2021 Tesla Model 3 vehicle speed control problems
123 owner complaints filed with NHTSA name the vehicle speed control on the 2021 Tesla Model 3 — 19% of all complaints for this model year.
What owners report
“The forward-facing camera and Autopilot computer system on my 2021 Tesla Model 3 has failed. The dashboard first showed intermittent warnings that "Automatic Emergency Braking is currently unavailable" and "Adaptive headlight features are unavailable." Over several weeks the problem worsened from…”
filed Jun 12, 2026
“When using cruise control, there has been 4 times that the car has engaged in “phantom braking”. We were driving on highways going the posted speed limit of 70 mph, when the car suddenly slammed on the brakes and decelerated to less than 30 mph – all four times we were thankfully not being closely…”
filed May 11, 2026
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Vehicle Speed Control problems in other Model 3 years
| Year | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 Model 3 | 14 | 13% |
| 2024 Model 3 | 20 | 10% |
| 2023 Model 3 | 67 | 16% |
| 2022 Model 3 | 171 | 23% |
| 2020 Model 3 | 69 | 16% |
| 2019 Model 3 | 71 | 12% |
| 2018 Model 3 | 89 | 9% |
| 2017 Model 3 | 4 | 15% |
Other reported problem areas on the 2021 Tesla Model 3
Counts are unique NHTSA complaints naming this component group. Complaints are unverified owner reports; mileage is computed only from complaints that included a usable odometer reading.