Used 2021 Tesla Model S Consumer Reviews
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$30,590 - $60,590
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We have a limited number of reviews for the 2021 Model S, so we've included reviews for other years of the Model S since its last redesign.
Simply Awesome Vehicle
NorskeEV, 09/02/2020
2020 Tesla Model S Long Range Plus 4dr Sedan AWD (electric DD)
54 of 59 people found this review helpful
I drive 30-40 miles per day, and with the wall charger in my garage it takes less than one hour and costs about one dollar to top off the battery, saving me about $1,500 per year in gasoline compared to my performance sedan - and this car performs better. The low center of gravity provides great handling, and the acceleration is breathtaking - literally. No oil changes, no transmission fluid changes, no radiator coolant changes, and the regenerative braking makes my brakes last forever (and recharges the batteries). No cold gas station stops in the winter. No furnace-hot garage in the summer. The technology is unbelievable. I can preheat the interior, or precool the interior, all while plugged in at home from the comfort of my bed. It's a mature design, but it still turns heads, especially when I leave almost every car in the dust at a stoplight. AWD is standard and I can set the height of the vehicle for driving conditions, or just let the car adapt automatically. Steering sportiness can be set as well.
Service needs help
j Chana, 10/25/2021
2021 Tesla Model S Plaid 4dr Sedan AWD (electric DD)
31 of 34 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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2021 Tesla Model S for sale
3 of 318 listings
- Long Range Plus SedanMSRP: $35,990
- Performance SedanMSRP: $42,590
- Long Range Plus SedanMSRP: $35,590
See all 318 listings
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)
58 of 65 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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LOVE IT-But know what you're getting yourself into
Kevin, 05/20/2021
2020 Tesla Model S Long Range Plus 4dr Sedan AWD (electric DD)
28 of 31 people found this review helpful
I have an Oct 2020 build Model S Long Range Plus (non-performance). I've had it for about 9 months and have put 10k miles on. I've done mostly weekly commutes to work about an hour away and back on a single charge and a couple multi-state roadtrips that required Supercharging. Most of the negative reviews you will read are from people who didn't quite know what they're getting into or do enough research. This review won't be helpful to those who have owned other EVs, there are other Tesla forums for debating build quality and everything else in the Elonverse. This review is for those who, like me, have never owned an electric car before. This is a complete re-think in how you drive. If you treat public charging like you would buy gas you'll be in for disappointment. The idea is to charge at home most of the time, and use the Supercharging network for road trips. Supercharging is still slower than filling a gas tank although it's getting better. Be prepared for lines in big cities like LA. The Supercharger network is well-laid out and covers most places you'll need to go, but certain areas lack coverage. Non-Tesla public charging is hit and mess although there are apps that can help. Bottom line, you must plan ahead for road trips. Home charging (depending on your setup and how low your car's battery is) will generally take between 8 and 14 hours to charge the car to 90%. Usually you will charge overnight. The car has intelligence to charge during off-peak hours if your utility has that, and can do a "scheduled departure" to have the car ready to go for you in the morning if you have a usual commute time. Next, just because your car has a range of 404 miles (which mine does) you will generally only charge to 80-90% capacity for everyday use. Charging to 100% all the time will significantly degrade the battery and is not recommended. Regenerative braking takes a little bit to get used to but you'll learn to love it. When the car slows it recaptures energy. Also saves on brake maintenance. Autopilot is a name, not a function. It's still BETA - not production! It's glitchy and doesn't always make good choices. If you buy this car thinking the future is here and you can take a nap while the car drives, you're going to be disappointed and will probably wind up on the news following your fiery death. You must pay attention while driving and you will have to intervene at least once almost every time Autopilot is engaged. For me it's fun to watch the technology progress and be a part of the improvement in the technology. Everytime the car makes a decision I think is stupid (really, we're going to slow from 75 to 55 on the interstate behind this semi before deciding to change lanes to pass when there's nobody behind me for 3 miles!?) I know that the AI is learning from it. The car does not have an engine. While that seems obvious, that means no heat is generated from burning fuel and there is no belt turning an A/C compressor. The car must use electricity for heat and cooling which will impact your range. If you prefer to drive in subzero temperatures with the heat blasting at 82 degrees or drive through the desert with the A/C on 62, your range will significantly drop! Goes back to the whole planning ahead thing. The performance is fantastic. The instant torque of the electric motors is amazing compared to every gas car I've ever driven. Left my buddy's 'Vette in the dust. The zero to sixty time gave my mother a whole new reason to fear for her life when riding with me :) The car improves every 2-3 weeks by downloading new updates from Telsa using its built in LTE connection and new features and improvements are regular. The car has profiles which you can save for each driver that records seat, wheel, and mirror positions. I love that the navigation is built on Google Maps and not some obscure crap system. So now at long last the things I wish were better - no multipoint navigation. I can't tell the car to take me to a destination and back home. The car does a good job of calculating charging stops on road trips, but you must account for the turnaround, you can't tell it take me to XYZ and back and have it plan accordingly (again, use third party apps for that). The car has built-in streaming but only a couple services. No Apple or Amazon Music. Sometimes the software glitches and the display needs rebooted. Usually at the most inopportune times. No basic cruise control. The cruise control is adaptive and adaptive only. So if the front cameras or sensors are blocked, then no cruise at all. It'd be nice to have an option for basic dumb cruise. The cameras often get blinded or blocked during nighttime driving or bad weather which disables Autopilot. The biggest one is depending on where you live you may be several hours away from the closest service center. Mobile service is great for things that can be fixed that way. Bottom line: I love this car and have no plans to replace it anytime soon.
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The best car I have ever driven!
Rob Collins, 04/30/2020
2020 Tesla Model S Performance 4dr Sedan AWD (electric DD)
41 of 48 people found this review helpful
I have owned and driven some very sporty cars in my life. From a BMW M3 to a Porsche Cayanne, to the car I traded in for the Tesla S ( Porsche 911 Turbo), the S blows every Car I have driven, completely off the road. I was soooo excited to get ride of my 91 Turbo in exchange for the S. Although the Porsche was an incredible car, the S is in another world! Not only is the S so INCREDIBLY explosive, but is so much more comfortable drive. Driving it doesn’t feel like driving a car, it feels more like driving a freaking space ship, honestly (atleist it is what I imagine a spaceship would feel like. The comfort/smoothness is unparralled. The tech of the car is also very impressive. Auto-pilot is cool, but not necessary . The warning system and auto brake system has saved me from a huge potential accident. I would have completely crushed a completely stopped car (not sure why that car was stopped there, but I looked away from the road for just a second (yeah my bad big time!) and the system went off (completely stopped the car from 50mph automatically), and when I panically looked up from my now stopped car, I was 8 feet from the other cars rear bumper. If the car had not automatically stopped, I would have crushed it. That a was a moving experience ,thank God all was ok. The styling is nice and although the cabin luxury is not that of a 911 Turbo, it’s nice enough for me (the 911 is a 250k car vs 100k). I much prefer porformance over overly polished and styled interior. I love charging at home. It is way more convenient. Although I agree, that a cross country road trip is not as simple as with a gas car. The Superchargers still take 20-30 mins when on the road. Still , I have not had any issues with range, although I don’t frequently need to drive over 300 miles in a day or single trip. All said, I can’t be any more enthusiastic about this Car. I will never buy another gas powered car again. Driving the S makes driving a gas car seem ridiculous. I hate driving our other car now (Porsche Cayenne S ). That car seems like a loud, clumsy tank compared to the S. If you are even remotely looking into this car or any Tesla, I highly recommend you test drive one ASAP. They are amazing! It’s by far the best car I have ever driven! I absolutely love it.
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