You need to move your Tesla and the questions pile up fast. What about Sentry Mode, the key card, the charge level, that low front lip? Get one wrong and you risk a drained battery or a scraped bumper. Here is exactly how to ship a Tesla the right way, model by model, from people who load them every week.
The short answer: To ship a Tesla, charge it near 50%, switch off Sentry Mode and alarms, postpone any software update, and leave one key card with the driver. Pick an EV-aware carrier who knows transport mode and low clearance. Open transport works for most models; choose enclosed for a Cybertruck, a wrapped car, or a long winter route.
A Tesla ships on the same trailer as any car. The difference is the software and the battery. Both need a quick setup before the driver arrives.
Skip that setup and small problems stack up. Sentry drains the battery. The app fires false alarms. A pending update freezes the controls. None of it is hard once you know the list.
We move Teslas constantly, so we built a simple routine. Follow it and your electric vehicle shipping goes clean. The one honest warning: a carrier who has never touched a Tesla can still get the basics wrong, so vet the driver first.
Charge your Tesla to roughly half before pickup. That gives the driver power to wake the car, load it, and shift it on the trailer. A near-empty battery can strand the car if the route changes.
We avoid a 100% charge on purpose. A full pack sitting in summer heat on a parked trailer adds strain over several days. Half charge is the sweet spot for almost every move.
Winter changes the math a little. Cold weather shows less range than the same charge in summer. We add a small buffer for December-through-February pickups so the driver is never short.
Open the app and switch off Sentry Mode before the truck arrives. Sentry watches for motion, so it runs the cameras and drains the 12-volt battery while the car rides strapped down.
It also films the loading and sends alerts that look like a break-in. We have had owners call in a panic during a routine pickup. Turning Sentry off ends both problems.
Mute the app notifications too. A Tesla keeps reporting its location, so a moving trailer triggers "car left open" or location pings. The car is fine; the alerts are just noise.
Check for a pending update the night before. A Tesla that starts updating mid-load can lock the controls for half an hour or more. We have watched a trailer idle while an update finished.
Leave one key card with the driver, not your only card. The driver needs it to enter transport mode and roll the car on and off. Keep a backup card with you or mail it separately.
The downside here is simple but real. Lose the single key card at a terminal and the car cannot move. Two cards solve it cheaply.
The prep is the same, but the cars are not. Here is what we watch on each.
Model 3 and Model S: low front clearance. An inexperienced driver can scrape the lip on the ramps. Mention any lowering kit so the driver picks a flatter angle.
Model Y and Model X: taller and heavier, with the X adding falcon-wing doors. Those doors stay closed during loading; a driver who opens one in a tight bay risks a ding.
Cybertruck: the outlier. Its width, weight, and mark-prone stainless make enclosed the safer pick. Not every carrier has the right trailer, so we book it early.
A Tesla costs a little more to move than a similar gas car. The battery adds weight, so fewer cars fit per load and the rate rises. Distance, model, and season do the rest.
A typical Tesla move lands around [INSERT RATE], with enclosed transport priced higher. We never quote blind, because your route and dates shift the number. Get a live figure on the calculator.
For the full picture, including the weight premium and seasonal swings, read our breakdown of the cost to ship an electric car. One caution: a quote far under the rest often means a broker who has never shipped an EV.
Most Teslas ship fine on an open carrier, the same way the factory delivers them. Open costs less and runs more routes. Your paint and sensors handle the exposure.
Choose enclosed for a wrapped car, a Plaid, a Cybertruck, or a long winter haul. The walls block weather and road debris. The trade-off is a higher price and fewer trucks.
It is the same choice every shipper weighs, so we link rather than repeat it. See our open vs enclosed car transport guide, then the method page for enclosed car transport if you lean that way.
Run a quick pass the morning of pickup. Confirm the charge near 50%, Sentry off, updates postponed, and one key card ready. Clean the car so existing marks show clearly in photos.
Document the condition from every angle, then note the battery percentage. We compare that reading at delivery. The same prep applies to any EV, which we cover in our guide on how to ship an electric car.
Shipping a Tesla comes down to settings, not luck. Set the charge, kill Sentry, hand over a card, and book a driver who knows EVs. Price your route on the calculator and verify any carrier with our FMCSA lookup before you pay.
Skip the averages. Our calculator pulls live diesel prices and real Google Maps distance for an actual price range on your exact route and vehicle — no spam, no obligation.
Calculate My Costor talk to a dispatcher: 1-888-706-8784
Leave one key card with the driver, never your only one. The driver needs it to wake the car, enter transport mode, and roll it on and off the trailer. We tell clients to mail or carry a backup card separately. Losing the single card at a busy terminal can strand the car.
Open the Tesla app or the car screen and switch Sentry Mode off, plus any cabin camera recording. Sentry watches for motion and drains the 12-volt battery while the car sits strapped down. It also films the loading and pings you with alerts that look like theft. Turning it off saves the battery and your nerves.
Set it between 20% and 50%, with 50% as our usual target. That gives the driver enough range to load, reposition, and unload without a charging stop. We avoid 100% because a full pack plus summer heat raises battery strain. Cold weather reads lower, so add a small buffer in winter.
It can. A Tesla keeps phoning home over LTE, so the app may fire location and "left open" alerts mid-route. Some owners panic and call us at 2 a.m. We suggest muting app notifications during transit. The car is fine; the alerts are just noise from a moving trailer.
Open transport suits most Teslas and costs less. Enclosed is worth it for a new Plaid, a wrapped car, or a long winter haul. We tell clients the paint and sensors handle open transport fine, the same as factory delivery. The honest trade-off with enclosed is a higher rate and fewer available trucks.
Yes, in two ways. Its width and weight limit which trailers can take it and how many cars fit alongside. The stainless panels also show handling marks, so an enclosed carrier is the safer pick. We flag the Cybertruck early because not every driver has the right equipment for it.
A dead 12-volt is the real risk, not the main pack. Without it, the doors, brake, and screen will not respond, which blocks unloading. We ask drivers to keep the car briefly awake at handoff to confirm it responds. A weak 12-volt before shipping is worth replacing first.
Usually yes, but a low Model 3 or S needs a careful approach angle. An inexperienced driver can scrape the front lip or rocker panels on the ramps. We tell clients to mention any lowering springs or aftermarket kit. Those few inches decide whether the car loads clean.
Yes, postpone any pending update before the driver arrives. A car that starts updating mid-load can lock controls for 20 to 45 minutes. We have watched an update freeze a pickup while a trailer waited. Check the app the night before and delay anything queued.
Standard transport does not void your warranty. The carrier's cargo insurance covers the car in transit, but confirm the coverage limit matches your Tesla's value. We tell high-value owners to ask for the certificate in writing. Your own policy may also extend during shipping, so check both before pickup.
Tell us where you're shipping — we'll handle the rest. No obligation, no hidden fees.