I come to the oracle of Leashackr for help.
The Lease Transfer process with Tesla is a confusing mess (in my experience) and I would love any info/advice/clarity y’all can offer.
I started the lease transfer process for my leased Model 3 (2yrs left on lease) on Jan 31. I did all my due diligence beforehand and researched what is needed. I found a lovely person willing to take over the lease. She applied the same day she saw the car.
Same day (15 min after she received the Lease Transfer Request email) she receives an email called “Review Your Tesla Lease Offer” that said
“Your Tesla Lease application has been approved and your offer is ready for review. Confirm the terms in your Tesla Account.”
We did not think this meant a credit check was run because it was so fast. We assumed it meant her application was without errors and it went through.
Two days later we receive an email that read:
Thank you for submitting an application for lease transfer! We are reaching out because this vehicle requires us to order a paper title from your state as they are typically electronically held. We have ordered the paper copy of original title for this vehicle which is required to move forward with an ownership transfer. Titles can take 6-8 weeks to be printed and received by Tesla.
I fired email after email after voicemail after voicemail (of course you can’t speak with anyone live) and asked 1. is there any way to expedite the process (CA DMV allows for rush processing of titles) and 2. is the woman approved and we’re just waiting for the title to continue the process?
It’s over a week later and 4 email replies and 1 voicemail reply and all they’ve said is a variation of “we’ll get back to you once we have the title”. I’m exasperated.
Her bank says there was a hard credit pull on her account. So I guess they did do the credit check?
I’m happy to add her to my insurance and let her drive the car already if it’s basically an approved lease transfer that is just waiting for the paperwork, but no, god forbid they give me (or her) a clear answer.
TLDR: I’d just like to know if others who have gone through the lease transfer process had clarification whether their buyer was approved or not WHILE they were waiting for DMV to send the physical title.
Normal procedure. Will wait for an Actual CA resident to respond but yes, in some cases, they may need electronic to paper title etc to complete transfer.
Since u already mentioned, Person must be very Lovely indeed for you to even think about adding her to ur insurance and letting her drive. Very risky move if u decide to take it though.
I get the needing the electronic to paper title for completion of the transfer, but I don’t get why they can’t give a clear answer that she is approved after running her credit check and sending a copy of it back to her. (She’s over 700, so I assume she’s fine but still)
Basically I’m worried that we wait all this time and they go “ok we got the title, unfortunately you are not a valid candidate to take over this lease”…
My friend transferred his Model Y a few months ago in California. After a quick approval it took them 9 weeks to finalize the deal saying they were waiting for the paper title. He was worried the person taking over would walk away, especially as Elon kept lowering the price of the car.
Your transfer may be approved but I’d hold off on doing anything (like adding a stranger to your insurance) until it is finalized and you are given the go ahead to transfer possession of the vehicle.
Unfortunately with paper title, it is what it is. Just have to hang tight and wait it out. Good luck
Its approved. This is the Lease credit application which ran the credit check. You said her bank says she had a hard pull, and she has a 700 score and im hoping previous auto lease history.
This should be for the actual transfer process which can only be completed once the paper title is received.
Its looks very similar to a BMW lease transfer which has 3 steps. Credit approval, actual lease transfershio between current and new owner and finally physical transfer of vehicle posession.
Thank you for the replies everyone! It makes me think that she’s approved and will take it over once the title business is done.
Two of you advised me against adding her to insurance and letting her drive. What’s your thought process on this? She would pay for the car payments and insurance in advance through me and I would have all her info, address, credit score etc and I’ve also met the woman and she doesn’t strike me as a criminal mastermind?
Would I be on the hook for damages to someone else’s car if she’s driving? Or if she crashes the car it would show up on my history? I don’t plan to have a car for at least a year so just wondering if there’s any real threat or just a common sense idea of don’t trust strangers?
Had the same issue with them. But from my experience the title arrived within 7-10 days. (rather than the 6-8 weeks they mentioned)
Yes, communication with the lease transfer team is horrible. But they send you an email every time they have an update. Overall process was pretty simple. They send you and the new lessee a contract to sign and assign a date of transfer.
Bro this sounds like a love story movie in the making. We get it, she doesnt strike like a criminal, but maybe she is a spy lol. JK.
Even if she is making payments, and you add her to your insurance (which Im not sure how insurance would agree if you have different zipcodes and no actual relationship), any damages she does to the current car and the others would add up on your insurance record immediately. Basically your insurance rates are screwed thanks to a lovely STRANGER (yes for insurance companies, she would still be a stranger). Even uglier side, if she ends up hurting or causing death to someone else by driving, the victims and family can come after you as well.
So just be patient and wait till the process is completed.
everything @mani_is_kool said and more. As the lessor (until transfer is finalized), you are still wholly responsible for the vehicle. In a weird quirk, I wonder if you’ll be violating your lease agreement by letting someone who’s not in your household drive your car?
Anyways, here’s a little more food for thought if you’re planning to have a gap in insurance coverage. May not be able to do anything about it, but will be good to be aware of:
everything 
