD JUST ORIGINATED. AFTER THE INCIDENT, I IMMEDIATELY CONTACTED THE SALES PERSON BECAUSE -- YOU KNOW -- I HAD LITERALLY JUST PURCHASED THE CAR. SOMEONE ELSE ON THE SALES TEAM ANSWERED THE PHONE. MY SALES PERSON CALLED ME BACK SHORTLY THEREAFTER, AND I EVENTUALLY SPOKE WITH THE SALES MANAGER AROUND 7:45PM. ALL FOUR OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS (3 SALES, 1 ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE REP) SAID SOMETHING TO THE EFFECT OF: "WE'VE NEVER HEARD OF A VEHICLE DOING THIS BEFORE." THANKFULLY I THOUGHT TO GOOGLE THE ISSUE, AND AN ARTICLE IN CAR & DRIVER ABOUT YOUR PENDING INVESTIGATION POPPED UP. SO I FEEL LIKE THEY WERE PROBABLY GASLIGHTING ME PER SOME SCRIPT FROM LEGAL, WHICH IS A REALLY GREAT FEELING AFTER YOU SPEND $103,000 ON A CAR.

NHTSA ODI 11318912

THE CAR SUDDENLY ACCELERATED TO FULL SPEED WHEN PARKING THE CAR IN A MALL PARKING LOT. I TRIED TO PARK THE CAR, IT DID NOT FIT SO I WENT REVERSE A COUPLE OF FEET AND WHEN I PUT THE CAR IN DRIVE, IT ACCELERATED ON ITS OWN AND THE STEERING WHEEL TURNED ALL THE WAY TO THE LEFT. THE CAR WENT OVER THE TIRE STOPPERS AND CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP WHEN IT CRASHED AGAINST A POST. THIS WAS 100% THE CAR'S FAULT, I AM SURE I DID NOT PRESS THE ACCELERATOR. I HAVE SUBMITTED THE CLAIM WITH TESLA AND THEY ARE REVIEWING THE DATA. I SAW THE NEWS THAT OTHER CARS HAD SIMILAR PROBLEM AND I WANTED TO SHARE MY EXPERIENCE AS WELL. THIS IS VERY SERIOUS AND NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED

NHTSA ODI 11300090