Australia gets Tesla’s first five-year warranty

AUSTRALIA will become the first market in which Tesla will introduce a five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty, with the lengthened coverage applying to vehicles delivered here since January 1, 2026.

For now, most other markets persist with coverage akin to the four-year/80,000km “basic limited vehicle warranty” that applied in Australia until the end of 2025.

However, the lengthened five-year warranty remains shorter than the eight year/160,000km warranty Tesla launched to fanfare in 2018—but halved shortly after, in August 2019.

The new five-year plan sees Tesla belatedly match rivals like Toyota, Volkswagen and BMW, but it trails the likes of Kia, Hyundai and Skoda (seven years/unlimited km), and service-linked, longer warranties from Mitsubishi, Nissan and MG.

“This update aligns with local market expectations and instils lasting confidence in Tesla ownership,” Tesla Australia & New Zealand country director Thom Drew said in a statement.

Fine print in today’s announcement limits application of the unlimited kilometre warranty to private operators.

A separate five year/150,000km warranty applying if the vehicle was ever used for ridesharing and taxi services, hire or rental businesses, courier, security, tour or emergency services.

Such fleet-orientated limitations appear in many—but not all—competitor warranties, with Kia’s seven year/unlimited kilometre coverage applying for general fleet and government use as well as personal operation.

Should other terms from Tesla’s superseded warranty remain in place, warranty exclusions include expected events like wear and tear and consumables, as well as events such as using the vehicle as a stationary power source or using the vehicle in competition or racing.

Tesla’s existing warranty T&Cs also warn that failure to install software updates “after notification that there is an update available” can void coverage.

As with most BEVs, separate warranties apply to the drive units and traction batteries found in the two models Tesla sells in Australia, with the manufacturer promising minimum 70 per cent retention of battery capacity (from new) over the covered period.

Rear-wheel drive versions of the Model 3 sedan and Model Y have an eight year/160,000km battery warranty with all-wheel drive versions stepping the mileage limit up to 192,000km.

Five years of Australia-wide roadside assistance continues to be included with Tesla models in Australia, with the program including access to a mobile tyre repair and loaner wheel service.