Tesla VIN Decoder & VIN Check — Models, Recalls, Specs, MPG & Safety
“Accelerating the World's Transition to Sustainable Energy”
Tesla, Inc. is an American electric-vehicle and clean-energy company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Founded as Tesla Motors in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, the company was joined as chairman by Elon Musk in 2004, who became CEO in 2008. Tesla designs, manufactures and sells battery-electric vehicles, energy-storage systems and solar products.
The 2008 Roadster was the first highway-legal lithium-ion battery production car, and the 2012 Model S was the first all-electric vehicle to win Motor Trend Car of the Year. The Model Y crossover became the world's best-selling vehicle (any powertrain) in 2023 according to JATO Dynamics. Tesla operates four vehicle factories: Fremont (California), Austin (Texas), Berlin-Brandenburg (Germany) and Shanghai (China).
Tesla trades on the NASDAQ under TSLA and has been a member of the S&P 500 since December 2020. The company's Supercharger network covers more than 50,000 stalls globally and was opened to non-Tesla EVs in late 2022. Recall data for every Tesla VIN is reported to NHTSA, and EPA range and efficiency ratings provide independent benchmarks. ForCar.org decodes any Tesla VIN against NHTSA's dataset to reveal trim, factory options, open recalls and original delivery price.
Tesla at a glance
- Founded
- 2003
- Founders
- Martin Eberhard, Marc Tarpenning
- CEO
- Elon Musk (since 2008)
- Headquarters
- Austin, Texas, USA
- Stock ticker
- NASDAQ: TSLA
- Bestselling EV
- Model Y (world #1 vehicle 2023)
- Factories
- Fremont, Austin, Berlin, Shanghai
- Charging network
- Supercharger (50,000+ stalls globally)
- Basic warranty
- 4 years / 50,000 miles
- Battery warranty
- 8 years / 100,000-150,000 miles
Decode any Tesla VIN
Enter a 17-character VIN below to retrieve the trim, factory options, original window-sticker MSRP and any open NHTSA recall affecting that specific vehicle. ForCar.org pulls the same dataset that Tesla dealers use to notify owners of safety recalls.
VIN Decoder
Signature Tesla technology
Tesla heritage
Tesla Motors was incorporated in July 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, who sought to build a fully electric sports car. Elon Musk led the Series A round in February 2004 with $6.5 million and joined as chairman. The 2008 Roadster, based on a Lotus Elise platform, demonstrated that lithium-ion batteries could deliver supercar-level performance. The 2012 Model S established Tesla as a profitable luxury brand, and the 2017 Model 3 carried the company into mass-market volumes.
Market position
Tesla competes as a vertically integrated electric-only automaker against legacy brands transitioning to EVs and against EV-native startups. The company's direct-to-consumer sales model bypasses the franchised dealer network used by every other major automaker in the United States. Tesla's software-update model — over-the-air feature delivery — is widely cited as the template that legacy brands have adopted with limited success.
New-vehicle warranty
TESLA VIN Decoder — Free VIN Check Video Guide
Watch our quick TESLA VIN decoder walkthrough. Learn how to decode any TESLA VIN number to get full vehicle history, recall alerts, specifications, fuel economy (MPG), safety ratings, and known problems — completely free on ForCar.org.
All Tesla models (7)
Frequently asked questions
When was Tesla founded and by whom?
Tesla was founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard, Marc Tarpenning and is headquartered in Austin, USA.
Where is the VIN on a Tesla vehicle?
The 17-character VIN appears in four standard locations: dashboard at the windshield base (driver side), driver-side door jamb sticker, the engine bay (firewall or engine block stamping), and the vehicle's title, registration and insurance documents.
How many Tesla models can ForCar.org decode?
ForCar.org indexes 7 Tesla nameplates. Any 17-character Tesla VIN is decoded against the NHTSA dataset to return trim, factory options, open recalls and original window-sticker MSRP.
What is the Tesla warranty?
Basic: 4 years / 50,000 miles. Powertrain: 8 years / 100,000 to 150,000 miles (battery and dr.
How to check Tesla recalls by VIN?
Enter your VIN in the decoder above. ForCar.org queries NHTSA's open-recall dataset for that specific VIN and returns any safety recalls or Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs) that affect your vehicle.
Disambiguation: This page covers Tesla, Inc., the American EV and energy company — not Nikola Tesla the inventor or Tesla coil devices named after him.
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