You might drive your Tesla for thousands of miles without ever having to put your car into neutral. As electric vehicles don’t have gears, shifting an EV into neutral just isn’t something that comes up very often.
But what if you’re suddenly faced with the prospect of using a car wash or being towed? These situations require the vehicle to be in neutral so that it can roll freely. So what do you do if you are driving a Tesla?
The answer is that a Tesla can be put into neutral. You just need to know the steps to take for your particular model.
How to put the Tesla Model 3 in neutral
To put a Tesla Model 3 into neutral simply push the gear selector up (as you would to reverse) or down (as you would to drive) and hold it there for a second or two.
Your Tesla will display an N on your touch screen when the car is in neutral.
How to put the Tesla Model Y in neutral
Putting a Tesla Model Y into neutral is exactly the same as with the Model 3.
If you’re in reverse, hold the drive stalk up for one second. And if you’re in drive, hold the stalk down for one second.
If you’re in park, you can either move the drive stalk up or down and hold it for a second to shift in to neutral.
How to put the Tesla Model X in neutral
If you’re driving an older Tesla Model X, from before 2021, you can shift into neutral by moving the drive stalk into its middle position (between drive and reverse).
However, the 2021 and later versions of the Tesla Model X don’t feature a drive stalk, so you’ll need to use the console to shift into neutral instead.
First, press the car icon to go to Controls. Then press and hold the neutral button.
How to put the Tesla Model S in neutral
If you need to put your Tesla Model S into neutral, the steps are exactly the same as you’d find on a Model X. The only variable is whether your Tesla has a drive stalk or not.
If you have a pre-2021 Tesla Model S, with a drive stalk next to the steering wheel, you can put the car into neutral by moving the stalk to its middle position, between drive and reverse.
If your Tesla does not have a drive stalk, then you will need to use your touch screen instead. Simply head to the Controls menu, then press and hold the neutral option.
Put your Tesla in neutral using Transport Mode
The final way to put your Tesla into neutral is using something called Transport Mode. This is a feature created for when a Tesla needs to be towed on a dolly or placed on a flatbed truck.
To activate Transport Mode, you must first put your Tesla into park.
Next, press and hold the brake pedal, then go to Controls, then Service, then Towing on your touchscreen.
Finally, press and hold the Transport Mode button until it turns blue.
This will place the Tesla into neutral, allowing it to be rolled freely.