Mini Cooper S 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	Mini Cooper S	Tesla Model S
Complaints on file	2,181	5,283
Model years covered	2002–2025	2012–2026
Worst model year	2003	2016
Best model year	2012	2024
Crashes reported	57	659
Fires reported	152	94
Injuries reported	54	207
Deaths reported	4	35
Most complained-about part	Steering	Electrical System
Share of complaints involving harm	12.2%	18.8%

Mini Cooper S by year

105 258 279 383 243 300 197 151 78 46 30 32 17 20 10 8 7 8 1 2 6

02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 19 20 22 24 25

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

What breaks

Steering 682 31.3%

Engine & Cooling 528 24.2%

Airbags 281 12.9%

Electrical System 174 8.0%

Transmission & Drivetrain 114 5.2%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 70 3.2%

Fuel & Propulsion 55 2.5%

Other & Unspecified 52 2.4%

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%