Unfortunately, over the last seven months I’ve tried everything to find a way to legally bring my Tesla into Argentina—so I could travel the country and then continue the journey through other parts of Latin America. But today, with just 26 days left until I travel, I still don’t have a single reliable source that can assure me I’ll be able to do this without issues.
Let’s start with some context
I’m Argentine, but I also have Spanish nationality since I was a kid—my grandparents were born in Spain. I moved to Spain in 2002, and over the years, I’ve not only traveled back to Argentina many times, but I’ve now decided to move back and live in Buenos Aires in 2025.
Beyond that, I plan to live there, pay taxes there, and take the opportunity to travel all over the country—something I’m genuinely excited about. But at the same time, it’s already giving me some headaches (which, to be honest, I kind of expected).
How can I bring a Tesla into Argentina?
It’s a great question. Since I have a Spanish passport and the car is also registered in Spain, I thought it would be as simple as entering through the port and driving it (even with a temporary permit). But no one can confirm that. In fact, quite the opposite—many people have warned me that Argentina might require the car to be nationalized, and that would mean paying a hefty amount in taxes.
So let’s get into this second option: nationalization. I did a lot of research on it. In theory, Argentina doesn’t allow vehicle imports, except for Argentine citizens returning to live in the country. In those cases, the person must have owned the vehicle for at least three months and must have lived abroad for over two years. So far, so good—but here’s the catch.
If the vehicle’s value is over $15,000, it becomes subject to import taxes. In my case, my Tesla is currently valued at €22,000, so it clearly exceeds that limit. After contacting more than 10 customs agents, all the quotes I received were outrageous. One sent me a pro forma invoice for $52,000—which is enough to buy the same car again in Argentina. Others talked about paying 80% of the total value, plus shipping costs. But no one can give me any guarantees.
Final thoughts
Honestly, I can understand that paying a tax might be necessary. But that’s one thing—and the news I’ve been getting seems completely over the top. I went to the Argentine consulate, and they basically told me to forget about trying unless I had someone on the inside at the port who could explain everything, sign a contract, and guarantee the outcome.
I haven’t been able to find anyone like that. For the past six months, I’ve sent countless emails, made phone calls, had WhatsApp conversations—you name it. But I haven’t found anything that gives me peace of mind. So for now, my plan is to go in person and explore options: maybe get a temporary permit as a Spanish citizen, or bring the car as someone returning to the country (although that seems tough because you only have six months from entry). And if none of that works, unfortunately for me, I’ll have to ship the car once I finish my trip through Argentina and continue, for example, into Chile.
Another point is that it seems the government has plans to open up imports. But for now, there’s no news—just waiting.