FIGURE 1 // WHERE IT WEARSTesla Model X
Top three failure systems, annotated from 1,137 failed first-time tests. Arrows point to where the defect is found on the car.
Tyres are 57% of everything that fails a Tesla Model X
6,208 inspections in a single year make the MODEL X one of the better-documented electric car. Tyres cause 57.1% of its failures; tyres take 2.4× the share they take on petrol and diesel cars of the same age.
First-time test findings
The three-year vs eight-year picture
AT THREE YEARS OLD10.0%
MODEL X failure rate. Petrol cars of the same age fail 8.2%.
AT EIGHT YEARS OLD21.2%
MODEL X failure rate, against 17.5% for petrol.
At three years old the Tesla Model X fails 10.0% of the time, over the 8.2% of a petrol car the same age. By 8 years that reaches 21.2%. Tyres cause 57.1% of its failures.
FIGURE 2 // TYRE SECTION713 certificates in 2024
The tyre that wears from the inside
Tyres take 57.1% of the defects that fail this car, 2.4× the share seen on petrol and diesel cars of the same age. The most common item in that group is "A tyre cords visible or damaged", recorded 713 times in 2024.
SECTION // TYRES CONCENTRATIONYear 3 crossover
Where the curve bends
The crossover with petrol happens around year 3. From there the MODEL X's failure rate climbs faster than the petrol fleet, and the defect list explains why.
Source: DVSA MOT defect items, 2024 test year.
What to check
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. Trivial to fix, but a car advertised with worn wipers and a fresh failure certificate tells you how it was maintained. 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. Ask for the full MOT history by registration on the free DVSA service: advisories are next year's failures.
3 inspection points:
✓ Tyre inner-edge wear and age
✓ Wipers and washers
✓ Suspension joints and bushes on a lift
FIGURE 3 // FAILURE RATE BY AGEvs petrol, diesel and all electric cars
Points hidden where fewer than 50 cars of that age were tested. Dashed lines are the same-age petrol and diesel fleets.
Data sheet
- Inspections
- 6,208
- Passed
- 4,990
- Failed
- 1,137
- Passed after repair
- 81
- Failure rate
- 18.3% (all EV 12.0%)
- Average age
- 5.7 years
- Best year
- 3 yrs · 10.0%
- Worst year
- 8 yrs · 21.2%
- Top cause
- Tyres 57.1%
TABLE 1 // WHAT FAILS, BY SYSTEMshare of failing defects
| System | This car (mark = petrol/diesel) | Share | vs petrol/diesel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tyres | 57.1% | 2.4× more | |
| Suspension | 9.4% | 1.4× less | |
| Brakes | 6.7% | 2.8× less | |
| Visibility | 12.1% | in line | |
| Lighting | 4.2% | 3.9× less | |
| Steering | 1.3% | 2.4× less | |
| Body | 4.9% | in line |
TABLE 2 // TOP DEFECTS ON THE CERTIFICATE
- A tyre cords visible or damaged713
- Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements452
- A tyre seriously damaged302
- Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen205
- A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn199
- A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated58
Wording as printed by the tester, from the DVSA inspection manual.
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Where it holds up
- Suspension fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (9.4% of defects vs 13.6%)
- Brakes fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (6.7% of defects vs 18.7%)
- Lighting fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (4.2% of defects vs 16.5%)
- Steering fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (1.3% of defects vs 3.1%)
Where it fails
- Tyres take a bigger share of failures than on petrol and diesel cars of the same age (57.1% vs 23.7%)
- At three years old it fails 10.0% of the time, above the 8.2% of petrol cars the same age
VERSIONS SEEN IN THE TESTSas recorded
- MODEL X4,102
- MODEL X LONG RANGE AWD1,473
- MODEL X PERFORM LUDICROUS AWD540
- MODEL X STANDARD RANGE AWD47
- MODEL X PERFORMANCE AWD44
- MODEL X 75D1
- MODEL X 100D1
OWNER REPORTS // MATCHED TO RECORDED DEFECTS0 read · 0 matched
No owner discussion has been matched to this car's recorded defects yet. Reports are re-collected every quarter; the figures on this page do not depend on them.
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 DATAclosest rate and age, other brands
Citroen Berlingo18.5% fail · 216 testsRenault Zoe19.0% fail · 22,057 testsRenault Kangoo17.8% fail · 4,063 testsNissan Leaf15.4% fail · 49,764 tests
OTHER TESLA ELECTRIC CARS
Three things the data shows
- 6,208 inspections in 2024 make this one of the best-documented electric cars in the data.
- Tyres take 2.4× the share of failures they take on petrol and diesel cars of the same age.
- Failure rate rises from 10.0% at 3 years to 21.2% at 8: a gentle ageing curve.
LIMITS // 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.
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