Moving Model S from USA to Sweden

[KenZ]

Hi Everyone,
First off, sorry for writing in English, but it's all I know for now... and it makes it hard to search the forums because I don't speak Swedish yet.

My wife and I are relocating to Sweden (Vasteras) for work. We own a Model S (2017 75D, lots of upgrades). We are torn between shipping it over, or selling it in the US and buying a M3 when we get there. The problem with buying a M3 is.... oh my gosh, Teslas are really expensive in Sweden! Much cheaper for us to bring our MS, but here are the questions:

• *We have owned it long enough we would not have to pay import duties. However, we have heard something about being required to change the headlights, seat belt attach points, and the turn signals to comply with EU requirements? Is this true? And if so, anyone know how we would get this done and how much it would cost?
  
  *The charge port connector is US style. My understanding is that we can buy an aftermarket Supercharger adapter for about 15,000 SEK which should work, but we may have to disable the cell network when supercharging? Has anyone tried this? Does it work?
  
  *Will the mapping work? Will the music work? Basically: will anything that requires the cellular network actually function?
  
  *Are there any other issues I haven't noted?

We can't be the first people to do this, but we're not sure if it's a good idea. The cost savings to bring this car over (vs. buying a similar MS used for instance) are about 200,000 SEK, which is substantial. But if it makes the vehicle difficult to use properly, then it's not worth it, and we'll sell it in the US.

Thanks for any information from anyone who might know!

Kind regards, Ken

[dstr]

Sell it and buy a used Model S here. I'm pretty sure you'll lose the battery warranty.

Difference in resell value of an US car is also in the 200k range, at least.

[Kilowatt]

Yeh, don't bother bringing it over here. It would be a lot easier to get a new one or a pre-owned with warranties.

[e5m1r]

There is currently a Model S from the states in Sweden
Try to reach out to her and you will get answer to all your questions regarding what works and what does not

[dstr]

I just took a quick glimpse on Ebay Motor - the difference on a 75D is 0-75k SEK.

Keep in mind that the swedish currency has plunged the past years.

[mans71]

Agree. A used US-version is dead as a used car. Has been one for sale in Sweden for a long time, nobody wants it.

The biggest deal breaker is not being able to supercharge I think. Also, not having 3G/4G kind of destroys much of the things that is good with the car.

[sven-labil]

I considered buying a US spec 2013 P85 that was really cheap, but when I was done estimating the value of the drawbacks I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t cheap enough.

1) No supercharging, a CHAdeMO adapter is needed. That gives up to 50kW and the electricity costs about the same as gasoline.
2) Slow charging at home since it needs high current one phase instead of three phase.
3) No warranty on anything, (unless it is shipped back to the US,) not even recalls are fixed for free.
4) No navigation.
5) Updates needs to be made at a SC for 600SEK. (But my 2018 75D can't install updates either )

The app and Spotify supposedly works with a 4G router connected to a USB port.

[Alfred]

Early on in my career, I used to work for BMW. We had to deal with a few customers who imported 8-series vehicles from the US because of lack of availability here. They all realized half-way the amount of modifications (and thus cost) necessary in terms of lights etc to get them street legal. So even without the mentioned charging and connectivity problems, rule of thumb is that importing a US car to Sweden is a terrible idea.

Combined with mentioned challenges around warranty, charging and connectivity, there's unfortunately simply no way you won't end up regretting your decision if you chose to bring your current car.

With that said, welcome to Sweden!

[Teslaspolen]

As others have said, I would not recommend bringing in a U.S Tesla. Even home charging would be a big pain, because you will struggle to find any currents (amps) in homes higher than 10 to 16A, and the U.S Teslas does not support three phase charging which is widely used here (which would give you 11 kW on the same amps). In other words, you would be trickle charging at about 2 kW on AC.

You have discovered why we really want to have a European Gigafactory, to at least lower the cost of delivery and import duties. And like someone else said, the Swedish Krona is in a very sad shape now compared to 5-6 years ago, so Tesla charging the same amount in USD worldwide for their cars turns out to be a terrible deal for us Swedes.

But, we are glad to help in any way we can, so just ask away if you have any questions!

Welcome to Sverige.

[Henrik Torphammar]

*The charge port connector is US style. My understanding is that we can buy an aftermarket Supercharger adapter for about 15,000 SEK which should work, but we may have to disable the cell network when supercharging? Has anyone tried this? Does it work?

No it does not work. The best you can get is the CHAdeMO adapter and single phase 32A charging as Sweden rarely got larger then 32A fuses. More common 16A fuses where your EV charging uses 10A or so as you still need to share with other household equipment.

CHAdeMO stations are fairly rare here and they are usually priced at three times the normal electricity bill. They are also usually only one charger per location and poorly placed. ICED, broken or occupied.

[Teslaspolen]

*The charge port connector is US style. My understanding is that we can buy an aftermarket Supercharger adapter for about 15,000 SEK which should work, but we may have to disable the cell network when supercharging? Has anyone tried this? Does it work?

No it does not work. The best you can get is the CHAdeMO adapter and single phase 32A charging as Sweden rarely got larger then 32A fuses. More common 16A fuses where your EV charging uses 10A or so as you still need to share with other household equipment.

CHAdeMO stations are fairly rare here and they are usually priced at three times the normal electricity bill. They are also usually only one charger per location and poorly placed. ICED, broken or occupied.

To find 32A you would probably need to seek out a public destination charger at a shopping mall or similar. (These are marked as 22 kW, but you would only get that on a car with three phase charging at 32A, which is basically only some of the older pre-facelift Model S with the dual charger addon, and Renault Zoes.

[Pontus]

I considered buying a US spec 2013 P85 that was really cheap, but when I was done estimating the value of the drawbacks I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t cheap enough.

1) No supercharging, a CHAdeMO adapter is needed. That gives up to 50kW and the electricity costs about the same as gasoline.
2) Slow charging at home since it needs high current one phase instead of three phase.
3) No warranty on anything, (unless it is shipped back to the US,) not even recalls are fixed for free.
4) No navigation.
5) Updates needs to be made at a SC for 600SEK. (But my 2018 75D can't install updates either )

The app and Spotify supposedly works with a 4G router connected to a USB port.

Do you mean through WiFi? My model 3 turns off the WiFi as soon as I put the car in drive.

[sven-labil]

No, from what I remember the car connected to the router through USB.

[Teslaspolen]

No, from what I remember the car connected to the router through USB.

Really? I have not managed that myself. Differences between S/X and 3?

[sven-labil]

Or maybe it didn’t work in that way. (If at all...)

[Henrik Torphammar]

*The charge port connector is US style. My understanding is that we can buy an aftermarket Supercharger adapter for about 15,000 SEK which should work, but we may have to disable the cell network when supercharging? Has anyone tried this? Does it work?

No it does not work. The best you can get is the CHAdeMO adapter and single phase 32A charging as Sweden rarely got larger then 32A fuses. More common 16A fuses where your EV charging uses 10A or so as you still need to share with other household equipment.

CHAdeMO stations are fairly rare here and they are usually priced at three times the normal electricity bill. They are also usually only one charger per location and poorly placed. ICED, broken or occupied.

To find 32A you would probably need to seek out a public destination charger at a shopping mall or similar. (These are marked as 22 kW, but you would only get that on a car with three phase charging at 32A, which is basically only some of the older pre-facelift Model S with the dual charger addon, and Renault Zoes.

Remember this is US spec car that can do 16. 5kW(!?) Single phase... Lots of amps that is.

[[JM]]

Welcome to Sweden.
Do the onboard charger accept 230V?
If not then you are bound to only ChaDeMo charging.

[e5m1r]

There is an adapter that will charge in SuC

[HelectriC]

There is an adapter that will charge in SuC

What!? Den var ju väldigt liten och smidig, mindre ön vanlig CCS-adapter. Vem tillverkar den?

[e5m1r]

There is an adapter that will charge in SuC

What!? Den var ju väldigt liten och smidig, mindre ön vanlig CCS-adapter. Vem tillverkar den?

Myngiess would be that communication is same
Just connect correct pins and it works
No electronics needed
US connector is very slim

[KenZ]

Thanks everyone; you've completely convinced us to not bring it over; we'll sell it and then probably get a LR dual motor M3. I know it's a great car because.... the job I'll be leaving in the US is 5 years working at Tesla (currently managing the lab in the Gigafactory). Yeah, all that inside knowledge, and yet it's a mystery as to how well a US MS will work overseas!

As an aside, I do know there's a SC adapter that works at full SC speeds. I've traded emails with the owner, and here's the link to the product:
https://evhub.shop/charging-274/superch ... -to-us-p23

Here is what he (the company owner) had to say about it:

Condition of usage
0. Some us car need to disable wifi or even sim internet to start
charging.
1. First connect plug to supercharger as good as you can. Click to
supercharge (there is no lock, phisically impossible to do)
2. Plug and charge car.
3. Press stop charging in car. Unplug from car, unplug adapter from SC.

DO NOT disconnect BEFORE stop charging on MCU
DO NOT use with any other plugs (different pin order)


There is possible to replace us charger in model s to EU charger. But price
is around 4k...you loose any warranty...eg.

But with all the other problems mentioned in this forum, it's just not worth it. Thanks again for all the input! We're super excited to move to Sweden and start a new adventure.

[Elof]

Welcome!
Do we have an insider at Northvolt in the Club now?

[Stefan T]

That's better you take a Dodge Charger or Corvette
or some other high Hp gas car to Sweden as "flyttgods"
and sell it then the time for rolls went out
That will give some money

[KenZ]

Welcome!
Do we have an insider at Northvolt in the Club now?

Yes, but it's like the movie Fight Club: "The first rule of Fight Club is never talk about Fight Club." So... no information will flow (about Northvolt OR Tesla). Sorry!

[bylund]

One of the cheapest way to get a Tesla in Sweden is if you can get it as a company car. With the tax incentives for electric cars, it is cheaper for your employer to provide you with a car than paying you the salary required for you to pay for it privately. So if you're in the position to negotiate this, it can turn out to be a better deal to go down a bit in salary, and get the car as a part of your compensation package instead.