Car statistics
Tesla car statistics
How many Tesla cars are on the road in Great Britain, every Tesla model, its share of new cars over time and which fuels they use, how they do at the MOT and their safety recalls. Built from DVLA licensing records and DVSA MOT results.
- Licensed in Great Britain 282,678 +17.2% on a year earlier
- Rank among makes No. 26 0.84% of licensed cars
- MOT first-time pass rate, 2025 83.6% Cars of the same ages 87.0%
- New registrations in 2025 44,999 2.2% of all new cars
- Most common fuel Electric 100.0% of those licensed
- Safety recalls since 1992 26 naming 5 Tesla models
How many Tesla cars are on the road?
There were 282,678 Tesla cars licensed in Great Britain at the end of March 2026, and a further 2,158 declared off the road (SORN). That is 0.84% of all licensed cars, or about 1 in 119, making Tesla the No. 26 make on the road. That is the most on the road at any year end since 2010. Electric makes up 100.0% of licensed Tesla cars, against 5.5% of all cars.
Tesla cars licensed in Great Britain
Numbers are still rising: the latest count is the highest in this series.
| Year | Licensed |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 48 |
| 2011 | 55 |
| 2012 | 55 |
| 2013 | 54 |
| 2014 | 745 |
| 2015 | 2,128 |
| 2016 | 4,529 |
| 2017 | 9,098 |
| 2018 | 12,198 |
| 2019 | 24,771 |
| 2020 | 48,567 |
| 2021 | 82,302 |
| 2022 | 133,933 |
| 2023 | 182,082 |
| 2024 | 228,701 |
| 2025 | 272,027 |
| 2026 | 282,678 |
Source:DfT / DVLA End of March 2026 Updated
Fuel type
Tesla cars
All cars in Great Britain
Source:DfT / DVLA End of March 2026 Updated
Tesla models
4 Tesla models have a page of their own. The most common is the Tesla Model 3, with 136,685 licensed: 48.4% of all Tesla cars on the road. Over the last year the Model Y added the most cars on the road (+22,157, +20.5%) and the Model S lost the most (−241, −2.4%). The totals above also count models too small for a page of their own.
MOT pass rates are first-time passes of cars aged three and over in 2025. A dash means too few tests, or a model DVSA’s records do not separate from vans.
New Tesla cars registered each year
Registrations of new Tesla cars in Great Britain peaked at 54,297 in 2022. In 2025, 44,999 were registered for the first time: 2.2% of all new cars, against 3.4% in 2022, Tesla’s best year for share of new cars.
Registered for the first time, by year
| Year | First registrations |
|---|---|
| ’10 | 49 |
| ’11 | 27 |
| ’12 | 13 |
| ’13 | 1 |
| ’14 | 719 |
| ’15 | 1,469 |
| ’16 | 2,490 |
| ’17 | 4,744 |
| ’18 | 3,362 |
| ’19 | 13,104 |
| ’20 | 24,653 |
| ’21 | 34,673 |
| ’22 | 54,297 |
| ’23 | 49,271 |
| ’24 | 50,111 |
| ’25 | 44,999 |
Source:DfT / DVLA 2001 to 2025 Updated
Share of all new cars
Tesla’s first registrations as a share of every car registered for the first time in Great Britain that year.
| Year | Share of new cars |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 0.0% |
| 2011 | 0.0% |
| 2012 | 0.0% |
| 2013 | 0.0% |
| 2014 | 0.0% |
| 2015 | 0.1% |
| 2016 | 0.1% |
| 2017 | 0.2% |
| 2018 | 0.1% |
| 2019 | 0.6% |
| 2020 | 1.5% |
| 2021 | 2.1% |
| 2022 | 3.4% |
| 2023 | 2.6% |
| 2024 | 2.6% |
| 2025 | 2.2% |
Source:DfT / DVLA 2001 to 2025 Updated
Tesla MOT reliability
In 2025, 83.6% of MOT tests of Tesla cars were passed first time, from 136,128 tests. Cars of the same ages pass 87.0% of the time, so Tesla does worse than average for the age of its cars, by 3.4 points. That ranks Tesla No. 40 of the 50 makes with enough tests to compare. 8.6% of Tesla tests found at least one dangerous defect, against 7.3% for all cars.
Among Tesla models with enough tests, the Model S does best for its age (+1.2 points against cars of the same ages) and the Model Y does worst (−5.6 points). Average age at test for Tesla cars: 4.3 years.
Every make and model ranked by MOT pass rate
Source:DVSA,UK Motoring analysis 2025 Updated
Tesla safety recalls
DVSA lists 26 safety recalls naming a Tesla car model since 1992, across 5 models. 24 were launched from 2016 to 2025, ranking Tesla No. 29 of the makes with recalls in those years. A recall naming several Tesla models counts once.
Recalls launched each year, 2010 to 2025
| Year | Recalls |
|---|---|
| ’10 | 1 |
| ’11 | 0 |
| ’12 | 0 |
| ’13 | 0 |
| ’14 | 0 |
| ’15 | 1 |
| ’16 | 0 |
| ’17 | 3 |
| ’18 | 2 |
| ’19 | 1 |
| ’20 | 1 |
| ’21 | 5 |
| ’22 | 4 |
| ’23 | 2 |
| ’24 | 1 |
| ’25 | 5 |
Source:DVSA,UK Motoring analysis January 1992 to September 2026 Updated
Models with the most recalls
| Model | Recalls |
|---|---|
| Tesla Model 3 | 11 |
| Tesla Model S | 8 |
| Tesla Model X | 8 |
| Tesla Model Y | 7 |
| Tesla Roadster | 1 |
Source:DVSA,UK Motoring analysis January 1992 to September 2026 Updated
Latest Tesla recalls
- 16 Oct 2025 Loss of Reverse Light Recall Tesla Model Y
- 24 Sept 2025 Update Vehicle Firmware to Remedy Anti Pinch Feature of Right Front Window Tesla Model Y
- 28 Mar 2025 Loss of Rearview Camera Display Recall Tesla Model 3, Tesla Model Y, Tesla Model X
- 14 Mar 2025 Update Vehicle Software To Rectify EPAS Functionality Tesla Model 3, Tesla Model Y
- 7 Mar 2025 Update Vehicle Firmware To Restore Post-Crash eCall Functionality Tesla Model S, Tesla Model X
Models mostly registered as vans are left out, as on our recalls hub. A recall applies to vehicles built on particular dates or with particular VINs, not to every Tesla. To check a specific car, use GOV.UK’s vehicle recall check. How we match recalls to models.
Source:DVSA,UK Motoring analysis January 1992 to September 2026 Updated
Makes of a similar size
| Rank | Make | Licensed | Change on a year | Main fuel | MOT vs same ages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | MG | 434,254 | +20.7% | Petrol | −2.3 pts |
| 24 | Jaguar | 349,427 | −4.6% | Diesel | +5.6 pts |
| 25 | Dacia | 294,162 | +8.3% | Petrol | −9.6 pts |
| 26 | Tesla | 282,678 | +17.2% | Electric | −3.4 pts |
| 27 | Porsche | 229,611 | +5.1% | Petrol | +15.2 pts |
| 28 | Lexus | 205,121 | +4.8% | Hybrid | +10.5 pts |
| 29 | Mitsubishi | 165,239 | −6.1% | Petrol | +0.5 pts |
Data sources and methodology
| Figures | Source | Period | Records | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Licensed and SORN counts | Vehicle licensing statistics Department for Transport | End of March 2026 | 37,339,879 car records (licensed and SORN) | 15 September 2026 |
| Registered for the first time | Vehicle licensing statistics Department for Transport | 2001 to 2025 | – | 15 September 2026 |
| MOT results | Anonymised MOT tests and results Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2025 | 29,122,953 car MOT tests | 15 September 2026 |
| Safety recalls | Vehicle safety recalls Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency Derived statistics UK Motoring | January 1992 to September 2026 | 7,495 road vehicle recalls (R/) | 15 September 2026 |
- Figures cover Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales). Northern Ireland is not included.
- Make totals count every car DVLA records under the make, including models too small for a page of their own. The rank is among all 525 makes on the record.
- Licensed counts are vehicles with a current tax or exemption at the end of each year (or the latest quarter). SORN counts are shown separately.
- First registrations count cars registered in Great Britain for the first time, including used imports.
- MOT figures cover normal tests of cars aged three and over; retests are excluded. The same-ages figure is what all cars would score with this make’s mix of ages.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.