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Tesla Model 3, Buying guide, MOT record, UK numbers and recalls

146,205 Tesla Model 3s are licensed in the UK. In 2025 they passed 84.5% of initial MOT tests, 12.2 points above the 72.3% UK average.

Looking at a specific Model 3? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.

Tesla Model 3 at the MOT

84.5% of 87,484 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the Model 3 129th of 575 models. Tesla Model 3s aged 3 to 5 years passed 84.4% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 6 to 10 years that fell to 80.6%.

First-time pass rate, 2025

Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.

  • Tesla Model 384.5%
  • All Tesla modelsThe Model 3 is 0.6 pts ahead83.9%
  • All cars72.3%

Pass rate by age at test

Tesla Model 3 tests in 2025.

  • 3 to 5 years70,231 tests84.4%
  • 6 to 10 years2,369 tests80.6%

Where Model 3s fail

Share of all failure items recorded on Tesla Model 3 tests in 2025.

  • Tyres66.3%
  • Suspension12.9%
  • Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment9.3%
  • Visibility4.7%
  • Brakes3.5%

The items testers recorded most often were tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (26.4%), condition has ply or cords exposed (17.7%) and condition has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (12.4%).

The MOT page lists every common Model 3 MOT failure. For one car's own results and advisories, run a free MOT history check.

Full Tesla Model 3 MOT record

What to look at on a viewing

The Model 3's most common failure areas, and what a tester checks in each.

  1. Tyres

    Check tread depth across the full width of every tyre (the legal minimum is 1.6mm), and look for cuts, bulges and uneven wear.66.3% of Model 3 failure items

  2. Suspension

    Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters.12.9% of Model 3 failure items

  3. Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment

    Walk round with every light on: headlights, brake lights, indicators, fog lights and the number plate lamp. Check no warning lights stay on after starting.9.3% of Model 3 failure items

Tesla Model 3s in the UK

146,205 were licensed at the end of June 2026, more than any other Tesla. The number licensed has grown 351% since the end of 2020.

Change since 2020
+351%from 32,438 licensed
Typical year of first use
2022half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 2022 or earlier
First registered in 2025
21,209against 34,786 in 2021
Declared off the road
1,0080.7% of those registered, under SORN

Licensed Tesla Model 3s since 2019

Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.

Show the figures
DateLicensed
End of 201910,572
End of 202032,438
End of 202166,379
End of 202283,401
End of 202396,601
End of 2024111,889
End of 2025132,950
End of June 2026146,205

How old they are

Licensed Tesla Model 3s by year of first use.

  • Licensed at the end of 2025
  • First registered that year
Show the figures
First usedLicensed, end 2025First registered that year
202521,00321,209
202417,26317,447
202313,31213,547
202218,15819,085
202132,22434,786
202020,99622,350
20199,93110,649

Tesla Model 3 recalls

11 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Tesla Model 3. The 8 most recent are below. Each covers vehicles built in a set period, so a recall does not mean every Model 3 is affected.

  1. Mar 2025 R/2025/049

    Loss of Rearview Camera Display Recall

    Model 3s built Jan 2024 to Sep 2024 · 10,629 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    On a small percentage of affected vehicles upon vehicle power up the car computer board may experience a short resulting in the loss of rear view camera functionality.
    Remedy
    Over the air software update or Car Computer replacement if necessary.

  2. Mar 2025 R/2025/104

    Update Vehicle Software To Rectify EPAS Functionality

    Model 3s built Jan 2022 to Aug 2023 · 97,462 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    On affected vehicles operating with a software release prior to 2023.38.4 an overvoltage breakdown in the steering rack may overstress motor drive components on the printed circuit board. If the overstress condition occurs while the vehicle is driving steering assistance will not be affected and a visual alert will illuminate. Once the vehicle speed comes to a standstill a loss of steering assistance may occur and loss of steering assistance will persist when the vehicle is driven again. Manual steering without steering assistance remains available to the driver.
    Remedy
    Install modified software via an Over the Air (OTA) wireless update.

  3. Dec 2024 R/2025/002

    Update vehicle software to correct TPMS behaviour

    Model 3s built May 2019 to Oct 2024 · 62,893 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    On affected vehicles upon detection of a malfunction with the tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) the TPMS tell tale does not persist between drive cycles where the vehicle is off or asleep between the drive cycles. Therefore the driver may not be adequately warned of potential under-inflation of the tyres increasing the risk of a collision.
    Remedy
    Install modified software via an Over the Air (OTA) wireless update.

  4. Apr 2022 R/2022/120

    In certain conditions the user interface (ui) on affected vehicles displays vehicle speed but not a unit of speed(i.e mph or km/h)

    Model 3s built Feb 2018 to Apr 2022 · 10,927 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    In certain conditions the user interface ( UI ) on affected vehicles displays vehicle speed but not a unit of speed (i.e. mph or km/h).
    Remedy
    Tesla will deploy an over the air firmware update that will reintroduce the display of the speed unit when using Track Mode.

  5. Apr 2022 R/2022/131

    A loss of low voltage system support may cause the audio subsystem to be unavailable

    Model 3s built Jan 2018 to Nov 2021 · 9,471 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    On certain vehicles that are running firmware release 2022.8 and that experience a loss of low voltage system support the audio subsystem may become unavailable including the use of eCall functionality.
    Remedy
    Firmware release 2022.12.3 or later reverses the power management process introduced in firmware release 2022.8 and maintains eCall audio functionality.

  6. Feb 2022 R/2022/008

    The rear-view camera harness may fail causing no image in the centre display

    Model 3s built Jul 2017 to Sep 2020 · 26,618 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Remedy
    Fit a harness guide protector and if necessary install a new harness.

  7. Dec 2021 R/2022/007

    The curtain side airbags may not deploy correctly

    Model 3s built Sep 2020 to Dec 2020 · 1 vehicle across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Remedy
    Inspect for proper alignment and orientation of the left- and right-curtain side airbag. Re-align as necessary.

  8. Dec 2021 R/2022/006

    The front suspension lateral link may be insufficiently torqued

    Model 3s built Jan 2019 to Apr 2021 · 127 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Remedy
    Inspect the connection of both front suspension lateral links to the sub-frame. Replace any related damaged components and ensure correct torque of fastening bolts.
How to check a specific Model 3 for recalls

Other Tesla models

The most-tested Tesla models in 2025, against the Model 3's 84.5% MOT pass rate.

All 4 Tesla models

Tesla Model 3 FAQs

How many Tesla Model 3s are there in the UK?

146,205 Tesla Model 3s were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 1,008 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.

Is the Tesla Model 3 reliable?

MOT data does not measure reliability. It records whether a car met the roadworthiness standard on the day of its test. What it does show is an 84.5% first-time pass rate for the Tesla Model 3 across 87,484 tests in 2025, above the 72.3% average for all cars.

Has the Tesla Model 3 had any recalls?

11 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Tesla Model 3. The most recent was published in March 2025. A recall applies to vehicles built in a set period, so check a specific car on the GOV.UK vehicle recall checker.

What should I check before buying a used Tesla Model 3?

On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: tyres, suspension and lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment. Then check the individual car's own records. Outstanding finance, insurance write-offs and police stolen markers are not part of the MOT record, so they take a history check.

How do I check a Tesla Model 3's history?

Enter the registration of the specific car. A Carpeep car history check reports outstanding finance, write-off category, stolen markers, mileage history, previous keepers, MOT and tax status, import and export markers and scrapped status in one £15 report.

Already found a Model 3?

Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.

Across the 1,548 vehicles of every make Carpeep has checked since November 2025, 19% had outstanding finance recorded and 13% an insurance write-off. More on the Tesla history check. To confirm a car's identity, see the Tesla VIN check.

  • Outstanding finance
  • Write-off records
  • Stolen markers
  • Mileage history
  • Previous keepers

MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded). Licensed, SORN, fuel and registration figures are from the Department for Transport vehicle licensing statistics (VEH0120, VEH0124, VEH0160). Recalls are from the DVSA vehicle recalls data, with recalls launched up to October 2026. Government data is used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability. History-check findings are anonymous counts from reports bought on Carpeep, each vehicle counted once, and are published only where at least 100 vehicles returned an answer.