TESLA MODEL S 2023 Owner's Guide

Correct Driving Position
The seat, head support, seat belt and airbags work
together to maximize your safety. Using these correctly ensures greater protection.
Position the seat so you can wear the seat belt correctly, while being as far away from the front airbag as possible:
1.
Sit upright with both feet on the floor and the seat
back reclined no more than 30 degrees.
2.
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.
3.
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 Seats1.
Move seat forward/backward and adjust the seat

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.
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.
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: 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

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 in Model S.
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.
Front and Rear Seats
31Seating and Safety Restraints

Wearing Seat Belts
Using seat belts and child safety seats is the most
effective way to protect occupants if a collision occurs.
Therefore, wearing a seat belt is required by law in most jurisdictions.
Both the driver and passenger seats are equipped with three-point inertia reel seat belts. Inertia reel belts are automatically tensioned to allow occupants to move
comfortably during normal driving conditions.
To
securely hold child safety seats, all passenger seating
positions are equipped with an automatic locking
retractor (ALR) feature that, by fully extracting the seat
belt (beyond the length needed for a typical adult
occupant), locks the belt into place until the seat belt is
unbuckled.
The seat belt reel automatically locks to prevent
movement of occupants if
Model S experiences a force
associated with hard acceleration, braking, cornering, or
an impact in a collision.
Seat Belt Reminders
The seat belt reminder on the instrument
panel alerts you if a seat belt for an
occupied driver or passenger seat is unbuckled. If all occupants are buckled up and the reminder stays on, re-buckle seat
belts to ensure they are correctly latched.
Also remove any heavy objects (such as a briefcase) from an unoccupied seat. If the reminder light continues to stay on,
contact Tesla.
You can temporarily disable a seat belt reminder
associated with a rear seating position. This is useful when you are carrying an object in a rear seat that triggers the seat belt reminder alert. To disable the
reminder, touch the associated seat on the seat belt reminder popup message that displays on the touchscreen when a seat belt reminder is active. When a
reminder is disabled, the seat belt reminder icon is
replaced by a seat icon, for the current drive only. Touch the seat again to re-enable the reminder.
WARNING: Seat belts must be worn by passengers
in all seating positions. Do not disable a seat belt
reminder when the seating position is occupied by
a passenger.
To Fasten a Belt
1.
Ensure correct positioning of the seat (see Correct
Driving Position on page 29).
2.
Draw the belt out smoothly, ensuring the belt lays flat
across the pelvis, chest and mid-point of your collar
bone, between the neck and shoulder.
3. Insert the latch plate into the buckle and press
together until you hear a click indicating it is locked
in place.4.
Pull the belt to check that it is securely fastened.
5.
Pull the diagonal part of the belt toward the reel to
remove excess slack.
To Release a Belt
Hold the belt near the buckle to prevent the belt from
retracting too quickly, then press the button on the
buckle. The belt retracts automatically. Ensure there is no obstruction that prevents the belt from fully retracting. The belt should not hang loose. If a seat belt does not fully retract, contact Tesla.
Wearing Seat Belts When Pregnant
Do not put the lap or shoulder sections of the seat belt over the abdominal area. Wear the lap section of the
belt as low as possible across the hips, not the waist.
Position the shoulder portion of the belt between the
breasts and to the side of the abdomen. Consult your doctor for
specific guidance.
Seat Belts
32MODEL S Owner

WARNING: Never place anything between you and
the seat belt to cushion the impact in the event of
a collision.
Seat Belt Pre-tensioners
The front seat belts are equipped with pre

Seat Belt WarningsWARNING: Seat belts should be worn by all
occupants at all times, even if driving for a very
short distance. Failure to do so increases the risk
of injury or death if a collision occurs.
WARNING: Secure small children in a suitable child
safety seat as described in the Child Safety Seat
topic. Always follow the child safety seat
manufacturer

Passenger Front Airbag Must Be OFF
Your Model S seat belts are designed for adults and larger children. You must restrain infants and small children in
the rear seats only, and you must use a suitable child safety seat appropriate for the child

Choosing a Child Safety Seat
All children age 12 and under should ride in the rear seats. Always use a child safety seat suitable for a young child

Seating Larger Children
If a child is too large to fit into a child safety seat, but
too small to safely
fit into the standard seat belts, use a
booster seat appropriate for the child

In the rear seats, install LATCH child safety seats in the
outboard seating positions only. Use only a seat belt
retained seat in the center position.
To install a LATCH child safety seat, lift the flap (if
equipped) to allow access to the anchors.
Carefully read and follow the instructions provided by
the manufacturer of the child restraint system. The
instructions describe how to slide the child restraint system onto the seat