Remove the rear number plate holder

Last updated 15-Mar-2022

For some reason best know to Tesla, the front and rear number plates are held in place by a bulky, ugly plastic number plate holder. These make the number plates stick out a long way from the car and are just ugly. What's worse is the number plate holder is actually 2 separate plastic brackets, one attached to the other. The good news is removing them is really easy and all you need is a screwdriver and we recommend some thick, industrial, velcro to reattach the rear number plate to the car.

What you need to do

The rear number plate holder is pretty bulky and isn't actually that secure. Simply prize off the outer trim to release the number plate. The existing arrangement is a security risk as this can be done with just your fingers in seconds.

Tesla bulky rear number plate holder

Once the rear number plate is out of the way you'll see a couple of screws that hold the outer number plate bracket to the mounting plate. These are easily removed.

Tesla rear number plate removed

You could if you wanted to attach your rear number plate directly to the mounting plate using double sided tape, but we think you may as well remove the plinth as well for a better look. A couple more screws and it's gone.

Tesla rear number plate plinth

You're now left with a painted surface to fix your number plate to. After giving the paintwork a good clean, we use wide industrial velco, attach one side to the car using a stip that is about 75% the length of your number plate. This allows for a margin of error in positioning without it showing afterwards.

Tesla with rear number plate holder removed

Attach the other part of the velcro to the back of the number plate, line it up, press on, and you're done. And if you are not quite in the right spot, tease it away from one end and try again. Simple and so much better to look at! While it can still be removed by anybody determined to do so, we feel it is more secure than the simple plastic trim on the original.

Tesla rear number plate without the holder.

 

 

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