2023 Tesla Model S Consumer Reviews
We have a limited number of reviews for the 2023 Model S, so we've included reviews for other years of the Model S since its last redesign.
Service needs help
j Chana, 10/25/2021
2021 Tesla Model S Plaid 4dr Sedan AWD (electric DD)
26 of 27 people found this review helpful
The car itself is amazing….BUT there are ALOTTT OF little things that need work. The way Tesla delivers 145k cars/suvs is very very poor at best. Service is worse in all auto industry, my plaid broke down on me 3rd day…yes 3rd day. Took them 3 days to get it towed due to my location, and I didn’t have a car for 2 weeks. Broke down for the 2nd time and when I was talking with the service rep he stated that they have been having problems with the new plaid models! If you have only One car (Tesla) I would recommend buying another random backup car or suv because you will 100 percent need it.
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Great design horrible build
Adam in Colorado, 12/04/2021
updated 01/09/2023
2021 Tesla Model S Long Range 4dr Sedan AWD w/Prod. End 11/21 (electric DD)
34 of 36 people found this review helpful
The design of this car is amazing. Auto pilot is great on the highway though it requires that you jiggle the steering wheel (yoke) to know you are there which is kind of annoying as my hand is on the wheel just not torquing it enough. The build quality however is miserable. Panel gaps are all over the place, they actually have a tool to know if things are bad enough to fix so they rehung my door but left the rest all a little crooked, unacceptable for the price. This of course leads to a loud whistling sound at higher speeds. They heard the sound when I took the service personnel for a drive but decided they can't find the cause so it isn't a problem. Service is so bad I told my father to cancel his order. Update: whistling was a missing roof seal, finally found it after 3-4 visits, has to replace roof twice but now roof rattles and squeaks and they just gave up on fixing it and said it isn't a warranty issue of a brand new car. Also had 2 parking sensors fail. 14 service visits and out of service 5 weeks in the first 3 months of ownership. Update: I was very excited when I finally got mine. Honestly the technology is quite impressive. The build quality, however, was so abysmal and the service even worse. When it was delivered it had a whistling sound at speed. For a while they refused to test it and fix it as they say that is above the speed limit where they are though not where I commute. Eventually they did find the problem and it was because the glass roof was installed incorrectly. They replaced that and the windshield but introduced a horrible rattling. After having it for a month they returned it to me still rattling and said that isn't covered by warranty. So my $100,000 luxury car rattles as I drive to work. As a side issue, the range isn't nearly what they say it is, more like 300 miles on a long range with 19-in wheels. That is however still enough for me. It does use about 10% of the battery with sentry mode turned on while parked at work. I am one of the idiots who did pay for full self-drive. The only value I get out of that currently is that it will change lanes for me on the highway. It is like very good cruise control but nothing like what was promised. Overall, some of the best engineering but worst build quality I have ever seen.
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Great car, terrible service and buggy software
Venky, 06/07/2021
2021 Tesla Model S Long Range 4dr Sedan AWD w/Prod. End 11/21 (electric DD)
56 of 65 people found this review helpful
I bought a Tesla Model S long range in December 2020 to replace an old but trusty Lexus. I can say with confidence that this is the best car I have ever driven. It accelerates faster than a Porsche, handles curves better than a BMW, rides smoother than a Lexus. Of course, the benefits of an all-electric car that can be charged at home are well known by now. However, once the thrill of driving wore off and the reality of owning a car that cost nearly $90k set in, the defects started to appear. Firstly, it lacks storage space. The cup holders are too close to each other, and placed very inconveniently, so my elbows often knock against my water bottle. The doors lack any storage space, so all my stuff is packed into a small compartment in the middle. The user interface of the massive screen is not well designed, especially for someone that needs reading glasses. The icons are all monochrome, often used buttons are at the bottom of the screen, and the scroll buttons on the steering column are not intuitive. The autopilot feature is truly in beta - even though they charge $10k for it. It works well on highways but is not ready for city driving at all. The biggest problem is their service. I have a problem with the car but it has taken over 3 weeks to get an appointment with their service center. It is impossible to get anyone on the phone to even find out if my car is safe to drive. When I reached out to them to get an earlier appointment, I got a curt one line reply that they are fully booked. Makes me wonder why an electric car has so many service needs - lends credence to the complaints about build quality. Any other premium car maker that charges $90 k would not treat their customers like this. Clearly, Tesla has a long way to go to become a customer centric company.
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But, the panel gaps!
Mike Ronesia , 05/06/2023
2023 Tesla Model S Plaid 4dr Sedan AWD (electric DD)
8 of 8 people found this review helpful
This car is amazing on every level that maters to me. Does it have panel gaps? Yes. Do I care? No. It’s not like the fenders are falling off. You have to closely look at one side and then go compare it to the other. Who does that with a daily driver? Not me. I recommend test driving one if you’re interested. If you have the ability to charge at home, Tesla’s are a lifestyle changer that you don’t look back from. We can drive 300 miles in our Plaid S for under $7. That’s not a Prius, it’s a large comfortable car that will spank anything that pulls up next to it at any speed. It’s beyond ludicrous. Something to keep in mind with these reviews. I didn’t need to prove I own one, and could be making stuff up. So the same holds true for any of these reviews and the whole review score. With most brands this wouldn’t matter, but Tesla seems to draw a lot of hate from people that have no actual experience with Tesla. I’ve never met an unhappy owner, though I’m sure they’re are some out there.
Worst car manufacturer ever!
Troy Stortz, 01/27/2022
2021 Tesla Model S 4dr Sedan AWD (electric DD)
13 of 14 people found this review helpful
Our Model S has needed service once a month for as many months as we’ve owned it. Would be more often but it takes forever to get it in for service. Tesla is fooling the world! Amazing how many you see on the road. Garbage car that looks good. You couldn’t pay me to ride in self driving mode!