Best Tesla Years to Buy by Model
The best Tesla years to buy: the 2012 Model S, 2017 Model 3 and 2023 Cybertruck — the cleanest federal complaint records for each model. Years to skip include the 2023 Model Y and 2022 Model 3. Based on 12,233 NHTSA owner complaints across 6 Tesla models, rated model year by model year.
Source: NHTSA owner complaints, recall campaigns & service bulletins · Updated 2026-11-07 · By CarWhere Research · How we rate model years
Best Tesla years, model by model
| Model | Best years | Years to skip | Years on record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tesla Model S | 20122019 | 201320152016 | 14 (2012–2025) |
| Tesla Model X | No standout year yet | 201620222023 | 11 (2015–2025) |
| Tesla Model 3 | 2017 | 2018202120222023 | 9 (2017–2025) |
| Tesla Model Y | No standout year yet | 202120222023 | 7 (2019–2025) |
| Tesla Cybertruck | 2023 | 20242025 | 4 (2023–2026) |
| Tesla Semi | No standout year yet | None rated avoid | 4 (2022–2025) |
Verdicts are each model’s own, rated against that model’s history; counts behind them are raw federal filings, not adjusted for sales volume.
The cleanest year for each Tesla model
2012 Tesla Model S: 59 NHTSA owner complaints on record · all best-rated years: 2012 and 2019 · Best Model S years →
2017 Tesla Model 3: 25 NHTSA owner complaints on record · Best Model 3 years →
2023 Tesla Cybertruck: 0 NHTSA owner complaints on record · Best Cybertruck years →
Years to skip, in detail
Frequently asked questions
What are the best Tesla years to buy?
By model: Model S 2012 and 2019; Model 3 2017; Cybertruck 2023. Each matches that model's own best-years page, built from NHTSA owner-complaint and recall records.
Which Tesla years should I skip?
By model: Model S 2013, 2015 and 2016; Model X 2016, 2022 and 2023; Model 3 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023; Model Y 2021, 2022 and 2023; Cybertruck 2024 and 2025. The full breakdown is on the Tesla years-to-avoid page.
Which Tesla models have no years to avoid?
The Semi — no model year of it rates "avoid" in current federal data.
How are the best Tesla years chosen?
Each model year's NHTSA owner complaints are weighted for severity, converted to a rate per year on the road and compared with the rest of that model's own history; the lowest rates among years with enough road time earn "best". Models not yet scored that way are ranked by combined NHTSA complaint and manufacturer service-bulletin volume. Full method at /research/years-to-avoid/methodology.