Denmark vehicle inspectors have found three times more faults with My2020 Model 3 than on rival electric vehicles
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by Chris Chilton
March 8, 2025 at 14:18
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- About 23% of the MY2020 Tesla Model 3S failed a compulsory security test last year.
- Vehicle inspectors recorded 1,392 faults – triple the number found on other electric vehicles.
- Enlightenment, braking, steering and suspension problems have been commonly found.
Electric cars contain fewer mobile parts than combustion cars, therefore, theoretically, should be less likely to be mistaken, but Tesla model 3 seems to turn this logic on its head. Indeed, almost one out of four examples of security tests failed the electric sedan in Denmark last year.
The 32020 model has become old enough to require an inspection of the Danish Road Traffic Authority in 2024, and of the 4,668 examples tested, 1,051 failed. It is a failure rate of 23% and compares badly at a rate of 9% observed in rival electric vehicles, the Federation of Danish motorists (FDM) reports.
Plus: Tesla Model 3 ranks last in German reliability tests for more recent cars
The inspectors recorded 1,392 defects on the teslas, three times more than they discovered on other electric vehicles. The frequently rated problems concern lights, braking, steering and suspension. The Tüv Germany testers carrying out similar security checks revealed the same type of problem with the 3 models sold on their market. In 2023 and 2024, model 3 was ranked last in the Tüv reliability study.
Will the new Highlands model 3 be better?
The new Danish data covers only 32020 models, but the only FDM OTTO predicts that the owners of more recent models comply with some of the same pain.
“We have no reason to believe that the young generations of the Tesla Model 3 differ considerably from the 2020 generation with regard to defects and the failure rate,” said the director of the technical advisory team. “It will be more exciting to see how the Tesla Model is going there.”
The model was a large seller in Denmark at the top of the national list of the most popular electric vehicles, which means that they will constitute a large proportion of cars on the test ramps in 2025. In total, 62,000 electric cars will be subject to the test, and 45,000 of them will obtain the treatment for the first time, illustrating the speed of the electric vehicle market between 2020 and 2021.
Last month in the United States, Tesla was forced to recall 380,000 cars after some model owners and the model said they had lost management aid. The automaker has sent live update (OTA) to solve the problem.
