2023 Tesla Model X Body & structure Problems

My 2023 Tesla Model X Plaid's falcon wing doors have had a persistent rattling/squeaking defect since August 2023 that has not been resolved after 9+ repair visits to Tesla service centers. More critically, in November 2025 (Invoice #3000S0014846906), the left falcon door's ultrasonic sensor failed to detect an adjacent vehicle's side mirrors, causing the falcon door to strike and scratch the other vehicle's mirrors — a safety incident for which I was forced to pay out-of-pocket. Tesla replaced the ultrasonic sensor under warranty but did not compensate me for the third-party damage. Additionally, in January 2026, the right falcon door was showing a "press and hold to override" error approximately 20% of the time despite no obstacles being present, requiring replacement of the sensor carrier (Invoice #3000S0015725078). The door sensor failures represent a serious safety hazard as the falcon wing doors can strike pedestrians, cyclists, other vehicles, and property. These issues have not been permanently resolved despite repeated warranty repairs spanning nearly 3 years.

NHTSA ID

11729233

Incident

Apr 2, 2026

Vehicle: 2023 Tesla Model X Component: Power-operated doors / door latching (auto-close / “cinch” close) Incident type: Finger pinch injury during powered door closing Summary of incident: While using my 2023 Tesla Model X, a powered door closing sequence resulted in a finger pinch injury. The door appeared to close normally and then performed an additional “cinch”/pull-in motion to fully latch. During this final motion, my thumb was caught in a very narrow gap and was pinched. There was no adequate pinch detection/anti-pinch reversal before contact and compression occurred. The gap was extremely small, leaving little time to react. Injury: Thumb crush injury with immediate blood under the nail (subungual hematoma), swelling, and altered sensation/numbness. I obtained medical evaluation and an X-ray, which showed no fracture. A splint was prescribed to protect the thumb. Safety concern: This is a significant pinch hazard because the powered closing/cinching can occur quickly and unexpectedly, and the door does not reliably detect or reverse when a finger is in the closing path. This presents a risk of more severe injury (fracture, nail-bed injury, nerve damage), especially for children. When it happened / conditions: Normal use, low speed/parked. (Add date/time/location if you want.) The incident occurred during the final powered latch/close step (“close then push/pull for full close”). What I want investigated / remedy requested: Request NHTSA to investigate the Model X powered door closing/cinching behavior and pinch detection effectiveness, including whether there are known blind spots or missing/insufficient anti-pinch protections. Recommend Tesla provide a software update or hardware change to improve pinch detection/reversal and/or limit cinch force/speed, and provide clearer warnings/settings to prevent unexpected powered closure.

NHTSA ID

11704919

Incident

Dec 13, 2025

In an emergency when the vehicle loses battery power, the rear falcon wing doors are very difficult to unlatch and open. A person has to be able to pull the speaker off the door, which is located at the bottom of the door panel (in good condition I had a difficult time doing it ). Once the speaker cover is pulled off then you have to pull on a thin wire to unlatch the car door. I can do it, but my wife can’t. Children wouldn’t be able to do it and elderly people won’t be able to do it. This is truly a safety hazard that can be easily corrected. I tried reporting this to Tesla, but was not able to report the information. Their customer service line doesn’t have a callback or tell you what the wait time is. I waited 45 minutes one day and 25 minutes the second day. On the first day, I was told that it would be a 20 minute wait.

NHTSA ID

11694997

Incident

Oct 22, 2025

I was driving home from work within city limits at less than 30 miles per hour. The roads were waterlogged due to a thunderstorm and the next thing I knew i heard other vehicles near me honking and telling me that something large had fallen off the underside of my car. I stopped the car immediately and was shocked to see that the guard that covers the bottom of my car had fallen off by itself. Apparently the batteries powering the vehicle are situated in the undercarriage and the guard is supposed to protect that area. I called Tesla Insurance Agency and despite me telling them that it would be a possible fire hazard if I continue driving the vehicle and the car was making some noises from the area, they want me to continue driving the car, which I have refused. I am attaching the picture of the part that fell off and also the body shop details of the repairs to be done. My car has only 22,000 miles on it in the last 2 1/2 years that I have driven it and it is shocking that an expensive vehicle such as the Model X should have parts falling off endangering lives of those traveling in it. I would certainly recommmend Tesla inspect all Model Xs as this could be a major problem.

NHTSA ID

11682221

Incident

Aug 18, 2025

It rained heavily overnight in Dallas Tx. The roads were almost like lakes. As you know, when a car drives through standing water, it creates loud noise from the tires and underside of vehicle. But I didn’t think much of it at the time. When I got home, I realized that both fender flares were completely gone. I believe this is a serious issue of durability. Even plastic model kits don’t lose parts just from water pressure. The damage to other cars is on me when the parts get blown away by water or something.and lot a model x owners same happened issue This design flaw problem

NHTSA ID

11663194

Incident

May 24, 2025

The trim surrounding my two front wheels, as well as part of the trim on my rear passenger-side tire, popped completely off of the vehicle while driving through a typical rain storm in Central Florida. That is a total of three pieces ejected during the normal course of driving. Part of the trim on the driver's side was protruding, but seems to have snapped back into place. There wasn't a lot of wind, visibility wasn't that poor. Other vehicles had slowed down, as did we, but it was not an abnormally strong storm from our observation. I didn't see any other vehicles we encountered shedding parts like I was. We didn't hydroplane at any point during the drive. The following day, Monday [XXX], I drove down the same road and retrieved the front passenger side piece of trim off of a sidewalk; I failed to locate the other two pieces. I believe this is a safety issue if parts of my vehicle can pop off during a simple rain storm, something that occurs nearly daily during the Summer where I live. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11602999

Incident

Jul 14, 2024

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model X. The contact stated while driving at various speeds or attempting to start the vehicle, there was an abnormally strong foul odor coming from inside the vehicle. The contact stated the odor ceased after driving for 30 minutes. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer three times. The contact stated that the local dealer replaced the filters, and the contact was advised to turn off the air conditioner and turn it on while driving; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.

NHTSA ID

11589662

Incident

Sep 2, 2023

Mileage

30,000 mi

The right falcon door started closing even though a person was standing right under it. ( the right falcon door was triggered by mistake when we closed the left door). The falcon door hit the person on their upper shoulder, injured them and stopped

NHTSA ID

11577793

Incident

Mar 16, 2024

When I pressed the button (lower button near the left side rear seat inside the car) to close the falcon door on left side of the car, The right falcon door accidentally started closing . A person was standing under right falcon door . The door hit the person, injured them and then stopped

NHTSA ID

11577780

Incident

Mar 16, 2024

In unexpected and unknown circumstances (false sensor detections?), the automated doors and trunk will suddenly reverse direction when opening and rapidly close instead of pausing. This can cause injury with no ability to get out of the way in proper time. I’ve experience cases where the trunk opened then suddenly came down hitting me in the head. Also, have had cases where the falcon wing doors have closed abruptly hitting my 8yr old child rather hard. Only when he started to get pinched in the doors did it stop on pressure. I also have experienced where the automatic closing of the front driver’s door was inadvertently triggered while getting in and catching the edge of the brake pedal. This caused the door so close rapidly and firmly on my leg. Overall, these doors shouldn’t be aggressively trying to close if sensors determine a reason it cannot open. As for the front door, I don’t know what the answer is but it’s dangerous.

NHTSA ID

11565362

Incident

Jan 13, 2024

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model X. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, he noticed the rear fender had detached and fallen onto the ground. The contact stated that the driver's side front wheel well had also detached from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the parts were put back in place using adhesive. The contact stated that the front fender had detached previously but had been reinstalled using adhesive. The contact was unaware of the cause for the failure and why the dealer was using an adhesive to reinstall the parts. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 9,649.

NHTSA ID

11537872

Incident

Aug 11, 2023

I recently traded in my 2017 Tesla Model X for a 2023 Tesla Model X. I am concerned the falcon wing doors on the 2023 Model X do not have the same safety features they did on the 2017 Model X, posing greater risk of injury and harm. My 10 year old daughter suffered a concussion when the falcon wing door opened, failed to detect her standing nearby, and hit her on the head. I brought the car into my local Tesla service center where we reproduced the behavior of the falcon wing door. I stood close to the door while a tech and sales representative observed as it hit me while it opened. However, after leaving the car with the service center to be evaluated, Tesla concluded the falcon wing doors were functioning as expected and told us it is our responsibility to stand clear of the doors and that while the doors have sensors, they do not cover all areas around the door. I escalated the claim beyond the service center to an internal Tesla engineering team and received an identical response. I am concerned that Tesla is not willing to reassess the sensor coverage of the falcon wing doors and that these doors could cause more harm. I drove a 2017 Model X for five years and never experienced a safety issue with the falcon wing doors. The doors on my previous Model X would stop if they detected the slightest obstacle. We always felt safe using them. The sensors seem to have changed on the 2023 Model X and the falcon wing doors are far less sensitive to objects and humans. This is very concerning. What is more concerning is Tesla's response indicating they don't intend to do anything about it. The falcon wing doors are heavy and automatic. They aren't manual doors that are easy to control. I believe it is Tesla's responsibility to make these doors as safe as possible and integrate complete coverage with door sensors. I am submitting this complaint in the hopes that it will result in getting Tesla to improve the safety of the falcon wing door sensor system.

NHTSA ID

11523229

Incident

Mar 21, 2023