Tesla VIN decoder: 5YJ, 7SA, the motor code and the factory

Tesla VIN decoder: the first three characters

Tesla files a VIN decoder with NHTSA every model year, and the 2025 version lists three US prefixes. 5YJ is a passenger car, designated for the Model S and Model 3. 7SA is a multipurpose vehicle, designated for the Model X and Model Y. 7G2 is a truck and covers the Semi and the Cybertruck.

The split is fairly new. Tesla’s 2020 decoder lists 5YJ alone for all four models, so a 2020 Model Y from Fremont starts with 5YJ and a 2025 one starts with 7SA. Cars from outside the US carry other prefixes: LRW for Tesla’s Shanghai factory and XP7 for Tesla Europe, which covers Giga Berlin-Brandenburg.

Positions 4 to 7: model, body, restraints, fuel

Position 4 is the model line. S, X, 3 and Y are the four cars, C is the Cybertruck and T the Semi. Position 5 gives the body type and weight class, such as E for the four-door Model 3 sedan and G for a Class D five-door MPV, which is how the decoder lists the Model Y.

Position 6 describes the seat belts and airbags. On a Model Y it separates a five-seat car, code D, from the seven-seat versions, codes A and B. Position 7 is the fuel type, and on every Tesla that is E for electric.

Position 8: the motor and drive unit

Position 8 is the character to check before you order drivetrain or suspension parts. On the 2025 decoder, A is a single-motor Model 3 and B a dual-motor Model 3, while D, E and F cover the single-motor, dual-motor and Performance Model Y. On the Model S and Model X, 5 is the dual motor and 6 the tri motor.

The codes change between years, so read the decoder for the car’s model year. The dual-motor Performance Model 3 is C on the 2023 decoder and T on the 2025 one, and the Model S used 1 to 4 on the 2020 decoder before the current codes. The Cybertruck uses C, D and E for single, dual and triple motor.

Model year and factory: positions 10 and 11

Position 10 is the model year, S for 2025 and T for 2026. Position 11 is the plant on US-built cars: F is Fremont in California and A is Austin in Texas, and the Semi comes from N, which is Reno in Nevada.

A Model Y from Austin and one from Shanghai share a name, and the catalog can list different parts for different markets. The prefix and position 11 tell you which one is in front of you before you open the catalog.

The limits of a Tesla VIN

Tesla’s decoder stops at the motor layout. It does not list the battery pack, the paint, the wheels or the interior, and it has no position for mid-year hardware changes. Tesla also changes parts inside a model year, so two cars with the same first 11 characters can take different parts.

The parts catalog handles that by generation and by build. Our guide to the Tesla EPC explains how Tesla splits each model into generations by month and why the market you choose changes the answer.

Tesla parts by VIN on VINsearch

VINsearch opens the Tesla catalog on the same login as the rest of the 53 catalogs, which helps a workshop that sees Teslas next to everything else. Run the VIN through the free VIN decoder for the maker, country and model year, then open the Tesla catalog for the diagrams and part numbers that fit that car. For battery and high-voltage work, see our guide to EPCs for electric vehicles.