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Would you put a front license plate on your 2020 Roadster even if required by law?

SanDiegoGuy

Member
Apr 21, 2018
54
30
USA
I am in California and front license plate is required. However, I would rather pay fix it ticket fines than to put in on. I do not want to destroy the beauty of the front side of the car.
 

75Shappyt

Member
Jan 18, 2018
542
362
Kansas City, Mo.
I'm in Missouri, and I did bet that law in court once, but that was years ago. The car I bought did'n come with a front plate holder, no way to put the front plate on without tearing up the front of the car. Judge agreed with me.
 

ryanjm

Tesla Podcast Host
Oct 10, 2009
630
531
San Francisco, CA
I saw a McLaren in Santa Monica earlier this week while on a business trip and it had a front plate on it. I was almost offended. :p If you can afford the car, you can afford the fix-it ticket. Don’t ruin the look of a beautiful supercar (IMHO)!
 
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tonybelding

Active Member
Aug 17, 2006
1,472
774
Hamilton, Texas
Texas requires a front plate. I had a front plate on my Lotus Esprit V8, and I have one on my current Roadster, and I expect to have one on the new Roadster. (I did pay extra for a black one so my car wouldn't look buck-toothed, though.) It's not a big deal.
 

roblab

Active Member
Jul 15, 2008
3,341
2,397
Angwin (Napa Valley) CA
I am in California and front license plate is required. However, I would rather pay fix it ticket fines than to put in on. I do not want to destroy the beauty of the front side of the car.

I agree. I do not wear a front plate, and I live in CA. My experience is that most police in CA aren't ticketing missing front license, as there are about ten percent of all cars in CA that don't have one. If there is another infraction they have the option to add the missing plate.

I was ticketed once, about 20 years ago, for no front plate. I paid the fix it ticket and mounted a plate on velcro, and the officer approved it with a raised eyebrow. That was the last pull-over.

Be prepared to pay. But you may not have to.
 

hill

Active Member
Apr 21, 2015
1,305
647
Lake Forest, CA
We thought the license plate & Frame looked really lame on the model X. We certainly did NOT want to have to drill holes in the front for a the license plate holder. So - we went this route;

Non photochemically reactive 400° laser-heat resistant stretchy, removable Vinyl decal .... cops don't even notice the difference because seldom if ever do they see it from this 45° angle.
20180320_140212-1.jpg

So they certainly don't notice it from head-on;

20180320_140149-1.jpg


Maybe someday there will be a license plate - Barney Fife type nazi who will freak out, make a big deal, write a ticket or whatever, but in the meantime? we're liking it - as well as the smiles and double-take's we get. If we get busted? Already have another one printed up, so we'll vary apologetically go out to the front of the X & peel it off .... making Barney Fife proud that he did his duty.
;)
.
 

SanDiegoGuy

Member
Apr 21, 2018
54
30
USA
We thought the license plate & Frame looked really lame on the model X. We certainly did NOT want to have to drill holes in the front for a the license plate holder. So - we went this route;

Non photochemically reactive 400° laser-heat resistant stretchy, removable Vinyl decal .... cops don't even notice the difference because seldom if ever do they see it from this 45° angle.
View attachment 410853
So they certainly don't notice it from head-on;

View attachment 410856

Maybe someday there will be a license plate - Barney Fife type nazi who will freak out, make a big deal, write a ticket or whatever, but in the meantime? we're liking it - as well as the smiles and double-take's we get. If we get busted? Already have another one printed up, so we'll vary apologetically go out to the front of the X & peel it off .... making Barney Fife proud that he did his duty.
;)
.
Although you do not have to drill holes, the whole point is anything that resembles a license plate on the front of the car still diminish the good look of the car.
 

LN1_Casey

Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus
Mar 6, 2019
1,997
9,928
Oahu, Hawaii
We thought the license plate & Frame looked really lame on the model X. We certainly did NOT want to have to drill holes in the front for a the license plate holder. So - we went this route;

[...] ;)
.

That's hilarious, and I love the custom plate choice.

However, if I somehow got a Roadster 2020, I'd just pay the fine. I'd not even want the sticker, because it'd ruin the ascetics of the car. I have a '70 Firebird that I should put front plates on, but don't for the same reason (and they're custom Black/Yellow, "MWUAHAA"). Admittedly, it's not a daily driver, but neither would the Roadster.
 

Uncle Paul

Well-Known Member
Nov 1, 2013
6,105
6,607
Canyon Lake,CA
Not going to see many front plates on New Roadsters, however some local areas will ticket them on sight, while others could really care less.

Park of the street in San Francisco and you are highly likely to get a ticket. Park in San Diego...not so much

Many areas with photo radar, lots of toll roads or HOV congestion will more likely cite you for no plate. Rural areas almost never.
 
Jul 7, 2015
219
80
Redondo Beach, CA
We thought the license plate & Frame looked really lame on the model X. We certainly did NOT want to have to drill holes in the front for a the license plate holder. So - we went this route;

Non photochemically reactive 400° laser-heat resistant stretchy, removable Vinyl decal .... cops don't even notice the difference because seldom if ever do they see it from this 45° angle.
View attachment 410853
So they certainly don't notice it from head-on;

View attachment 410856

Maybe someday there will be a license plate - Barney Fife type nazi who will freak out, make a big deal, write a ticket or whatever, but in the meantime? we're liking it - as well as the smiles and double-take's we get. If we get busted? Already have another one printed up, so we'll vary apologetically go out to the front of the X & peel it off .... making Barney Fife proud that he did his duty.
;)
.

It is fairly easy to get on the CA DMV pilot program (License Plate Wrap) where the wrap is completely legal. You can get your LPW here:

Tested by the California Highway Patrol of Sacramento

I got mine for a Model 3.
 
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Reactions: hill

Rockster

Active Member
Oct 22, 2013
3,007
4,611
McKinney, TX
I haven’t had a front plate on any of my cars for 30 years. Knock on wood, I haven’t received a ticket for it yet. Was pulled over once for it by a state trooper while driving my S but I played the “there’s no where to mount it” card and he let me go with a warning. It was obvious he was on a fishing expedition and was just using the front plate issue as an excuse for the stop. Once he saw we were a benign family of four he let us go.
 

CarlK

Active Member
Mar 23, 2013
1,919
1,235
SF Bay Area
No and I don't think cops care either. Just try stop one and pointing to him/her a car without front plate and see how you will be laughed at. They all have real jobs to do. Do avoid giving those low life meter maids a chance to write you one though.
 
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