NHTSA opens audit query into 2016–2026 Tesla Model 3 and 3 other models: Compliance with Standing General Order 2021-01 Reporting Requirements
On August 20, 2025, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened an Audit Query (AQ25002) into 2016–2026 Tesla Model 3 and 3 other models, concerning the electrical system. An Audit Query reviews whether a manufacturer has met its federal safety reporting or recall obligations. As of NHTSA’s latest data it is still open.
- Action
- AQ25002 (Audit Query)
- Status
- Open
- Component
- Electrical System: Adas
- Listed
- 37 make/model/year entries in NHTSA’s file
Vehicles under investigation
| Make | Tesla |
|---|---|
| Models | Model 3, Model S, Model X, Model Y |
| Model years | 2016–2026 |
As listed in NHTSA’s investigation file. Not every vehicle of a listed model is necessarily affected.
What ODI says
The Office of Defects Investigation (“ODI”) has identified numerous incident reports submitted by Tesla, Inc. (“Tesla”) in response to Standing General Order 2021-01 (the “SGO”), in which the reported crashes occurred several months or more before the dates of the reports. The majority of these reports involved crashes in which the Standing General Order in place at the time required a report to be submitted within one or five days of Tesla receiving notice of the crash. When the reports were submitted, Tesla submitted them in one of two ways. Many of the reports were submitted as part of a single batch, while others were submitted on a rolling basis. Preliminary engagement between ODI and Tesla on the issue indicates that the timing of the reports was due to an issue with Tesla’s data collection, which, according to Tesla, has now been fixed. NHTSA is opening this Audit Query, a standard process for reviewing compliance with legal requirements, to evaluate the cause of the potential delays in reporting, the scope of any such delays, and the mitigations that Tesla has developed to address them. As part of this review, NHTSA will assess whether any reports of prior incidents remain outstanding and whether the reports that were submitted include all of the required and available data. The SGO reports cited in the Opening Resume, can be found at NHTSA.gov/SGOCrashReporting under the following SGO 2021-01 report IDs: 13781-11020-1 13781-10844-1 13781-10843-1 13781-10530-1 13781-10160-1 13781-10159-1 13781-10157-1 13781-10146-1 13781-10122-1 13781-10098-1 13781-10097-1 13781-10096-1 13781-10095-1 13781-10094-1 13781-10093-1 13781-10023-1 13781-10022-1 13781-10021-1 13781-10020-1 13781-10017-1 13781-10016-1 13781-10015-1 13781-10014-1 13781-10013-1 13781-10012-1 13781-6047-1 13781-9930-1 13781-9917-1 13781-9928-1 13781-9925-1 13781-9924-1 13781-9923-1 13781-9922-1 13781-9835-1 13781-9834-1 13781-9833-1 13781-9832-1 13781-9831-1 13781-9830-1 13781-9829-1 13781-9827-1 13781-9818-1 13781-9780-1 13781-9779-1 13781-9778-1 13781-9777-1 13781-9775-1 13781-9774-1 13781-9773-1 13781-9772-1 13781-9771-1 13781-9770-1 13781-9728-1 13781-9688-1 13781-9715-1 13781-9714-1 13781-9713-1 13781-9712-1 13781-9711-1 13781-9710-1 13781-9709-1 13781-9696-1 13781-9695-1 13781-9694-1 13781-9693-1 13781-9692-1 13781-9691-1 13781-9690-1 13781-9687-1 13781-9686-1 13781-9342-1 13781-9319-1 13781-9019-1 13781-8910-1 13781-8732-1 13781-8712-1 13781-8310-1 13781-7897-1 13781-7895-1 13781-7835-1 13781-7798-1 13781-7797-1 13781-7758-1 13781-7757-1 13781-7756-1 13781-7755-1 13781-7667-1 13781-7399-1 13781-7398-1 13781-7397-1 13781-7396-1 13781-7395-1 13781-7394-1 13781-7393-1 13781-7389-1 13781-7388-1 13781-7387-1 13781-7386-1 13781-7385-1 13781-7383-1 13781-7187-1 13781-7186-1 13781-7185-1 13781-7184-1 13781-7181-1 13781-7023-1 13781-6399-1 13781-6389-1 13781-6388-1 13781-6387-1 13781-6386-1 13781-6379-1 13781-6378-1 13781-6377-1 13781-6375-1 13781-6214-1 13781-6172-1 13781-6155-1 13781-6154-1 13781-6122-1 13781-6120-1 13781-6118-1 13781-5800-1
Official summary by NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation for AQ25002, quoted in full (U.S. government work, public domain).
What owners have reported
Owners filed 11,959 complaints with NHTSA about the model years in this investigation, reporting 1,429 crashes, 83 fires, 909 injuries, 187 deaths. These are all complaints on file for those vehicles, about any problem, not only this one; complaints are unverified owner reports.
| Vehicle | Complaints | Crashes | Injuries | Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 Model 3 | 26 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2018 Model 3 | 1,031 | 102 | 44 | 0 |
| 2019 Model 3 | 617 | 60 | 30 | 4 |
| 2020 Model 3 | 451 | 54 | 33 | 2 |
| 2021 Model 3 | 666 | 46 | 19 | 8 |
| 2022 Model 3 | 766 | 53 | 45 | 1 |
| 2023 Model 3 | 428 | 72 | 50 | 1 |
| 2024 Model 3 | 219 | 27 | 19 | 0 |
| 2025 Model 3 | 117 | 25 | 9 | 0 |
| 2026 Model 3 | 28 | 9 | 3 | 0 |
| 2016 Model S | 647 | 92 | 64 | 8 |
| 2017 Model S | 427 | 55 | 23 | 0 |
| 2018 Model S | 169 | 36 | 21 | 0 |
| 2019 Model S | 44 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 2020 Model S | 80 | 16 | 8 | 0 |
| 2021 Model S | 179 | 13 | 5 | 1 |
| 2022 Model S | 139 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 Model S | 114 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 Model S | 38 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 Model S | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 Model X | 449 | 62 | 36 | 1 |
| 2017 Model X | 268 | 24 | 58 | 52 |
| 2018 Model X | 193 | 35 | 16 | 0 |
| 2019 Model X | 101 | 13 | 6 | 0 |
| 2020 Model X | 128 | 17 | 6 | 0 |
| 2021 Model X | 41 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 2022 Model X | 127 | 12 | 2 | 0 |
| 2023 Model X | 194 | 18 | 12 | 0 |
| 2024 Model X | 26 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 Model X | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 2020 Model Y | 280 | 47 | 25 | 0 |
| 2021 Model Y | 1,085 | 88 | 25 | 4 |
| 2022 Model Y | 866 | 90 | 152 | 103 |
| 2023 Model Y | 1,171 | 152 | 87 | 1 |
| 2024 Model Y | 326 | 72 | 58 | 0 |
| 2025 Model Y | 103 | 31 | 14 | 1 |
| 2026 Model Y | 394 | 83 | 33 | 0 |
Recalls and problems for these vehicles
Timeline
- ODI opens audit query AQ25002
- OpenNo closing date yet
What this means for owners
- An investigation is not a recall. NHTSA has not made a defect finding here, and owners are not asked to do anything yet. If a safety defect is confirmed, the manufacturer recalls the vehicles and the repair is free.
- Check your vehicle for open recalls with a free VIN recall check.
- Had this problem? File a complaint with NHTSA. Owner complaints are the evidence ODI uses to open and expand investigations.
Official record: search AQ25002 or your vehicle at NHTSA.gov/recalls, which lists investigations alongside recalls. Data: NHTSA ODI investigations file, updated daily. All NHTSA investigations.