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Maria Cassidyand Rachel Broome,BBC Wales
Bloomberg via Getty Images
South Wales Police wrote to Tesla Financial Services in a bid to identify the driver of a Tesla which had been speeding at 80mph
Tesla has been convicted at least 18 times and ordered to pay more than £20,000 for repeatedly failing to co-operate with UK police forces.
The British arm of Elon Musk's electric car giant has faced multiple criminal court proceedings over the past two years linked to alleged road traffic offences.
Tesla offers its vehicles on long-term leases, and in such a scenario the leasing company is typically the registered keeper of the car.
Drivers of rented or company cars caught speeding have to be named before they can face prosecution and companies which fail to return paperwork to police can be prosecuted instead.
Almost 4,000 defendants have been convicted in courts in England and Wales in the last two weeks for failing to identify the driver of a vehicle under police investigation, leading to fines ranging from £1 to £1,000.
In one incident, South Wales Police wrote to Tesla Financial Services in a bid to identify the driver of a Tesla which had been speeding at 80mph (128km/h) on the M4 near Llantrisant, Rhondda Cynon Taf, in July 2025.
Court papers show a Tesla company director, Becky Hodgson, pleaded guilty for the firm by email in late November, saying it had tried to enter the plea online but "encountered a technical issue on the Online Plea Service portal".
Although the company admitted the criminal charge, Hodgson suggested in her email that it had complied with the police request, adding that its internal processes were followed and the nomination was sent via post.
A conviction was handed out at Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates' Court on 6 January and ended in Tesla receiving a £1,000 fine, an order for £120 costs and a £400 victim surcharge.
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The British arm of Tesla has faced multiple court proceedings linked to allegations of road traffic offences
At least 18 convictions recorded against Tesla Financial Services have been identified by the Press Association since the start of 2024, including prosecutions brought by the Metropolitan Police, Hampshire Constabulary and Thames Valley Police.
Seventeen cases have already been sentenced, while Tesla Financial Services pleaded guilty last week to failing to identify a driver. That case is set to be sentenced at a later date at Bath Magistrates' Court.
In one of the concluded cases, a Tesla driver was caught on a speed camera doing almost 100mph (160km/h) on the A3 in Petersfield in Hampshire.
But due to police letters going unanswered, the speeding driver was not identified and the company received a conviction with a fine instead.
Another Tesla driver was caught speeding three times, potentially putting them on the cusp of a disqualification - if they had been identified.
Letters from police which went unanswered have been addressed to Tesla Financial Services at offices and a service centre in London, as well as an office in Manchester.
In the cases identified, fines, costs and court fees totalling £20,686 have been imposed by magistrates sitting in the single justice procedure, which deals with minor offences.
Tesla have been asked to comment.
South Wales Police have been asked to comment.
