Looking to move to Italy soon, with the intention to bring both Teslas there (S and X). I would appreciate if I can learn from your experience. Would that be possible? Many thanks in advance!
Hi Omega and everyone, coming back here to update and share my experience since my initial question to hopefully provide some information for future military members and expats wanting to bring their US-Spec Tesla in Europe.
Shipping - It was a nightmare solely due to the shipping company, not the process of shipping a Tesla. So everyone's experience could be different. TransGlobal Auto Logistics (TGAL) aka IAL (for International something - I forget), has been the worst experience I have ever dealt with from any company. Long story short, I paid TransGlobal to ship my vehicle from California to Sicily, Italy. It took them FOUR months to get me my car that typically takes 75 days, they didn't charge the battery before loading it on the ship and turning it off prior to departure, the battery was dead during the duration of transport, they locked my key inside the vehicle once it arrived in Germany and were not able to load it on a truck for delivery, it sat at the shipyard for one month out on the open before they notified me that they locked themselves out of my vehicle, I couldn't unlock the door from the app because they drained the battery and no LTE or WiFi, they damaged my vehicle, failed to deliver my car at the final destination, and I flew to Germany to drive my Y to Sicily to just be done with them.
I chose TGAL because it's who the US military uses to ship vehicles internationally and their office was on base. I figured they have the process down to a science -
biggest mistake. The only difference was, my shipment was considered Commercial since I'm a civilian and not military. I will never use them EVER again, nor would I even consider recommending them to anyone. I heard Schumacher was good and will look into them when I go back to the states.
Charging - Prior to moving to Sicily, I bought Tesla's home charger (US version) and had that installed at our new home in Sicily. I also bought every adapter available on the market to charge my Y. I bought Tesla's Chademo adapter, Tesla's Italy wall plug adapter and Blue adapter for the mobile charger, and Type-2 to J1772 adapter from EVChargeKing. And when I saw the EU/US SC adapter was available, I bought that too, just in time for my drive from Germany to Sicily. I'm also waiting for Tesla's CCS1 adapter to be released, as that will provide another option to supercharge inside and outside Tesla's infrastructure. But from my understanding, the supercharger adapters may not work for the S and X. For my Y, I haven't had any issues. Also, prior to moving here, I looked up EV chargers in Sicily, mainland Italy, and Europe in general, and they have a vast amount of EV charger locations besides Tesla. So that was encouraging and made the decision to ship my vehicle much easier.
Before picking up my vehicle in Bremerhaven, Germany, I ordered the EU/US SC adapter (not CCS1) on eBay and had it shipped to my hotel in Germany. The first day I finally got my car, I was still waiting for the SC adapter to arrive in the mail, the Chademo adapter came in handy to fast-charge my car from 0%. It still took a while, but much faster than the mobile charger or the Type-2. The following day, my SC adapter arrived and I now had access to Tesla's SC network all over Europe, particularly my drive from Germany to Sicily. Let me tell you, having access to Tesla's supercharger is night-and-day in comparison to all the other EV charging networks out there. I haven't used them all, but Tesla got it right and made it so easy, convenient, FAST, and accessible. Not only are there plenty of Tesla SCs in Europe, but they're way faster, made my trip much shorter, and removed the stress of where to charge. It was all I used and needed from then on and I even had the option to skip some chargers before having to recharge. The SCs are also conveniently located at places where you can stretch your legs, grab some coffee, use the restroom, and in one instance, I stayed at a hotel at one of Tesla's SC locations. I only wished their CCS1 adapter was available as that would've made my trip much more pleasant. I cannot wait to take my family on a trip all over Europe with the Y.
Navigation - US Spec Tesla navigation will not work in Europe. I reached out to one of the members here about that and they informed me the modem will have to be swapped for an EU in order for it to work, and it wasn't cheap, especially if it's a temporary stay in EU.
I use my phone for navigation and haven't had any issues. A slight inconvenience to not be able to use the car's navigation, but there are alternatives.
Another option I'll probably go with, depending on the length of my stay here in Italy, is the Hannshow Center Console Screen. It sells for $519 on Amazon and installation seems straightforward. It has Android Auto and Apple Carplay. This may not be applicable to your S and X, but thought I'd share it here for future military members and expats heading to Europe.
In regards to Tesla's SC locations, it'll show on your screen if you have wifi, but nothing happens when you try to select it. What I used for my trip was the PlugShare App. It provides all the Tesla SC locations, other types of chargers outside of Tesla, and provides reviews for the charging stations. Great app and would definitely recommend in EU.
US-Spec Teslas and Service Centers in Europe - There's a lot of misinformation regarding this subject (even Tesla employees) being that there's not a lot of US-Spec Teslas being brought in EU, but I can attest from personal experience that Tesla Service Centers in Europe can and will work on your car. Some will just be out-of-pocket.
Before flying to Germany, I made an appointment on the Tesla app to the closest Tesla service center in Ottersberg to perform a diagnostic test on the high and low voltage batteries for any damages sustained after being depleted and uncharged for four months. I called to make an appointment in advance and the person on the other line informed me that his manager said they cannot touch my vehicle being that it's a US-Spec and canceled my appointment. I insisted that they CAN work on my vehicle and to talk to a different manager because that information was not accurate.
After picking up my vehicle in Bremerhaven, Germany, I called the same Tesla service center again and explained my whole situation and why I wanted to have a diagnostic test performed. The same person finally told me to just come in and we'll worry about it afterwards. Once I arrived at the service center, I spoke with the technician performing the work and he simply told me that they can work on US-Spec Teslas and have worked on them in the past, but it'll just be out of pocket. I then asked him how long do the batteries have to be depleted and uncharged for damages to incur and he told me "six months." After the test was performed, thank God there were no damages sustained both on the high and low voltage batteries. The cost to perform the diagnostic test was 70 something Euros, which I gladly paid for my peace of mind.
Fast forward on my trip through Northern Italy, I started noticing a strong vibration when I reached 70-80+mph. I looked up Tesla service centers along my route and made an appointment within the next couple of hours in Bologna, Italy. Once I got there, they took my car in, inspected the vehicle, performed weight and balance on all four, and the vibration improved but didn't completely go away. The technician informed me that if the vibration doesn't go away, the tires may have formed a flat spot from sitting in one place for a long period of time without being moved and can be the cause of the vibration while driving. That service was about three hours and they did not charge me anything.
Also, something to consider depending on where you'll be in Europe and if this matters to you or not, but there aren't a lot of Tesla service centers in Italy compared to the US. I'm in Sicily and the closest service center is Rome, which is 8-10 hours away. Just something to put out there.
Software Updates - I'm still on software version 2021.4.13 and trying to figure this one out. If anyone has any tips on this, please feel free to share.
I bought a Vodafone wifi hotspot, but I haven't been able to install the recent software update. There was a recent release and my car showed the notification, I downloaded the update, but it did not install. I called Tesla multiple times and they told me the software shows it was installed on my vehicle, but I told them my screen still shows 4.13. I also tried using my phone's wifi hotspot with VPN in the states, still nothing. I tried the soft reboot, turn the vehicle off, but no success. The only thing I haven't done is the hard reset by disconnecting the 12V battery. The other option suggested by Tesla is to take it to a service center. My Y drives fine, so it's not a safety concern, but would still like the update. I've read from other US-Spec Tesla owners that they were able to install software updates as long as they had wifi. I'm not sure if Tesla changed this.
Overall, do I regret bringing my US-Spec Model Y here in Italy? The answer is no, but I regret using that particular shipping company. I'm happy with my decision with bringing my Y and I would do it again. From my personal experience when the topic of shipping a US Tesla in Europe is brought up, most people frown upon the idea or advise against it, but they're usually the ones that are not qualified to provide input in the matter e.g. non-Tesla or EV owners and/or non-expats or military members who's lived overseas and never experienced driving a different spec car in a different country. Another question commonly asked is "why?" The question should be "why not?"
For those considering shipping their US Tesla to Europe, with all the adapters, Tesla SC locations, accessories for these vehicles, and Tesla becoming mainstream, I feel it's never been easier to do so.
