The Tesla UK Order-to-Delivery Checklist

Sam Whitfield, UK EV writer & Tesla owner · published 2026-07-18 · figures checked 2026-07-13.

Our other guides explain why a Tesla referral behaves the way it does. This one skips the explaining. It's a flat checklist — three short lists, one per phase — for anyone who just wants the actions in order, without re-reading the reasoning each time.

Phase 1 — before you touch the configurator

• Get a verified referral code (below) and open its link first, in the browser you'll configure in.
• Confirm you're looking at tesla.com/en_gb, not a US or EU store — the referral benefit described here is UK-specific.
• If salary sacrifice through work is an option, check it before you configure — it changes the price you're comparing against, not just the payment method. Our Salary Sacrifice Calculator gives a same-day answer.

Phase 2 — while you configure, before you pay

• Build the car normally — trim, colour, wheels, Autopilot level. Nothing about the referral restricts any option.
• Before paying the order fee, open the order summary and confirm it shows 650 free Supercharging miles (new Model 3/Y) or £500 off (inventory stock). If it's missing, go back and re-click the referral link — it cannot be added once the fee is paid.
• Screenshot the order summary. It's the only record you'll have that the referral was attached at order time.

Phase 3 — during the wait, before delivery

• Check your live delivery estimate in the Tesla app rather than trusting a fixed number online — UK lead times move with production and shipping.
• If you rent your home or live in a flat, check your eligibility for the EV chargepoint grant (up to £350) and book an installer early — most owner-occupiers with an existing driveway no longer qualify under this scheme, so check before assuming either way.
• Don't go looking for the separate GOV.UK Electric Car Grant (up to £3,750) — it's restricted to EVs priced under roughly £37,000, and every current Tesla model sits above that threshold, so it doesn't apply to your order.
• At handover, confirm the Supercharging miles (or inventory discount) have appeared on the account. There's no separate claim step — if it's missing and your order summary showed it correctly, contact Tesla support with your screenshot from Phase 2.

Phase 4 — the week after delivery

The checklist above stops at handover, which is where most guides stop too. Two things are worth doing once the car is actually yours, and both are much easier in the first week than in the third month.

1. Confirm the credit landed in your account. The order summary proved the benefit was attached; it doesn't prove it was granted. Supercharging credit appears in the Tesla app after delivery, not at order — so check the balance is there, and note the date it appeared. If it isn't there, raising it while the delivery is days old is a straightforward conversation; raising it months later is an archaeology exercise.
2. Write down when it expires. Credits run for a fixed period from the grant date, extendable to a maximum — so the clock started when the credit appeared, not when you ordered. Put that date somewhere you'll see it. The most common way to get nothing out of a referral is not a failed application; it's an unspent balance.

Both take a couple of minutes and neither requires anything from Tesla. That's deliberate: every check in this article is one you can complete on your own, which is what makes a checklist useful rather than reassuring.

The one line that matters most

Every item above is optional except one: click the referral link before you configure and pay. Miss that single step and nothing later in the checklist can bring the 650 miles back — it can't be added retroactively once the order fee is paid, and it can't be backdated after delivery either.

A verified code to start Phase 1

This post discloses referral links plainly: they are marked rel="nofollow sponsored", and we (or the pooled owner) may earn Tesla credits if you order through one — it costs you nothing extra. Tesla VoltBench is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Tesla, Inc. Full referral disclosure.

Want the reasoning behind each checklist item, not just the action? See the full calculator hub, or the stage-by-stage delivery-timeline guide linked from it.