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Tesla and the £3,750 Grant: Excluded, Not Just Priced Out
Even a hypothetical sub-£37,000 Tesla would still miss the UK Electric Car Grant — Tesla isn’t on the approved manufacturer list. The real reason, for Model 3 buyers.
We've said plainly on this site that most Teslas miss the Electric Car Grant because they're priced above the £37,000 cap. Guidance covered in April 2026 adds a second, sharper reason — one that would apply even to a Tesla priced under the cap. None of this touches your 650 free Supercharging miles from a referral, which sit entirely outside the grant — but it changes how we'd answer “could a cheaper Tesla ever qualify?”
The reason isn't only the price
Guidance covered by Honest John points to a manufacturer-level eligibility test behind the Electric Car Grant: a maker needs verified Science Based Targets (SBTi-verified emissions targets) to be on the approved list at all. As reported, Tesla isn't currently on that list. That's a different gate from the £37,000 price cap we've already flagged — a manufacturer test, not a vehicle-price test.
Why this matters even for the cheapest Model 3
This is the genuinely new part for a Model 3 buyer: if Tesla isn't an approved manufacturer, a hypothetical UK Model 3 configuration priced under £37,000 still wouldn't qualify for the grant, because the exclusion sits above the vehicle, at the manufacturer level. Don't wait for a cheaper Tesla configuration hoping it clears the grant threshold — on this reported criterion, price was never going to be the only obstacle.
What does qualify, for contrast
The grant guidance is aimed at eligible EVs from manufacturers that do meet the verified-targets test, priced under the relevant band caps (£3,750 for Band 1, £1,500 for Band 2). We're not listing which other manufacturers currently qualify — that list changes and isn't this site's job to track — but the practical point for a Tesla buyer is the same either way: budget as if this grant doesn't apply to you, and treat any future change as a genuine surprise worth re-checking, not an assumption.
Where the UK Supercharger network actually stands
Separately from the grant question, the same reporting period gives a dated UK charging figure worth having on record: 2,747 Tesla chargers across the UK by the end of May 2026, with typical Supercharger pricing in the region of 25–40p per kWh. That's the real UK network size — not the larger North American figures sometimes quoted in US-focused coverage — and it's the network your 650 free referral miles are actually drawn against.
The one grant that did move: the home-charger grant
Not every UK EV incentive is closed to Tesla buyers. The EV Chargepoint Grant for renters and flat owners rose from roughly £350 to £500 from 1 April 2026, and that one isn't gated by manufacturer or by the car's price — it's about your home-charging setup. If you're a Model 3 buyer who rents or owns a flat, this is the incentive actually worth checking, not the Electric Car Grant.
What to check before you order
Two things are worth confirming directly rather than assuming from this report: the Electric Car Grant's current manufacturer list and price caps on gov.uk, and whether your own configured Model 3 price and options match what's shown live on tesla.com/en_gb. Grant criteria are reviewed periodically, so treat “Tesla isn't currently approved” as today's answer, not a permanent one — we'll update this page the moment that changes, with the date we checked.
Keep reading
Pillar: UK incentives & finance · Related: The £37k grant catch
Disclosure: the links above are referral links — using one credits the owner with Tesla Credits at no cost to you, and gives you the buyer benefit. The Emerald Mile is an independent guide and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Tesla, Inc. “Tesla” and “Supercharger” are trademarks of Tesla, Inc., used here nominatively.