License Plate Ordeal

[Sacramento]

I'm surprised by how many Teslas I see in California without a front plate. Why would anyone want to give the cops probable cause to stop you?

 

[CanadianRob]

Out of curiosity, did you car come with the front place mount installed? My impressions is that in Ontario, Tesla installs both plates on the car before delivery. If so, how difficult was it to remove? I have a pre-cut full-front PPF kit at the ready for when my car arrives (hopefully next month), and it would be a heck of a lot easier to install with the front plate holder removed. I'd also have to figure out how to re-install it afterwards.

Your front mount looks interesting, but I'd be afraid to break the grille in case of contact with an object (my wife has a tendency to use the garbage cans at the back of the garage as a parking distance gauge, lol)

When my SA told me who my Delivery Advisor would be, I sent them an email explicitly requesting that they didn't stick the front plate mount to the car and that is be supplying my own mount. When I took delivery, my Ontario green plate was attached to the mount and the mount was just sitting on the dashboard of the car.

I don't believe they install it for you. Not sure how it works for registration in Canada, but in NJ, you leave with the temporary license and you get shipped the actual plates to your home for you to install. Tesla leaves the front plate support in the trunk for you to install.

The snapplate is designed to break to save the car and replacement parts are cheap. Would suck if you need to buy new parts everytime someone parks but that protects the car itself and is reversible.

That being said, ripping off the OEM support is doable and reversible too I think. It's just a lot more work.

In Ontario, the dealer gets your plates for you. They're on the car when you drive off the lot. They had standard Green EV plates for me and then I swapped it to my custom Vanity plates the next day.

 

[Sandiegodoug]

 

[Sandiegodoug]

This is my solution

 

[stopcrazypp]

I'm surprised by how many Teslas I see in California without a front plate. Why would anyone want to give the cops probable cause to stop you?

It is rarely enforced when on the road and seems to be enforced more when you park at certain parking lots by the meter maids (not an issue if the car is primarily a commute vehicle not typically parked in public areas). You typically get a fix-it ticket so the cost isn't much.

 

[Pho3k]

I went with the licenseplate wrap as well and the silicone frame for the rear. Like others here, dont really like the look of the bare plate.
Wish the car came with the license plate bracket the new ones come with nowadays.

 

[Corundum9]

This is my solution

How is the plate attached? Nice looking car by the way.

 

[CanadianRob]

Love the Red and I think that placement works with the dark colored plate. If it were a white plate (only color available here), it would look like a giant tooth coming out of the grill LOL

 

[Sandiegodoug]

 

[Sandiegodoug]

About a dime worth of black zip ties
Velcro to cushion bottom of plate
Been there 3 1/2 years. Even takes a hit if I get too close to those cement parking lot things

 

[CanadianRob]

About a dime worth of black zip ties
Velcro to cushion bottom of plate
Been there 3 1/2 years. Even takes a hit if I get too close to those cement parking lot things

sadly, that wouldn't work here. It gets so cold in the winter that those zip ties would become incredibly brittle and one little tap would break them.

 

[Gasaraki]

If people buy a specially car with out a license plate bracket in front, they avoid putting a plate on the front of the car in California. Nearly all Teslas that I see in my area don't have a plate on the front. When at the parking garage at LAX some energetic traffic officer put tickets on all the cars without front plates. So I got a fix-it ticket. I find the glue on bracket and very carefully measure just exacly where to mount the plate. I see no dimples in the facia to use as a guide. I glue it on and I buy two nice license plate frames from Amazon with nice chrome covers for the screws. It all looks pertty nice installed especially with the chrome screw covers.

I proceed to install the same license frame on the rear of the car. Now I am a happy camper, except that two months later the rear license falls off the car. I immediately retrace my path and find my plate laying on the curb. Some nice California driver choose not to drive over my plate but to stop and place it on the curb.

Upon inspection I find all in tact with the little plastic inserts still attached to the back of the plate. The inserts seem to be so small that the design is not sufficent to hold the additional weight of the frame. Also the insertion of the little clips under the screws for the chrome covers may have limited the length of the screws in the plastic clips so they didn't spread as much. Be aware when dressing up a Model 3.

Today I removed the top screws on both front and rear plates. I put two screws into the front through the facia plastic for sasfety. In the rear I drilled through the top holes in the plastic and the rear trunk inner liner and installed three inch screws with nuts on the back. Now I will drive confidenty that nothing will fall off my Tesla and it looks great.

Why.....

It's not really that hard. If you have gotten some adhesion promoter, the 3M tape would stick on just fine. Or you could have gotten a license plate bracket like the quickbandit or the snap-plate. Even a sticker. No need to damage your car like that.

 

[brulaz]

sadly, that wouldn't work here. It gets so cold in the winter that those zip ties would become incredibly brittle and one little tap would break them.

Al wire would work if you're worried about the plastic zip ties

 

[TexasTezla]

I have bashed into the snapplate twice now and it does indeed break first. No damage to grill at all. First time I just glued the small piece that broke off, second time I reached out to snapplate and they sent me a new piece FOC (YMMV on this).

 

[sroy]

I have bashed into the snapplate twice now and it does indeed break first. No damage to grill at all. First time I just glued the small piece that broke off, second time I reached out to snapplate and they sent me a new piece FOC (YMMV on this).

My understanding is that it's part of the design and you can buy replacement parts when it breaks which is cheaper than buying the whole thing.

 

[hellocar]

In NY, I was able to ask them not to attach the front plate before delivery. They put the mounting kit in the trunk for me. After a couple tickets, I gave in and now have a Snapplate. It works but I’ve found mine a little finicky to remove.

As far as the rear plate mount, seems best to let it be, as the OP’s story illustrates