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Tesla Failed to Send in my Registration

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I received my tesla in late September and have yet to receive my license plate. I assumed it was the DMV being slow until I got a letter saying my registration is incomplete. I called the DMV only for them to tell me Tesla has not sent the registration to the DMV yet, and now I have to somehow contact Tesla - the phone number never works - and tell them to send in my registration. What kind of car company forgets to send in my registration? It's very disappointing, and now I risk getting pulled over for driving with an expired temporary plate.

Has anyone else had this issue before? I live in California btw.
 
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What kind of car company forgets to send in my registration? It's very disappointing, and now I risk getting pulled over for driving with an expired temporary plate.

Has anyone else had this issue before? I live in California btw.
Not to be taking any side on this. Just guessing that when selling hundreds of thousands of cars, something will occasionally go wrong. When I got my car up here in Nevada, I had to go to the DMV to show the purchase order and register the car. Tesla did not do it for me automatically. I'm not sure how it works these days. Best of wishes to get that going soon. I'm not sure how you would get Tesla to move on this one. I'll be looking forward to see how you solved it.
 
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I received my tesla in late September and have yet to receive my license plate. I assumed it was the DMV being slow until I got a letter saying my registration is incomplete. I called the DMV only for them to tell me Tesla has not sent the registration to the DMV yet, and now I have to somehow contact Tesla - the phone number never works - and tell them to send in my registration. What kind of car company forgets to send in my registration? It's very disappointing, and now I risk getting pulled over for driving with an expired temporary plate.

Has anyone else had this issue before? I live in California btw.
I live in Massachusetts, and things are done differently here than in CA. When I picked up my M3 in 2020 the plates were already on the car and the registration was completed. All I had to do was inspect the car, sign some paperwork, give them the check and drive off. I've bought at least 10 cars over the years here and that has always been the way it's done. In the specific case of the Tesla, the Tesla store called me when the car arrived. They confirmed all the pertinent information so that they could get the registration from the RMV office (That stands for Registry of Motor Vehicles. We also refer to roundabouts as rotaries. Hey, it's Massachusetts!)I was able to pick up the car the next day. My daughter lives in L.A. and says the DMV in CA is still decades behind in how they do things.
 
FWIW here in NC when I picked mine up it has 30 day temp tags- as is normal for cars from dealers here.

Usually they submit all the paperwork and you get "real" plates in like 10 days in the mail.

Day 20 and no plates- Tesla doesn't answer phones, so I called the DMV.... They said the vehicle never had a state inspection so it can't be registered. They almost mentioned it's illegal for a dealer to deliver a car that was not inspected as they did with me.

PS Tesla quickly contacts me to tell me to go get it inspected (at a specific place about 45 minutes from my home, but luckily not too far from where I worked)... I ended up getting the plates (overnight fedex at Tesla expense) they day before the temp tags expired.


Tesla makes awesome cars, but still makes a lot of mistakes on both internal and external process and communication. Including around deliveries, which ought to be the ONE thing delivery centers know how to do.
 
I live in Massachusetts, and things are done differently here than in CA. When I picked up my M3 in 2020 the plates were already on the car and the registration was completed. All I had to do was inspect the car, sign some paperwork, give them the check and drive off. I've bought at least 10 cars over the years here and that has always been the way it's done. In the specific case of the Tesla, the Tesla store called me when the car arrived. They confirmed all the pertinent information so that they could get the registration from the RMV office (That stands for Registry of Motor Vehicles. We also refer to roundabouts as rotaries. Hey, it's Massachusetts!)I was able to pick up the car the next day. My daughter lives in L.A. and says the DMV in CA is still decades behind in how they do things.

Yep, my experience in VA was similar (although I also remember temp tags on prior cars). The guy literally went back into the office and came back with a set of tags, and attached them immediately.
 
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I live in Connecticut but had to purchase my 2018 M3 AWD in New York State. Had temp CT plates when I drove home from NY. Took Tesla until the last day of the temp plates to get my permanent CT plates and registration to me. I squawked quite a bit during that month. Arrrgh.
 
hi, i'm in CA as well. Call your local sales center (i did everything online - delivered to home, but found out Buena Park handled the paperwork/delivery) and ask to speak with a Registration Associate. They'll be able to see that 1) FedEx envelope was received and paperwork was uploaded and 2) Registration has been sent to DMV. I was given an estimate of 6-8 weeks. Only time will tell...
 
Carmax says to allow 90 days.. they send info to DMV in batches once a month.. my dealer where I bought my used Tesla asked for new plates even though the car had plates.. why? because it was faster and less troubles.. Vroom and shift have horror stories all over the internet about this.. and my neighbor is one of them. Tesla is no different other than you play hell trying to reach anyone who can do anything :(. I think Space_EX has the right idea.
 
I received my tesla in late September and have yet to receive my license plate. I assumed it was the DMV being slow until I got a letter saying my registration is incomplete. I called the DMV only for them to tell me Tesla has not sent the registration to the DMV yet, and now I have to somehow contact Tesla - the phone number never works - and tell them to send in my registration. What kind of car company forgets to send in my registration? It's very disappointing, and now I risk getting pulled over for driving with an expired temporary plate.

Has anyone else had this issue before? I live in California btw.
You can go to chat support during business hours. Try different options until you get one that lets you chat with an agent.
Customer Support

If you still have your SA's text/contact, you can also try sending them a text or calling them. Or if it's convenient for you, you can always drop by at the delivery center or a store and they will handle it for you. They will probably print out some new ones for you to sign.

Yes, this have happened a bunch of times. The paperwork just gets lost into the abyss.
 
I received my tesla in late September and have yet to receive my license plate. I assumed it was the DMV being slow until I got a letter saying my registration is incomplete. I called the DMV only for them to tell me Tesla has not sent the registration to the DMV yet, and now I have to somehow contact Tesla - the phone number never works - and tell them to send in my registration. What kind of car company forgets to send in my registration? It's very disappointing, and now I risk getting pulled over for driving with an expired temporary plate.

Has anyone else had this issue before? I live in California btw.
I got the same letter today. Went to the DMV and they acted like this had never happened before. Like most visits to the DMV, it was a complete waste of time. They couldn't even tell me what the letter meant or what exactly the problem was. The DMV said there was no record of the car, despite the fact that they have the VIN attached to my name and address, as well as the delivery date. I don't know what Tesla is supposed to fix if the DMV doesn't know what's wrong.

Spoke to Tesla (via chat) and they said they'd look into it. I've been down this road before with Tesla, so I imagine this will be a long hard slog. I'll update if they actually get back to me.

Meanwhile, we're driving with an expired temp registration, stuck between a horribly-run bureaucracy and a company who's customer service is lacking.

Good luck!
 
I got the same letter today. ..
Well, this is embarrassing. Turns out my wife didn't read through her info packet after getting the car and neglected to send in the signed DMV forms. This is her car (solely in her name), so I'll do my best to blame her. It's our third Tesla, but it was the first to be dropped off without us being present during "delivery". The first car they dropped off while we were home and we signed everything then. The second car we picked up at the delivery center and signed there.

I suppose it's my fault for not double-checking what she was supposed to do. I owe both Tesla and the DMV an apology for disparaging their good names (despite the fact that the DMV couldn't have possible been less helpful).

We dropped off the paperwork at the factory showroom this evening and the seemingly-knowledgeable woman there said they'd expedite the plates through the DMV and to expect them in a week or so. BTW - On our way out of the factory, we went south on the little frontage road past the staging/transport lot and it was absolutely full of cars being loaded onto trucks. This was around 7pm.
 
I echo what some others have noted above. Tesla did not complete the paperwork accurately last September so I could not register my car in Texas.

However, I was able to speak to an actual person who assured me they would resend the corrected packet. Once I knew the magic way to get through to the registration people, I called back every day until they sent it out. Took about 3 working days and they were definitely friendly and helpful when I got them on the phone.

Problem is that I can't really remember that magic process any longer. Sorry but it's old age catching up with me I think. Best I can recall is that I reached someone in sales who was able to get me connected with the registration people. They gave me a more 'direct' number which I was able to use subsequently to check on things.

Sorry I can't be more specific but just know that if you get through to their registration team, they should take care of you in a timely fashion. Good luck.
 
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Similar issue. I purchased my Model S (Tysons, VA Service Center) in late November. You get a hard plate and registration card that has a blank title number, so no problem driving the S legally. The title application is submitted to Virginia DMV by Tesla.

If financed, the title goes to your lender, but it it associated with your online DMV account. The lender obviously wants the title to confirm the security for their loan.

Still no title issued, 6 weeks and counting.
 
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Similar issue. I purchased my Model S (Tysons, VA Service Center) in late November. You get a hard plate and registration card that has a blank title number, so no problem driving the S legally. The title application is submitted to Virginia DMV by Tesla.

If financed, the title goes to your lender, but it it associated with your online DMV account. The lender obviously wants the title to confirm the security for their loan.

Still no title issued, 6 weeks and counting.

Ugh. Sorry. I picked up @ the same SC and it was smooth… Oct 2020 though. They were not good communicators though.
 
Similar issue. I purchased my Model S (Tysons, VA Service Center) in late November. You get a hard plate and registration card that has a blank title number, so no problem driving the S legally. The title application is submitted to Virginia DMV by Tesla.

If financed, the title goes to your lender, but it it associated with your online DMV account. The lender obviously wants the title to confirm the security for their loan.

Still no title issued, 6 weeks and counting.
Paid for and picked up a 2022 M3LR on Dec. 12, 2021, from Tesla Richmond and I'm still waiting to receive the title. Virginia DMV and Tesla both are pointing fingers at each other. I need the title to take the car down to Florida to register it ASAP because Virginia's property tax is killing me (nearly $286 a month). I also have a MYLR scheduled for delivery next month and will need to register it in Florida soonest as well...
 
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I need the title to take the car down to Florida to register it ASAP because Virginia's property tax is killing me (nearly $286 a month). I also have a MYLR scheduled for delivery next month and will need to register it in Florida soonest as well...

Wow.

So you…live in the state but want to register it somewhere else…because you don’t want to pay your fair share?

I have no idea what the property tax in FL is for the same car but if you can’t afford it you shouldn’t drive it. You certainly shouldn’t buy ANOTHER one if you think you can’t afford the one you have now.

If you’re a VA resident and driving it here…no offense, but you should pay your share. I live here and I pay mine, in full. Please don’t cheat your fellow citizens.

Thank you.
 
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Not sure what kind of Model 3 THEY have. My 2020 SR+ cost $1167 in property tax last year. Sure, it’s $1167 more than I want to pay but whatever it’s funding, that is my share and that’s that.

Unless you qualify for an exemption, registering elsewhere to pay less but benefitting from the services anyway is simply unfair to others…not to mention, technically illegal… Every state/local funds their operations differently. What matters is the total. VA’s tax burden is supposedly pretty low - #37 overall. See here.
 
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