What does it mean for a Tesla to have a blue license plate?
4 Answers
Tesla with a blue license plate refers to Tesla vehicles purchased earlier when green license plates were not yet available, hence they were registered with blue plates. Tesla is an American electric vehicle and clean energy company founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning in Silicon Valley, California. Tesla's vehicle lineup includes the Model 3, Model X, Model S, and Model Y. The Model 3 is a pure electric mid-size sedan with dimensions of 4694mm in length, 1850mm in width, and 1443mm in height, and a wheelbase of 2875mm. The Model 3 comes in rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive versions, with the all-wheel drive version featuring dual motors and the rear-wheel drive version equipped with a single motor.
I've always driven a Tesla, but my car has a blue license plate. This is because cars purchased before the end of 2016 were registered with blue plates, as the green plate policy hadn't been implemented yet. My Model S was registered in 2015, so it has a blue plate. Nowadays, most Teslas on the road have green plates, but early owners like me with blue plates are not uncommon. Actually, there's no difference between blue and green plates for the car itself, but there are differences in traffic restriction policies. Blue plates in some cities must comply with traditional traffic restrictions, while green plates are exempt. Additionally, during annual inspections, the staff always double-check that it's an electric vehicle, which is quite troublesome. Long-time owners should pay attention to these detail differences.
A few days ago at the DMV, I happened to see a blue-plate Tesla owner inquiring. This situation usually occurs with Teslas purchased before 2016, when the new energy license plate policy hadn't been implemented nationwide. It's said these vehicles were registered following standard fuel vehicle procedures back then. Nowadays, newly purchased Teslas all get green new energy plates, but older vehicles can keep their original plates. The owner mentioned some parking systems might misidentify them as fuel vehicles, resulting in being charged at petrol car rates. It's recommended that owners of such vehicles keep their purchase certificates handy.
My friend's 2015 Model S has a blue license plate, just like regular gasoline-powered cars. He purchased it before the implementation of the special new energy vehicle license plate policy, when all electric vehicles were registered with blue plates. Nowadays, such vehicles are becoming increasingly rare on the roads. Despite the different plates, there's no difference in charging and maintenance compared to green-plate vehicles. The only thing to note is that during insurance claims, you must proactively clarify that it's a new energy vehicle; otherwise, the insurance company might assess damages based on gasoline vehicle standards. For these older vehicles during ownership transfers, it's important to be aware that some cities allow switching to green plates, while others only permit continued use of the blue plates.
