The tenth character encodes the model year. The sequence starts at A for 2010 and skips the letters I, O, Q, U and Z, as well as the digit 0. After Y (2030) the digits 1–9 take over for 2031–2039.
Year codes
| Code | Year | Code | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
C | 2012 | N | 2022 |
D | 2013 | P | 2023 |
E | 2014 | R | 2024 |
F | 2015 | S | 2025 |
G | 2016 | T | 2026 |
H | 2017 | V | 2027 |
J | 2018 | W | 2028 |
K | 2019 | X | 2029 |
L | 2020 | Y | 2030 |
M | 2021 |
Important details
- Model year is not the build date. Tesla started using model years in the standard way from late 2019. A car with
L(2020) may have been built as early as November 2019. For exact production dates, check the compliance sticker on the driver-door jamb. - Shanghai and Berlin. Cars from these plants reportedly carry the calendar build year here rather than a model year, so a Berlin-built Model Y with
Nwas built in 2022. - Digits 8 and 9 stand for 2008 and 2009 – the original Roadster.
- Model availability. A VIN claiming a model year before the model existed (for example a Model Y with
F, 2015) is impossible. TeslaVin warns about these inconsistencies.
Examples
5YJ3E1EA2KF317000→K= 2019, built in Fremont.XP7YGCEK7NB123456→N= 2022, built in Berlin.7G2CEHED1RA123456→R= 2024, a Cybertruck built in Austin.
Not sure what year you have? Decode the VIN – TeslaVin reads position 10 and compares it with NHTSA’s own decode.
