Audi A6 vs Tesla Model S

Both cars' complete complaint records, side by side.

Read the totals carefully. NHTSA publishes no sales figures, so the car that sold more collects more complaints regardless of quality. The rows worth weighing are the proportions — the share of complaints that involved harm, and which part dominates.

Measure	Audi A6	Tesla Model S
Complaints on file	2,209	5,283
Model years covered	1994–2026	2012–2026
Worst model year	2001	2016
Best model year	2025	2024
Crashes reported	94	659
Fires reported	87	94
Injuries reported	76	207
Deaths reported	2	35
Most complained-about part	Electrical System	Electrical System
Share of complaints involving harm	11.7%	18.8%

Audi A6 by year

2 22 71 26 158 276 201 148 113 85 44 119 83 63 79 22 24 26 86 79 48 29 77 24 16 196 39 21 4 2 1 11 14

94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Electrical System 401 18.2%

Airbags 322 14.6%

Engine & Cooling 248 11.2%

Fuel & Propulsion 229 10.4%

Brakes 170 7.7%

Transmission & Drivetrain 118 5.3%

Steering 113 5.1%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 84 3.8%

Tesla Model S by year

89 677 546 1,057 1,027 673 288 73 123 279 198 162 78 7 6

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Electrical System 1,001 18.9%

Other & Unspecified 863 16.3%

Suspension 730 13.8%

Driver Assist & Collision Avoidance 672 12.7%

Steering 344 6.5%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 273 5.2%

Brakes 208 3.9%

Lights 195 3.7%