Tesla · fully electric · 10,892 inspections in 2024
Tesla Model S what wears out, measured
fail their MOT first time. Ranks 72 of 83 electric cars tested; fleet average for electric cars is 12.0%.
The Tesla Model S fails 18.0% of first-time inspections. By 10 years that reaches 26.5%. Tyres cause 42.8% of its failures.
Data sheet
- Inspections analysed
- 10,892 first-time tests, retests excluded
- First-time failure rate
- 18.0% (electric average 12.0%, petrol 8.2%, diesel 14.5%)
- Best year
- 6 years old, 14.4% fail
- Worst year
- 10 years old, 26.5% fail
- Biggest cause of failure
- Tyres, 42.8% of all defects
- Most unusual for its class
- Tyres: 1.8× the share seen on petrol and diesel cars
Versions seen in the tests
Exactly as recorded on the certificate. Counts are inspections, not cars.
- MODEL S9,499
- MODEL S LONG RANGE AWD943
- MODEL S PERFORM LUDICROUS AWD391
- MODEL S STANDARD RANGE AWD31
- MODEL S PERFORMANCE AWD25
- MODEL S P85D1
- MODEL S 75D1
- MODEL S P851
Failure rate by age
The line to watch is the red one. Dashed lines are petrol and diesel cars of the same age, tested the same year.
Points are hidden where fewer than 50 cars of that age were tested.
Where it holds up
- Brakes fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (9.3% of defects vs 18.7%)
- Lighting fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (10.6% of defects vs 16.5%)
Where it fails
- Tyres take a bigger share of failures than on the wider fleet (42.8% vs 23.7%)
What fails, by system
Share of all defects that caused a failure. The dark mark is the same system on petrol and diesel cars of the same age.
| System | Share of failing defects | This car | vs fleet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tyres | 42.8% | 1.8× more | |
| Suspension | 16.3% | in line | |
| Brakes | 9.3% | 2.0× less | |
| Visibility | 10.1% | in line | |
| Lighting | 10.6% | 1.6× less | |
| Steering | 3.3% | in line | |
| Body | 3.2% | 1.3× less |
Top defects on the certificate
Wording from the DVSA inspection manual, so it matches what a tester writes.
- Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements716
- A tyre cords visible or damaged617
- A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn575
- A tyre seriously damaged462
- The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements203
- Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen184
Check before you buy
- Check tyre age and tread across the full width, inner edge included. Electric cars wear tyres faster; a cheap mismatched set on a used car tells you how it was run.
- Have the suspension joints, bushes and springs checked on a lift. On this car it is a leading cause of failure and it is not visible from the outside.
- Check headlamp aim and every lamp before the test. It is the cheapest failure on the list and the easiest to avoid.
- Trivial to fix, but a car advertised with worn wipers and a fresh failure certificate tells you how it was maintained.
- Ask for the full MOT history by registration on the free DVSA service: advisories are next year's failures.
What owners say about the same faults
Summaries written by us, never quotes; every entry links to its source. Owner reports have no denominator and never feed the failure rate.
Similar cars in the data
Closest failure rate and age profile, different brand.
Other Tesla electric cars
Three things the data shows
- 10,892 inspections in 2024 make this one of the best-documented electric cars in the data.
- Tyres take 1.8× the share of failures they take on petrol and diesel cars of the same age.
- Failure rate rises from 14.4% at 6 years to 26.5% at 10: a gentle ageing curve.
What the inspection does not tell you
No battery health, no motor, no charging performance. The test covers brakes, suspension, steering, tyres, lights, visibility and structure. A car with a badly degraded battery passes as long as it stops and steers. Read this page as evidence about the chassis, not the powertrain.
Cars are tested from their third year, so the newest model years are missing. Every figure carries its sample size for that reason. Full methodology.
Data: DVSA anonymised MOT tests, 2024 test year, OGL v3.0. Computed by What Wears Out editorial team. Last updated .