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Electrical systemPart report

2017 Tesla Model X Electrical system Problems

Complaints
72about this part
Share
27%of 268 total for the year
Median mileage
30,000miles
Trend
FallingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% lower than in the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 72 complaints about the electrical system of the 2017 Tesla Model X, 27% of the 268 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 30,000 miles. 2 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers. 2 recall campaigns on record are filed under a similar system.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“Mcu has been super slow and un-usable. Cant use it to make any calls or use voice commands. It is super slow and tend to fail soon and Tesla is not ready to repair or replace it. Other issue I have is, rattling sound while driving and Tesla says its common. I do not expect this when I paid $90,000 for a car. It feels as if I am driving a cheap 20 year old car.”

NHTSA complaint #11342290, filed 2020-07, 14,000 miles

“1. Car taking longer to boot up when placing foot on brake pedal. 2. Large center console screen takes even longer to boot-up. This resulted in a dangerous situation where I was able to drive the car, but could not turn on the defroster. The windshield quickly fogged up and I had nearly zero visibility. Thankfully, I was able to safely pull off the road and wait for the center console to eventually turn on,”

NHTSA complaint #11390495, filed 2021-01, 36,000 miles

“Tesla advised me that the 8gb (emmc) in the media control unit is faulty which on two recent occassions caused me to expience a persistent center display or loss of the rearvies camera display, defrost/defog, and/or turn signal lighting, which may increease the risk of a crash. Tesla reports that they do not have the parts needed to fix the car for me. I have been dealing with this issue since january 2021. I had expected more from Tesla.”

NHTSA complaint #11406667, filed 2021-04, 60,000 miles

“Mcu failed twice, resulting in black screen while in operation. No rear camera, no ventilation control. Tesla reports that I need to reset my trip counter every 2k miles to avoid this problem (see attached service report). This is a clear safety hazard.”

NHTSA complaint #11389461, filed 2021-01, 35,000 miles

“My mcu is starting to fail. My vehicle was built in 03/2017 and I have 50,000 miles. The mcu has become slower and less responsive over time. On 7/28/20 my mcu became completely responsive while driving and required me to stop the vehicle so that I can perform the 2 button reset. I lost air conditioning during this time for about 2 minutes and it was 100 degrees outside. I fear my mcu will fail completely soon and I will lose vital controls of the car including turn signals. …”

NHTSA complaint #11342074, filed 2020-07, 50,000 miles

Related recalls

Related service bulletins

Electrical system: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
2026114%
2025319%
2024415%
20232111%
20221612%
2021717%
20202822%
20192020%
20183619%
20177227%
20169321%

Other parts of the 2017 Tesla Model X

Suspension
59 complaintsOther or unknown
50 complaintsSteering
50 complaintsForward collision avoidance
31 complaintsBrakes
17 complaintsVehicle speed control
16 complaintsLane departure
14 complaintsBack-over prevention (rear camera)
12 complaintsBody and structure
12 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
11 complaintsExterior lighting
10 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
10 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2017 Tesla Model X

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology