Is my Tesla a 2025 or 2026 Model Y? How do I check the model year?

The short answer

If your Tesla was sold in the US, count ten characters from the left of the 17-character VIN. The tenth is the model year code. In the federal table (49 CFR 565.15, Table VII), S is 2025 and T is 2026; R is 2024 and V is 2027.

That tells you the maker’s model year, not the day the car was built. The federal definition says a model year can cover a production period of up to 24 months, “irrespective of the calendar year in which the vehicle was actually produced”. So a car coded T can have been built in 2025. If the build date matters to you, for example for the tires or an accessory, you need the date, not only the code.

We read the federal rules and Tesla’s manual on October 30, 2026. We could not find a Tesla page that explains the year code or lists what differs between model years, so we say nothing about that.

Step 1: find the VIN

Tesla’s Model Y manual lists three places:

• The touchscreen: Controls, then Software.
• The dashboard plate: stamped on a plate at the top of the dashboard, visible through the windshield.
• The door pillar: printed on the Vehicle Certification label, visible with the driver’s door open.

Cars built at Gigafactory Berlin or Shanghai have the VIN in other places (the rear right door sill under the interior trim, or stamped into the floor under the carpet), and Tesla’s checklist speaks of the moment you “receive a VIN” for your order.

Step 2: read the tenth character

Count nine characters from the left; the next one is the tenth. Match it against the federal table:

Tenth character	Model year
R	2024
S	2025
T	2026
V	2027

The table has a condition: the federal rule says the code refers to a year in the range 2010 to 2039 if the seventh character is a letter, and to 1980 to 2009 if it is a number.

Step 3: compare with the label

For vehicles sold in the US, the federal rule for the certification label (49 CFR 567.4) requires the month and year of manufacture, meaning when work was completed at the place of main assembly. Tesla’s manual says the label is on the door pillar and carries the VIN, but it does not describe the rest of the label. Its note on the emission control label does use the term “model year” (“vehicles with a model year of 2022 or newer”). Read yours and write down both dates: the month and year on the label, and the model year from the VIN.

You can also decode the VIN with NHTSA’s VIN decoder. The page says the information it shows is reported by the manufacturer and that more may be on the label on the vehicle. We did not check whether it decodes cars sold outside the US.

Why it matters for accessories

Tesla’s shop notes speak of production year, not model year. For the Model Y they say things like “Compatible with Model Y vehicles produced in 2025+”, and some products are separate listings for cars produced in 2020 to 2024. A car built late in 2025 and labelled 2026 is still produced in 2025. Read our guide on Model Y accessories before delivery before you order.

Ask Tesla in writing

Our suggestions, not Tesla’s:

• Write down the VIN, the tenth character, the month and year on the label and the date of your order.
• Ask your advisor in writing which model year Tesla lists for your car and when it was produced.
• Take a dated screenshot of any compatibility note you rely on.
• If the car looks as if it was built months ago, see Tesla built months ago.

What we did not confirm

We did not confirm what changed between the 2025 and 2026 Model Y, because we found no Tesla page that publishes it. We did not confirm that cars sold outside the US use the same year code. We give no prices.

For the car itself, TSL Check is the iPhone app we make: its delivery checklist takes you around the car area by area, with a photo and a note for whatever you find (how it works). If you have just received your VIN, see what happens after you get your VIN, and to check it for open recalls, how to check Tesla recalls by VIN.

Whatever you find at delivery, ask the advisor to record it before you sign, and keep a copy.