Drive 12V Automotive Relay from 3.3v ESP32
The ESP board has 5V in but runs on 3.3V, has a small ldo on the board to regulate the 5V down. And as the output current rises the output voltage level will drop below 3.3V.

The solution is to replace the TIP NPN Darlington transistor with a logic level N-Channel mosfet. IRLZ44 or STN4NF03L maybe. These are voltage driven instead of current driven and won't have the issues with the ESPs limited current and sagging voltage output. 

Alternatively, use a opto isolated relay board/module. The esp would drive a small led based optocoupler that then drives a transistor and the relay.

Or use a smaller relay. Or use a small nfet to drive your Darlington transistor. A bunch of options. The logic level mosfet would be the simplest imho.