Tesla VIN Decoder
Enter any 17-character Tesla VIN. Free US-market Tesla VIN decoder backed by the official NHTSA VPIC database — engine code, assembly plant, model year, body class, and every open recall, in about 30 seconds.
How to read a Tesla VIN
A Tesla VIN, like any modern road-vehicle VIN, is 17 characters split into three blocks: the World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI) in positions 1–3, the Vehicle Descriptor Section (VDS) in positions 4–9, and the Vehicle Identifier Section (VIS) in positions 10–17. Here's a real Tesla VIN broken down position by position.
152Y3J435E617E8A9710L11F127131144156161170
| Position | Chars | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Country of origin 5 = United States. Tesla VINs starting with 5YJ are Fremont CA, 7SA / 7G2 are Austin TX, LRW is Shanghai, and XP7 is Berlin. The first character pins the country, the next two pin the plant region. |
| 2-3 | YJ | Manufacturer (WMI) YJ = Tesla, Inc. (Fremont CA factory). Other Tesla WMIs include 7SA (Austin TX — Model Y), 7G2 (Austin TX — Cybertruck), LRW (Shanghai — Model 3 / Y for global export), and XP7 (Berlin — Model Y for Europe). |
| 4-8 | 3E1EA | Vehicle Descriptor Section (VDS) Encodes the model line (3 = Model 3, S = Model S, X = Model X, Y = Model Y, C = Cybertruck), body style, motor configuration, and restraint type. CheckMyVIN reports the decoded Model and Body Class directly from VPIC rather than parsing these chars in isolation — Tesla's VDS scheme is proprietary and changes between model generations. |
| 9 | 7 | Check digit A mod-11 checksum computed from the other 16 positions. NHTSA uses this to reject typos before returning a decode — if the check digit is wrong, VPIC returns ErrorCode 1 and CheckMyVIN treats that as an unreadable VIN. |
| 10 | L | Model year L = 2020. The full year code table is below. The 30-year cycle skips I, O, Q, U, Z and 0. The earliest Tesla VINs (Roadster, 2008-2012) use earlier letters in the same cycle. |
| 11 | F | Assembly plant For this VIN, F maps to Fremont (the former NUMMI plant Tesla acquired in 2010). CheckMyVIN reads Plant City and Plant Country directly from the VPIC record. Austin Gigafactory uses different position-11 codes; Shanghai and Berlin use their own scheme entirely. |
| 12-17 | 714610 | Production sequence A 6-digit serial number that increments through the model year at that plant. Tesla uses one global sequence per factory per model year, which is why early-year Model 3s from Fremont share similar trailing digits. |
VIN year codes (position 10)
The 10th character of every modern VIN encodes the model year. The cycle skips the letters I, O, Q, U and Z, and the digit 0, to avoid being confused with similar digits. This table covers every model year currently on US roads.
| Code | Year | Code | Year | Code | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 2010 | H | 2017 | R | 2024 |
| B | 2011 | J | 2018 | S | 2025 |
| C | 2012 | K | 2019 | T | 2026 |
| D | 2013 | L | 2020 | V | 2027 |
| E | 2014 | M | 2021 | W | 2028 |
| F | 2015 | N | 2022 | X | 2029 |
| G | 2016 | P | 2023 | Y | 2030 |
Full year code chart for all years (1980–2030) →
Tesla WMI codes (positions 1–3)
The first three characters of the VIN identify the manufacturer and country of assembly. Tesla uses several WMI codes depending on plant and model line.
| WMI | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 5YJ | Tesla passenger / SUV — Fremont, CA USA |
| 7SA | Tesla (Model Y) — Austin, TX USA |
| XP7 | Tesla — Berlin, Germany |
| LRW | Tesla Model 3/Y — Shanghai, China |
Tesla build sheet & options
A full Tesla build sheet — original Autopilot tier, FSD purchase status, paint code, interior color, wheels, software-unlocked features (e.g. Acceleration Boost) — is not part of the federal NHTSA VPIC dataset. CheckMyVIN can confirm the model, plant, model year, battery type / electrification level, body class, and recall history pulled live from NHTSA, but it cannot return the original options the vehicle was configured with at order. For Tesla the authoritative original-config source is the Tesla owner account: the tesla.com login linked to the VIN shows the original purchase configuration, current software version, and warranty status. CheckMyVIN never claims options data it cannot verify against the NHTSA record.
Tesla VIN decoder FAQ
Is the Tesla VIN decoder free?
Yes — every Tesla VIN lookup on CheckMyVIN is free, no signup, no email gate, no usage cap on individual users. Data comes from the public NHTSA VPIC API. The optional "full vehicle history report" link at the bottom of each report is an affiliate to a paid third-party history service; you can ignore it.
How do I read a Tesla VIN?
A Tesla VIN is 17 characters: position 1 is the country (5 = USA Fremont, 7 = USA Austin, L = China Shanghai, X = Germany Berlin), positions 2-3 are the Tesla WMI (YJ = Fremont, SA / G2 = Austin, RW = Shanghai, P7 = Berlin), position 4 is the model letter (3 = Model 3, S / X / Y / C), position 10 is the model year (L = 2020 — see the year table on this page), and position 11 is the plant. Enter any 17-character Tesla VIN above and CheckMyVIN reads the official NHTSA record.
Where is the Tesla VIN located?
Three places on every modern Tesla: the dash plate at the base of the windshield (visible from outside, driver side), the driver-door jamb certification sticker, and inside the touchscreen at Controls → Software → Additional Vehicle Information. The on-screen VIN is the most convenient — you can read it without leaving the seat — and it matches the dash and door-jamb VIN exactly.
What does the 10th character of a Tesla VIN mean?
The 10th character is the model year code, following the same ISO 3779 cycle every manufacturer uses: A = 2010 (Tesla Roadster era), B = 2011, … L = 2020 (the worked example above), P = 2023, etc. The cycle skips I, O, Q, U, Z and 0. Y = 2030; after that the cycle resumes with digits.
Does the VIN tell me which Tesla battery pack I have (Standard Range, Long Range, Performance)?
Partly — the NHTSA VPIC record returns Electrification Level (BEV) and, for many model years, Battery Energy (kWh). It does not always return the trim label (Standard Range Plus / Long Range / Performance) because that's a Tesla marketing tier that can change post-delivery via software unlock. The authoritative source for the exact battery configuration on your specific car is your tesla.com owner account, where the original sale configuration is stored.
How long is the Tesla battery warranty, and can I tell from the VIN?
You cannot read battery warranty from the VIN itself, but the model + year (which the VIN does tell you) determines the term. For Model 3 / Model Y: 8 years or 100,000 miles (Standard Range) / 120,000 miles (Long Range and Performance), whichever first. For Model S / Model X: 8 years / 150,000 miles. For Cybertruck: 8 years / 150,000 miles. Coverage is on capacity retention (≥70%) and battery pack defects. The remaining warranty for a specific VIN is in the Tesla owner account.
Can I check Tesla recalls with the VIN?
Yes. CheckMyVIN automatically queries the NHTSA recall API alongside the decode. Tesla has a high volume of NHTSA campaigns relative to other automakers because many "recalls" are now over-the-air (OTA) software updates that fix a flagged behavior — the campaign still gets a 22V-### number even though no dealer visit is required. The /tesla/recall page shows examples with links to the NHTSA recall portal.