Tesla: previous owners, selling, and privacy settings
Last checked: 12 Oct 2026
Tesla's connected services: Tesla app, Tesla Account. Each Tesla has one owner account at a time. Buyers claim ownership in the app with ID and the V5C; sellers should factory-reset before removing the car.
Bought it used: remove the previous owner
- Claim ownershipIn the app
Tesla app → Menu → My Products → Add ProductFor a car bought from a third party, Tesla says you must claim ownership in the app. You'll be asked for the VIN, photo ID (driving licence or passport) and proof of ownership: the front page and pages 2 and 3 of the V5C registration document in your name.
Tesla says it can take three to five days. If you can, ask the previous owner to approve the transfer; if you can't contact them, Tesla says it will review the request and complete the transfer or contact you within three to five business days. Transferring ownership removes the previous owner's access.
- If the car is in Valet ModeOn the touchscreen
Controls → Driver profile icon next to Valet → Enter PINValet Mode has to be turned off with its 4-digit PIN before the transfer can go ahead. If you don't know the PIN, Tesla says to contact Customer Support.
Selling: unlink and wipe
- Factory Reset (first)Model 3 manual (UK)
Controls → Service → Factory ResetTesla's manual says to do this for security before removing the car; it asks for your Tesla account username and password.
Tesla says you can't do a factory reset once the car has been removed from your account, so do this step first.
- Remove or Transfer OwnershipIn the app
Tesla app → Menu → My Products → Your vehicle → Remove or Transfer OwnershipRemoves the car from your account. Tesla says this ends paid subscriptions for the car, removes benefits tied to your account (they can't be restored), and clears Bluetooth devices, profiles and navigation history.
Only do this once you no longer own or need access to the car. If you're transferring to a buyer, you both get an email when it's done, which may take three to five business days.
Privacy and offline settings
- Data SharingModel 3 manual (UK)
Controls → Software → Data SharingChoose what analytics, road segment, diagnostic and vehicle usage data the car shares with Tesla. Tesla's UK manual says this data is sent only with your explicit consent.
The same manual says Tesla doesn't record or store vehicle-specific GPS information, except where a crash occurred.
Good to know
- Adding a driver is different from transferring ownership: Tesla lets an owner add up to five drivers in the app.
- Tesla's app transfer doesn't replace the DVLA registration change; Tesla asks for the V5C in your name as proof.
Not found in Tesla's public UK documents: Steps for models other than Model 3 weren't checked separately; Tesla's support page applies to all its cars. Menu paths can differ by model and software version; each one here is for the version its source names.
Sources
- tesla.com/en_gb/support/how-add-or-remove-vehicles-tesla-app
- tesla.com/ownersmanual/model3/en_gb/GUID-F561C667-5BF1-4779-9C06-17F33C14E95A.html
- tesla.com/ownersmanual/model3/en_gb/GUID-2E8E5E0B-DAA8-40B8-9804-45F5960538DF.html
This page describes your options and how organisations say they handle requests. It isn't legal advice. See About & sourcing to report a correction.