TL;DR: Tesla Financial Services has been convicted 18 times in UK Magistrates’ Courts for failing to identify drivers involved in traffic offences. Since early 2024, the company has incurred £20,686 in fines and costs after failing to respond to Section 172 notices from police forces, including the Met and South Wales Police. These cases typically involve leased Tesla vehicles caught speeding, where the company, as the registered keeper, failed to provide driver details to investigators.
It’s not been a great run for Elon Musk’s British operations lately. Tesla Financial Services convictions UK records show the company has been found guilty at least 18 times for a recurring issue: failing to work with the police.
Over the last two years, the car giant’s financial arm has been dragged through the courts over traffic offences linked to its fleet. Most of these cases stem from Tesla leased car speeding incidents. When you lease a car, Tesla is usually the registered keeper on the V5C logbook. So, when that car triggers a speed camera, the police send a Section 172 notice to Tesla’s offices in London or Manchester asking, “Who was behind the wheel?”
If the company doesn't answer, they’re the ones who end up in the dock.
Why is Tesla being fined by UK police?
The core of the problem isn't the speeding itself, but the administrative silence that follows. While nearly 4,000 people and companies across England and Wales have been convicted recently for failing to identify a driver, Tesla’s repeat appearances in court have caught the eye of legal watchers.
Take a recent case from South Wales Police. A Tesla was clocked doing 80mph on the M4 near Llantrisant. When the police asked for the driver's name, things went south. Tesla Financial Services eventually admitted guilt, blaming a technical glitch that stopped them from entering a plea online. Even though they claimed they’d replied by post, Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates’ Court wasn't having it. On 6 January, they handed down a £1,000 fine, plus another £520 in costs.
How many times has Tesla been convicted for traffic-related failures?
Since the start of 2024, there have been at least 18 recorded convictions against the company. It’s not just one rogue police force, either. Cases have been brought by the Met, Hampshire Constabulary, and Thames Valley Police.
To date, the total bill for these Tesla Financial Services legal issues stands at £20,686 in fines and court costs.
There’s a clear technical distinction here that’s worth noting. The driver might have been doing nearly 100mph in some of these cases, but because of the Section 172 notice non-compliance, the driver gets off scot-free while the company takes the criminal conviction. It’s a bizarre loophole that essentially allows drivers to avoid points on their licence if their leasing company fails to process the paperwork correctly.
A growing list of UK police traffic investigations
The legal headaches aren't over yet. Another case is currently sitting in the wings at Bath Magistrates’ Court awaiting sentencing. For a company that prides itself on high-tech automation, this recurring failure to manage basic UK police traffic investigations is a bit of an embarrassment.
Whether it's a genuine breakdown in their Manchester and London mailrooms or a deeper systemic issue with how they handle registered keeper traffic offences, the courts are clearly losing patience. The BBC reached out to Tesla for a comment on why these notices keep slipping through the cracks, but so far, the silence from their PR department matches the silence the police have been getting.
