What happens to a Tesla account when someone dies
Tesla publishes its own process for a deceased person's account; a written request goes in through Tesla's support ticket system.
Tesla decides what happens to a Tesla account after a death case by case; its terms promise no transfer.
Tesla publishes its own process for a deceased person's account: How to Add or Remove Vehicles in the Tesla App (ownership transfer); a written request goes in through Tesla's support ticket system. The request takes 3 documents.
How to request a transfer
- •One form of personal identification for the new owner
- •One form of proof of ownership of the vehicle
- •A business document as well, if a business will be listed as the owner
Required Documents
- One form of personal identification for the new owner
- One form of proof of ownership of the vehicle: Uploaded to the new owner's Tesla Account.
- Business document: if a business will be listed as the vehicle owner
Timeline
An ownership transfer in the Tesla app can take up to 48 hours to process once the documents are submitted.
What Tesla, Inc. says happens6
- Transfer at death
Each Tesla vehicle can have only one owner and one Tesla Account at a time, so the car is removed from the deceased's account before, or as part of, being added to the new owner's account.1
Once the transfer is complete, both the previous and the new owner receive an email confirmation.1
- Verifying the requester
An ownership transfer may stall if documentation is incomplete or incorrect, if verification issues arise, or if action is still pending from the previous owner.1
- Subscriptions and billing
Removing a vehicle from an account cancels paid subscriptions, and benefits earned or associated with that Tesla Account are no longer active and cannot be restored.1
- What carries over to a new account
Credits for free Supercharging expire upon the sale or transfer of the vehicle and are not transferable to any subsequent owner or other vehicle; an annual free-Supercharging allowance resets on the date ownership transfers.2, 3
Refer and Earn Tesla Credits cannot be reissued, transferred or redeemed for cash, and expire 12 months after they are granted.4
After the transfer the new owner sets up their own phone key, and the deceased's phone key and app access are removed when the vehicle leaves their account.5
- Purchased content and licenses
Purchased software upgrades, such as Acceleration Boost and Full Self-Driving, are tied to the vehicle's VIN and remain with the car through a private sale, so they follow the vehicle to whoever inherits it.6
- Closing the account
A Tesla Account can be updated or deleted through Tesla account support after the car and any subscriptions tied to it are resolved.7
Not in Tesla's published guidance5
- A form for estate requests
- A mailing address for a written request
- A death-specific bereavement workflow for vehicles
- A death-specific timeline
- A death clause in the terms
A written request to Tesla can ask it to transfer the registration to a new registrant, provide purchase and transaction records for the estate inventory, preserve the account while the estate is opened and close the account.
Digital Assets Recovery Letter for Tesla drafts that request from the estate's details.
Sources
Data sourced from Tesla, Inc. primary sources (8 pages reviewed). How we research.
Tesla estate claims
Tesla Support (vehicle ownership transfer)
Website
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