Tesla has raised the standard warranty on new Model 3 and Model Y cars in Australia and New Zealand to five years for private owners, with no kilometre limit.
Private buyers now have five years of basic vehicle warranty with unlimited distance, so high-mileage use no longer cuts into their coverage. For commercial use, the policy sets a five-year term paired with a 150,000 kilometre cap, and this applies to rideshare, taxi, hire, rental, courier, security, tour, driving school and emergency vehicles.
What the warranty covers
The change affects Tesla’s basic new vehicle warranty for the Model 3 and Model Y, which deals with defects in materials or workmanship in parts built or supplied by the company. This includes core mechanical and electrical components, body parts, and corrosion or paint faults that trace back to manufacturing issues.
At the same time, the package includes five years of 24/7 roadside assistance in both Australia and New Zealand, and that coverage runs in line with the basic warranty term.
The core warranty extension does not change the separate battery and drive unit cover for these models. Rear-Wheel Drive versions of the Model 3 and Model Y keep an eight-year or 160,000 kilometre warranty, and Long Range and Performance variants keep an eight-year or 192,000 kilometre warranty.
During that time, Tesla states that the high-voltage battery should hold at least 70 percent of its original capacity, and owners may be eligible for repair or replacement if it falls below that level.
Thom Drew, Country Director for Australia and New Zealand, linked the warranty step to other regional firsts, including the roll-out of Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in right-hand-drive markets.
“Tesla Australia & New Zealand is thrilled to pioneer Global Firsts that redefine the driving experience for our customers—such as launching Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in the world’s first RHD market in 2025, and now introducing a 5-year, unlimited kilometre new vehicle warranty for 2026,” Drew said in a recent statement.
Global rollout
The new warranty applies to all Model 3 and Model Y vehicles delivered on or after January 1, 2026, and that includes cars handed over in early January before the change went public. The coverage transfers to later owners as well, so any remaining term, and remaining kilometres for commercial vehicles, move with the car to the used market.
For now, this upgrade is limited to Australia and New Zealand. Tesla support pages for regions such as the United States and Canada still list a four-year or 80,000 kilometre (or 50,000 mile) basic warranty for many vehicles.
So buyers in other markets will watch to see if the five-year term spreads. For customers in Australia and New Zealand, though, the longer basic warranty on the Model 3 and Model Y removes a regular complaint and brings the brand closer to what many car shoppers now expect when they look at new vehicles.
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