Model S register in both states or just one state is fine?

[Maximilien]

Can anyone clarify how owning the car in both states work out?

I will take my Model S which is in California to Massachusetts for business. I will also let my family member who lives there drive the car, but I am the owner.

So in this case, do I need to register the car in both states or is one state enough? Based on searching online, it seems that state in which owner claim the primary residence is the one to pay for it. The car will probably stay in MA for like 3 months at least but I will make occasional trip there. Also I may swap it with Model 3 when spring comes. I hoping I don't have to pay registration fee in both states.

 

[D.E.]

I don’t believe you can register a car in more than one state at the same time. If you own the car and your primary residence is in CA, then that is where you register it.

A car is required to display a license plate that is tied to it’s registration. Since the car can only display one (set of) license plate(s), it can only have one current registration. The owner must register the car. The owner will only have one primary residence.

You can call your DMV, they can explain all this. Asking in a public forum instead of relying on the DMV may result in misinformation.

 

[Eevee]

Every state has different rules about this kind of stuff. You need to research the rules for MA and CA.

But if you're just taking delivery in CA and then driving it back to MA and the car is mostly staying in MA then you only need to register in MA. You will need to pay CA taxes, but you don't need to register the car there. And Tesla will handle it.

I just bought a car in CA that I drove home to NV and Tesla is handling registration. Also, we go to CA all the time and might even start spending whole Summers there eventually. We don't plan to register our cars in CA though, just in NV where we live.

 

[BerTX]

We spend 7 months in Texas and 5 months in Washington every year, driving the Tesla back and forth. The car is registered in Texas. Most (probably all, but I have no reason to check them all) require that the car registration be changed over after a relatively short period (30-90 days). This is just not possible to do twice a year, and the rule is not written for this situation. They want people who are moving to the state to pay the tax sooner rather than waiting for the old registration to expire.

It is just a case of technically violating the rule, but nobody will likely call you on it.

 

[OrbiterTI4]

My off-the-cuff answer is to agree with your online research - "register in the state where the owner's primary residence is located". But if you have permanent addresses in either state you could tie a registration to (AND these specific state laws allow it), you could look at the other variables to see if there is a financially better decision - what is the registration cost of each? Any fuel surcharges for owning an EV? Does the state charge property tax on automobiles? Significant difference in insurance rates? Annual safety inspections required with registration?

 

[rdrcrmatt]

The car is registered, right? Which is your primary residence? Keep it registered there full time.

I'd pick which ever state is cheaper to keep it registered in, but that's just me.

 

[Chaserr]

You only register and plate the car in one state. It's generally the state you spend 51% of your time in, or if the car is owned by a corporation rather than you it's registered in the state the owner is incorporated in. This is often done intentionally to take advantage of states with more lenient registration fees / taxes / smog testing requirements and so on. For example, Montana used to be a common state to incorporate a car holdings company to own all of your cars because of the lack of taxes or emissions testing.