Everything You Need To Know About Tesla Roadside Assistance

While roadside assistance from Tesla comes with many exclusions, the plan itself and the major services it provides are free with an active warranty, making it a useful perk for owners of new Tesla vehicles. In addition, Tesla roadside assistance stands out because it offers extremely broad towing coverage.

Check out the rest of this Tesla roadside assistance review for more information on how to access emergency services and what limitations you should be aware of.

Key Takeaways Tesla provides complimentary roadside assistance benefits — including lockout assistance and up to 500 miles of towing — to drivers with an active Basic Vehicle Limited Warranty or Extended Service Agreement. Drivers must pay on a per-service basis for other services, like flat tire repairs and jumpstarts, and all services require payment once warranties and service agreements expire. The maximum coverage period for free roadside assistance through Tesla is six years or 75,000 miles, whichever comes first. Drivers can request roadside assistance by phone or through Tesla’s mobile app.

Tesla Roadside Assistance Overview

Availability	Most countries with a Tesla Store or Service Center
Annual Pricing	Free while your warranty is active
Service Calls per Year	No stated limit
Towing	Yes
Winching	No
Battery Jumpstarts	Sometimes
Lockout Services	Yes
Flat Tire Changes	Yes
Fuel Delivery	N/A
Trip Interruption	No
Contact	877-798-3752 or Tesla mobile app

Our Thoughts on Tesla Roadside Assistance

Tesla’s roadside services are unique in many ways, addressing the needs of Tesla customers with greater specificity than a typical roadside assistance plan. For example, rather than towing your broken-down vehicle to the closest repair shop, Tesla will generally tow your car to a Tesla Service Center. As a result, the company may cover very long-distance tows at no charge to you, depending on your location.^[1]

Another upside to Tesla roadside assistance is its widespread availability — support is accessible throughout the United States and in the majority of countries with a Tesla Store or Service Center. Nevertheless, Tesla’s roadside coverage can be narrow in some cases, limiting or outright excluding coverage for multiple services offered by many other roadside assistance providers.^[1]

Tesla Roadside Assistance Cost

Tesla roadside assistance is free if you have an active Basic Vehicle Limited Warranty or Extended Service Agreement, which are Tesla’s equivalents of a comprehensive factory warranty and extended warranty, respectively.^[1] The cost of a Basic Vehicle Limited Warranty is automatically included in the price of your new car. Meanwhile, Extended Service Agreement prices range from $1,800 to $3,500 — depending on your Tesla Model — as of 2023.^[2]

Since complimentary roadside assistance is tied to your warranties, the length of your coverage period depends on the type of warranty you have.

Your Basic Vehicle Limited Warranty remains active for four years after you purchase your car or until you drive it 50,000 miles, whichever comes first.^[3] Although Tesla previously offered Extended Service Agreements lasting as long as four years or 50,000 miles, the company currently only advertises extended warranties lasting up to two years or 25,000 miles.^[4][5]

You can’t renew an Extended Service Agreement, so the maximum coverage period for free Tesla roadside assistance is six years or 75,000 miles.^[5] That said, you may still be able to request towing support through Tesla without paying a subscription fee after your warranties expire. However, you will have to pay on a per-service basis if you no longer have an active warranty.^[1]

Tesla Roadside Assistance Coverage

While roadside assistance from Tesla includes coverage for multiple situations that could leave someone unable to drive their car, it’s worth noting that there are also a large number of exclusions expressly mentioned in the company’s roadside assistance policy documents.

What’s Included	What Isn’t Included
Towing	Winching
Tire changes	Third-party repairs
Lockout services	Hazardous conditions
Some battery services	Vehicle modifications
	Physical damage
	Vehicle misuse

What’s Included?

Tesla roadside assistance provides coverage for the following situations and services:^[1][6]

• Towing: If you experience a breakdown covered by your warranty, Tesla will send a tow truck to transport your vehicle to the nearest Tesla Service Center for repairs. Towing is free for up to 500 miles, but you will have to cover the excess costs if you are more than 500 miles away from a Service Center. In addition, you will have to cover 100% of the costs if you need a tow after a breakdown that isn’t covered by your warranty.
• Tire changes: You can ask Tesla to send a technician to fix or replace your tire if you get a flat tire within 50 miles of a Tesla Service Center, though you will have to pay for the tire repair or replacement itself. If your car must be towed, Tesla won’t charge you for the first 50 miles.
• Lockout services: In the event that you are locked out of your vehicle, Tesla will first attempt to unlock it remotely. If this doesn’t work, the company may send someone to get your key for you, unlock your car door manually or tow your vehicle to the nearest Tesla Service Center. Like with flat tires, tows necessitated by lockouts are free for up to 50 miles.
• Some battery services: Tesla may send help in certain situations where your battery is depleted and you can’t make it to a charging station, like if the vehicle has been unplugged for a long amount of time. However, Tesla won’t cover high-voltage battery depletion or low-voltage battery depletion caused by wear and tear. Even if Tesla sends someone to help, you must pay for battery services out of pocket.

The Tesla website notes that the company is “equipped and ready to assist you” with other services not listed above, but unspecified services may require an additional payment.^[6] As a result, Tesla may provide even broader roadside coverage if you are willing to pay full price for the services you receive.

What Isn’t Included?

There are several exclusions explicitly mentioned in a Tesla roadside assistance policy, including the following:^[1]

• Winching: Tesla won’t cover the costs of extracting your vehicle if it gets stuck in mud, snow, sand or a similar surface, even though this benefit is covered by many other roadside assistance plans.
• Third-party repairs: You cannot receive reimbursement from Tesla for services performed by another provider unless you receive prior authorization from Tesla — even if Tesla is unable to perform repairs because you have installed an aftermarket part.
• Hazardous conditions: If you experience a breakdown in a situation or location where it might be dangerous for Tesla workers to come to you — such as an act of God or conflict zone — you may not be able to receive roadside assistance.
• Vehicle modifications: Your tow won’t be covered if you have installed vehicle modifications that require your car to be towed with special equipment or make it more likely to be damaged while being towed.
• Physical damage: In general, Tesla won’t provide roadside assistance after your car experiences physical damage due to a collision with a car or other object.
• Vehicle misuse: Roadside assistance from Tesla excludes coverage for tows necessitated by dangerous activities — like offroading and racing — or failure to properly take care of your vehicle.

Beyond these, your Tesla roadside assistance policy may also exclude coverage for transportation after repairs are completed at a Service Center, violations of the law, vandalism, installation and removal of snow chains, broken windows, transportation of animals and more.^[1] Be sure to read your plan documents for a comprehensive overview of your policy’s exclusions.

How To Request Tesla Roadside Assistance

You can access roadside support services through the Tesla mobile app by scrolling to the bottom of the home screen and selecting “Roadside.” From there, you can identify the specific issue you’re facing, provide relevant details, confirm your location and click “Request Help.”^[6] Alternatively, Tesla owners in the United States and most of Canada can call 877-798-3752 for 24/7 roadside assistance.^[7]

If you live in another region, you can check Tesla’s website to figure out what phone number you should call to request roadside assistance.^[7]

How To Add Tesla Roadside Assistance

Roadside assistance coverage is automatically included with your limited or extended warranty, so you shouldn’t need to take any additional steps to activate your policy whenever you purchase a new Tesla or an Extended Service Agreement. However, you may need to reach out to the automaker to make sure you are covered if you buy a used Tesla.

Tesla’s roadside assistance plans follow the car rather than the driver, which means an active plan should transfer to you for the remainder of the warranty’s coverage period after you purchase a used Tesla — or to the new owner if you sell your Tesla. In either case, the new owner will need to contact Tesla and provide proof of the change in ownership to keep the car’s roadside coverage active.^[1]

Pros and Cons of Tesla Roadside Assistance

These are the biggest pros and cons to keep in mind as you evaluate Tesla roadside assistance coverage.

Pros	Cons
Major services are free for warranty holders	Some basic services aren’t covered
Still accessible after warranties expire	Limited renewal options for free coverage
Extensive towing coverage

Pros

Some of the biggest benefits of Tesla’s roadside assistance plans include the following:^[1]

• Major services are free for warranty holders: As long as your warranty is active, you won’t have to pay for some of the primary roadside services Tesla provides, including most towing and locksmith services. You also receive roadside coverage automatically with no subscription fee, meaning you won’t even need to weigh the pros and cons of buying it when you first purchase a new Tesla.
• Still accessible after warranties expire: Even when you are no longer eligible for free roadside assistance, you may still be able to contact Tesla for a tow anytime you find yourself stuck on the side of the road. Although you’ll have to pay out of pocket for the services you receive, you may have more peace of mind knowing that you’ll have a way to transport your broken-down vehicle to a shop where specialized mechanics can fix it.
• Extensive towing coverage: Depending on your circumstances, Tesla may cover tows of up to 500 miles at no cost to you — which is a much longer distance than most other roadside assistance plans will cover. As a result, if your warranty is active and you’re within eight hours or so of a Tesla Service Center, you won’t have to worry about paying anything to get your vehicle towed after a covered mechanical breakdown.

Cons

Consider that the potential drawbacks of Tesla’s roadside assistance coverage include the following:^[1][5][6]

• Some basic services aren’t covered: Regardless of whether your warranty is active, Tesla won’t cover the costs of some basic services — like winching and jumpstarts — which could cause your expenses to add up quickly if you need roadside assistance on multiple occasions.
• Limited renewal options for free coverage: Since you can only buy one Extended Service Agreement, there is a hard cap on how long you can receive roadside assistance services from Tesla for free. For this reason, you may want to evaluate roadside assistance plans from other companies once your Extended Service Agreement expires.

Tesla Roadside Assistance vs. the Competition

While you may be inclined to stick with Tesla-specific roadside solutions if you’re a Tesla owner, the following table can give you an idea of how other roadside assistance companies compare to the electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer.

	All Basic Services Covered?	Towing Coverage
Tesla[1]	Limited or no coverage for jumpstarts, winching and fuel delivery	500 miles
AAA[8][9]	Yes	5 to 200 miles
Liberty Mutual[10]	Winching is not covered	Nearest qualified facility
Nationwide[11]	Yes	15 to 100 miles
State Farm[12]	Yes	Nearest repair facility plus 10 miles
Travelers[13]	Yes	15 to 100 miles