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What 650 owners told NHTSA about the 2021 Tesla Model 3 (all Variants)

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 (650)Crash / fire / injury (51)Driver assistance (404)Brakes (124)Speed control (123)Electrical system (76)Lane Departure (30)Visibility & wipers (30)Steering (26)Transmission & drivetrain (17)Body & structure (15)Seat belts (15)

2 of 650 complaints match · Transmission & drivetrain · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Apr 18, 2025Transmission & drivetrainCrash

The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while his wife was driving at approximately 29 MPH, the vehicle independently accelerated and the front of the vehicle crashed into a tree, where it came to a stop. No warning lights were illuminated. The front driver's side air bag was deployed. A police report was filed. Medical attention was sought as a precaution; however, there were no injuries sustained. The vehicle remained at the residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,340.

NHTSA ODI 11655429

Jun 6, 2024Transmission & drivetrainElectrical systemSpeed controlCrash

The vehicle, a 2021 Tesla Model 3, had an episode of sudden unintended acceleration. I was almost stationary waiting to make a left when the car accelerated by itself, left the road, crossed a grass field at high speed and crashed into bushes. The vehicle was not on auto pilot, it resulted in damage of almost $ 20.000 as estimated by insurance. The vehicle is available for inspection, it will be checked by Tesla service after the damage is fixed. There were no previous warnings, this is the first incident of this kind. It is not clear what component malfunctioned, probably some electric/electronic device in charge of acceleration. It was obviously a very dangerous event that could have jeopardized my safety and/or some others.

NHTSA ODI 11592876

Working with the data? Download all 650 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 2021 Tesla Model 3 (all Variants) verdict →