Is Tesla Roadside Assistance Worth It?

While roadside assistance from Tesla offers somewhat limited coverage, the plan itself and the major services it provides are free if you have an active Tesla warranty, making it a useful perk for owners of new Tesla vehicles. About one-third of American drivers experience a vehicle breakdown each year due to causes like worn-out batteries, blown-out tires and more, meaning most drivers would benefit from maintaining a roadside assistance policy.^[1]

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

Key Takeaways Tesla provides complimentary roadside assistance services like towing and locksmith services to drivers with an active Basic Vehicle Limited Warranty or Extended Service Agreement. You’ll have to pay on a per-service basis for other services like flat tire repairs, while all services require payment after your warranties expire. The maximum coverage period for free roadside assistance through Tesla is six years or 75,000 miles. Drivers can request roadside assistance over the phone or through Tesla’s mobile app.

Tesla Roadside Assistance Overview

Availability	All U.S. states and territories with a Tesla Store or Service Center
Annual Pricing	No cost while your warranty is active
Service Calls per Year	No stated limit
Tow Truck	Up to 500 miles for free while your warranty is active
Winching	No
Battery Jump-Start	No
Lockout	Yes
Flat Tire	Yes
Fuel Delivery	No
On-Scene Labor	No
Trip Interruption	No
Contact	Call 877-798-3752 or use the Tesla mobile app

Our Thoughts on Tesla’s Roadside Assistance

Tesla’s roadside services are unique in many ways, addressing the needs of Tesla owners with more specificity than a typical roadside assistance plan would. For example, rather than towing your broken-down vehicle to any nearby repair shop, Tesla will always tow your car to a Tesla Service Center. To match this stipulation, Tesla may provide long-distance tows at no charge depending on your situation.

At the same time, Tesla’s coverage can be narrow in some cases, lacking the same depth of services that many other roadside assistance providers offer. Keep reading for a more thorough breakdown of the costs and coverages that come with Tesla roadside assistance.

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.^[2] The Basic Vehicle Limited Warranty is automatically included in the price of your new car, while Extended Service Agreement prices range from $2,000 to $3,500 depending on your Tesla Model as of March 2023.^[3]

After your warranties expire, you may still be able to access roadside assistance services through Tesla without paying any sort of subscription fee. However, you will have to pay for repairs and transportation on a per-service basis anytime you receive roadside support from Tesla without an active warranty.

How Does Tesla Roadside Assistance Work?

Tesla’s roadside assistance plans follow the car rather than the driver, which means an active plan should transfer to you if you buy a used Tesla vehicle or to the new owner if you sell your vehicle. However, the new owner will need to contact Tesla and provide proof of the change in ownership to keep the coverage active.^[2]

Since your free access to roadside assistance is tied to your warranties, the length of your coverage will depend on the type of warranty you have.

Tesla’s Basic Vehicle Limited Warranty remains active for four years after you purchase your vehicle or until you drive 50,000 miles, whichever comes first, while an Extended Service Agreement lasts up to two years or 25,000 miles.^[4][5] Extended Service Agreements can’t be renewed, which means the maximum coverage period for complimentary Tesla roadside assistance is six years or 75,000 miles.^[5]

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 explicitly mentioned in the company’s roadside assistance policies.

What’s Included	What’s NOT Included
Towing	Post-repair transportation
Flat tires	Third-party repairs
Lockouts	Hazardous conditions
Limited out-of-range coverage	Vehicle modifications
	Physical damage
	Battery depletion
	Vehicle misuse
	Vehicle extraction
	Violations of the law

What Is Included

Tesla roadside assistance provides coverage for the following situations and services:^[2][6]

• Towing: If your car experiences a mechanical breakdown due to an internal failure 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 pay any excess costs if you are more than 500 miles away from the nearest Service Center. In addition, you will have to cover 100% of the costs if you receive towing services after a breakdown that isn’t covered by your warranty.
• Flat tires: Tesla will send someone to repair or replace your tire if it goes flat within 50 miles of a Tesla Service Center. If your car must be towed, Tesla won’t charge you for the first 50 miles. However, you will have to pay for the tire repair or replacement itself.
• Lockouts: 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, post-lockout tows are free up to 50 miles.
• Limited out-of-range coverage: The company may also send help if your electric vehicle (EV) is low on power and you won’t be able to make it to the nearest charging station but you will have to pay the full cost for this service.

The Tesla website notes that the company is “equipped and ready to assist you” with other services not listed above but that all unspecified services require 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 Is Not Included

Meanwhile, Tesla’s roadside assistance policies don’t provide any coverage for the following circumstances:^[2]

• Post-repair transportation: After Tesla Service Center technicians complete your car repairs, Tesla won’t cover any costs related to transporting your vehicle to your home or another location.
• Third-party repairs: Tesla won’t pay for repairs you receive from another provider even if Tesla is unable to perform repairs because you have installed an aftermarket part.
• Hazardous conditions: You can’t receive roadside assistance from Tesla in the midst of an act of God, conflict zone or any other situation or location where it might be dangerous for Tesla workers to come to you.
• Vehicle modifications: If you have modified your vehicle such that it is more likely to be damaged while being towed or can only be towed using special equipment, your tow will not be covered.
• Physical damage: Tesla won’t provide roadside assistance after your car experiences physical damage due to a collision with a car or other object.
• Battery depletion: Whether you lack the right charging equipment for your high-voltage battery or your low-voltage battery experiences wear and tear, your car won’t be eligible for roadside assistance on account of battery depletion.
• Vehicle misuse: You can’t request roadside assistance if your vehicle is damaged because you were participating in dangerous activities like off-roading and racing or if you otherwise abused your vehicle or failed to take proper care of it.
• Vehicle extraction: Tesla doesn’t offer help to get your car out if it’s stuck in mud, snow or sand.
• Violations of the law: Any towing or other expenses associated with actual or alleged criminal actions won’t be covered by Tesla.

Beyond these, Tesla roadside assistance policies come with other exclusions such as vandalism, installation and removal of snow chains, broken windows, transporting animals, overloading your vehicle and more.^[2]

How To Request Roadside Assistance From Tesla

Tesla owners in the United States and Canada can call 877-798-3752 to request roadside assistance. Phone numbers for other regions are listed on the Tesla website.^[7] Otherwise, you can access roadside support services through the Tesla mobile app.

Once you have pulled up the Tesla app, you can scroll to the bottom of the home screen and select “Roadside.” From there, you can identify the specific issue you’re facing, provide relevant details, confirm your location and click “Request Help.”^[6]

How To Add Tesla Roadside Assistance to Your Policy

Roadside assistance coverage is automatically available whenever you purchase a new Tesla. As a result, there are no additional steps you need to take to activate your policy beyond informing the company after buying a used Tesla.^[2]

Pros and Cons of Tesla Roadside Assistance

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:

• Major services are free for warranty holders: The most obvious benefit is the fact that you won’t have to pay for some of the primary services Tesla provides like local towing and locksmith services as long as your warranty is active. You also receive the coverage automatically with no subscription fee, which means you won’t even need to weigh the pros and cons when you first buy a new Tesla.
• Still accessible after warranties expire: Even when you are no longer eligible for free services, you may still be able to contact Tesla whenever you find yourself stuck on the side of the road. Although you’ll have to pay 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, 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

On the flip side, some of the drawbacks you might encounter with Tesla’s roadside assistance coverage include the following:

• Some basic services aren’t covered: Regardless of whether your warranty is active, you’ll have to pay out of pocket for some basic services like winching and jump-starts, which could cause your costs 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 for free from Tesla.^[5] As a result, you may want to evaluate roadside assistance plans from other companies once your Extended Service Agreement expires.

Tesla vs. The Competition

Tesla’s roadside coverage is specifically tailored for Tesla owners, so it naturally differs from plans offered by insurance carriers and other companies that specialize in roadside assistance. You can view the table below to see examples of how Tesla’s coverage is different from other popular roadside assistance plans.

	Tesla[2]	Allstate[8][9][10]	USAA[11][12][13]	AAA[14][15][16][17]
Annual Cost	$0 with active warranty	$25 to $179 depending on policy details	$18 to $24	$51.50 to $114.50 depending on membership details (prices may vary based on location)
Service Calls	1/incident but coverage may be limited if claims are filed excessively	Up to 7/year	No stated limit	4/year
Tow Truck	Up to 500 miles for free with active warranty	Up to 100 miles	Tows to nearest repair shop covered in most locations	Up to 200 miles
Winching	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Battery Jump-Start	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Lockout	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Flat Tire	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Fuel Delivery	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
On-Scene Labor	No	Yes	Yes, with 1-hour service times	Yes
Response Time	Not stated	30 minutes	60 to 90 minutes	“20 minutes faster than other companies”