Front and Rear Seats

Correct Driving Position

The seat, head support, seat belt and airbags work together to maximize your safety. Using these correctly ensures greater protection.

Person sitting in the driver's seat, seat belt on, hands on steering wheel

Position the seat so you can wear the seat belt correctly, while being as far away from the front airbag as possible:

Sit upright with both feet on the floor and the seat back in an upright position.
Make sure you can easily reach the pedals and that your arms are slightly bent when holding the steering yoke (or steering wheel). Your chest should be at least 10 inches (25 cm) from the center of the airbag cover.
Place the shoulder section of the seat belt mid-way between your neck and your shoulder. Fit the lap section of the belt tightly across your hips, not across your stomach.

Model S front seats include integrated head supports that cannot be adjusted or removed.

Adjusting the Front Seats

Three adjustment knobs on the side of the seat

Move seat forward/backward and adjust the seat’s height and tilt angle up/down.
Adjust backrest.
Adjust lumbar support.

Warning

Before adjusting a front seat, check that the area around the seat is free of obstacles (people and objects).

Warning

Do not adjust seats while driving. Doing so increases the risk of a collision.

Warning

Riding in a moving vehicle with the seat back reclined can result in serious injuries in a collision, as you could slide under the lap belt or be propelled into the seat belt. Ensure your seat back is reclined no more than 30 degrees when the vehicle is moving.

Calibrating Seats

(If equipped) You can calibrate the driver seat. This is useful if you find your seat range limited or your driver profile does not automatically adjust the seat for you. Navigate to Controls > Service > Driver Seat, Steering & Mirrors Calibration and follow the instructions on the touchscreen.

Warning

Ensure nothing is behind or underneath the driver seat during calibration. Failure to do so may cause serious injury.

Folding Rear Seats

Model S has a split rear seat that can fold forward.

Before folding, remove items from the seats and the rear footwell. To allow the rear seats to fold completely flat, you may need to move the front seats forward. To fold a rear seat, push the corresponding button on the back of the seat.

Two arrows each pointing to a button on the outside of the rear seats

You can also fold the rear seats fully forward by pressing the corresponding switch located on the left side of the rear trunk. Pressing the switch causes the seat to unlatch. You can then push it downward to lay it fully flat.

A zoombox showing a switch on the left side of the rear trunk

To return the seats to their upright position, pull upwards until it locks into place. To confirm that the seat is locked in the upright position, try pulling it forward.

Note

Driving with the rear seats folded may increase noise in the cabin area (for example, you may hear vibration sounds coming from the rear of the vehicle such as the trunk, suspension, etc.).

CAUTION

Before folding seats all the way down, ensure the seat belt is unbuckled and there are no objects remaining on the seat.

CAUTION

While raising a rear seat back, hold the seat belt out of the way to ensure that the seat belt is not trapped behind the backrest or caught in the seat latch.

Warning

Always ensure that the seats are locked in their upright position by attempting to push it forward or rearward, ensuring the latch is fully engaged. Failure to do so can increase the risk of injury.

Head Supports

The front seats include integrated head supports that you cannot adjust.

The rear outboard seating positions include an adjustable head support that can be raised/lowered or removed. The head support should always be raised and locked into position (so that the center is aligned with the center of the occupant's head) when occupied by a passenger that is not in a child safety seat.

Lift the head support to the desired position. To lower the head support, press and hold the button on the base of the outer post while pushing down on the head support.

An arrow pointing to a button on the head support base, with an arrow pointing down on the head support cushion

To remove a head support:

Lift the headrest to raise it.
Press and hold the button located at the base of the right post.
Insert a short, flat object (such as a small flat-head screwdriver) into the opening on the inside base of the opposite post and pull the head support upward.

Seat Heaters

All seats contain heating pads. In addition, both front seats are ventilated. You can control seat heaters in all seating positions using the touchscreen.

Warning

To avoid burns resulting from prolonged use, individuals who have peripheral neuropathy, or whose capacity to feel pain is limited because of diabetes, age, neurological injury, or some other condition, should exercise caution when using the climate control system and seat heaters.

Seat Covers

Warning

Do not use seat covers on front seats. Doing so could restrict deployment of the seat-mounted side air bags if a collision occurs. Seat covers can also interfere with the occupant detection system that is used to determine the status of the passenger front airbag.