How to ship an electric car

An electric car that starts, steers, brakes, and rolls is a car on a trailer, plus the steps in that model's manual. A car with a damaged traction battery is not the same job. The battery percentage is not one number for every make. Open the manual for the car you have, and give the carrier the model year so the driver is not guessing from a different car.

RideShipper is a free comparison and quote-request service owned by World Media Group LLC. It is not a carrier and not a broker. It does not move the car, set the price, take a deposit, or insure the vehicle. Companies that receive a request may pay RideShipper. See how RideShipper makes money.

What does the manual actually say?#

Use the transport or towing section for your model year. A page for a different Tesla, or a gasoline truck, is the wrong page. The EV shipping lookup is a pointer to those notes. If a model is missing, the manual still controls.

Tesla Model 3. On the Instructions for Transporters page Tesla publishes, a flatbed or a comparable transport vehicle is the recommended method, and the car can face either way on that flatbed. If it is not on a flatbed, Tesla says wheel lifts and dollies must keep all four wheels off the ground, for a maximum of 55 km, without exceeding the dolly speed rating. Tesla says to enable Tow Mode before winching the car onto the flatbed. If Tow Mode is not available, Tesla says to use self-loading dollies or tire skates, and that Tesla is not responsible for damage from transport, including damage from those dollies or skates. The 2017-2023 Model 3 book says Tow Mode is only for winching onto a flatbed or moving the car a short distance. While it is on, the tires may turn slowly, under 5 km/h, for less than 10 meters. That book also says Tow Mode needs a detected key and low-voltage power, and that it is not available while the car is plugged in. Neither Model 3 page states a battery percentage. A different Tesla can use different words. Read the book in your car. The 2012-2020 Model S transporter page did not load on 10 November 2026, so this guide does not repeat steps from it.

Ford F-150 Lightning. The 2026 owner's manual says Ford recommends a wheel lift and dollies, or flatbed equipment. It says all-wheel drive and four-wheel drive vehicles need all wheels off the ground. It also says you cannot recreational-tow the truck with all wheels on the ground, because the electric drive motor could be damaged. The method it names is all four wheels off the ground, such as a car-hauling trailer. That is the ordinary auto-transport picture: the truck rides on a trailer. It is not dragged down the road on its tires.

The same manual has a narrow emergency flat-tow. If Emergency Tow is on, and there is no flatbed, dollies, or transport trailer, Ford allows a forward tow up to 35 mph (56 km/h) and 50 miles (80 km). A rearward tow to reposition the truck is limited to 3 mph (5 km/h) and 328 feet (100 m). If a "Service Required" or "Stop Safely Now" message is present, or the truck was in an accident and is not yet repaired, Ford cuts either direction to that same 3 mph and 328 feet. Those are emergency limits in a disabled-vehicle section. They are not the instruction for a cross-country shipment. This manual section does not state a state of charge for transport.

If your car is another make, do not borrow these steps. A Chevrolet, Hyundai, Kia, Rivian, or BMW page can name a different mode and a different limit. We did not treat a third-party summary as that maker's manual. If you cannot open the book, ask a dealer for the transport page for your VIN before the truck is booked.

What is different when the car runs?#

An operable EV, in the sense dispatchers use, starts, steers, brakes, and rolls. The driver still should not roll it onto the trailer until the maker's transport or neutral mode is on, if the manual requires that mode. Have the key or phone key the car needs. On the 2017-2023 Model 3 page, Tow Mode needs a detected key, the car in Park, the brake pedal held, and low-voltage power so the screen works. A dead low-voltage system can block the mode. Say so before pickup. A jump plan is better than a driver who cannot put the car in the mode the manual requires.

Unplug the car. That Model 3 page says Tow Mode is not available while the car is plugged in. Leave the charge cable and any loose adapter with you, unless the contract says otherwise.

Do not invent a charge level. Tell the company the manual's rule if it has one, and the level the car will actually be at. A carrier may still set its own cutoff. That cutoff is that company's rule. It is not a law we are stating here, and it is not a percentage that fits every pack.

Open or enclosed is the same choice as for any other car: weather, value, and fit. Say the model so the driver can check the trailer's rating before arrival, not at the curb. The open versus enclosed page is about price, not about battery chemistry.

Put the make, model, and year in the request, and say whether the car runs. A sedan range is a rough yardstick only.

When is a damaged battery a different shipment?#

PHMSA's November 2024 Lithium Battery Guide treats a vehicle with the lithium battery installed as a battery-powered vehicle, UN3171. For highway and rail, the guide says a shipment that meets 49 CFR 173.220 is not subject to the other Hazardous Materials Regulations requirements for those modes. The battery has to be securely fastened and protected against damage and short circuits. Other hazardous pieces that are part of the car, such as an airbag inflator, stay installed.

That is the intact car. It is not a crashed pack, a swollen pack, or a pack the maker has recalled as defective for safety.

PHMSA says lithium cells or batteries that are damaged, or that the manufacturer has identified as defective for safety reasons, and that can produce a dangerous evolution of heat, fire, or short circuit, may go by highway, rail, or vessel only. They are forbidden on aircraft. They have to be packaged under 49 CFR 173.185(f). Interpretation 24-0050, answering a 31 May 2024 question, says all damaged or defective lithium batteries with that heat, fire, or short-circuit potential must move under 173.185(f).

A normal car carrier is set up to tie down a car. It is not, by that fact, set up to package a damaged battery as a hazardous material. Tell the company if the car was in a crash, if the pack has been opened, if you see smoke, leaking fluid, or a warning that tells you not to drive. Expect a refusal, or a specialist quote. Do not ask a driver to winch a smoking car onto a shared trailer.

Why do some ships refuse EVs?#

A highway trailer and a ship are different rules. PHMSA points vessel shipments of battery-powered vehicles to extra requirements in 49 CFR 176.905 and 176.906. Operators then add their own bans. These are the ones we opened on 10 November 2026.

• Matson's car-shipping FAQ says that, because of concern about large lithium-ion batteries, Matson has suspended acceptance of used or new electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids.
• Alaska Marine Lines says it does not ship EVs or plug-in hybrids. It says it will ship hybrids that do not plug in, and gas or diesel vehicles.
• TOTE Maritime Alaska and TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico each say that, effective 1 August 2025, they no longer accept EVs or plug-in hybrids, and that they still accept mild hybrids that do not need electric power during the trip.

Pasha Hawaii's vehicle overview page, opened the same day, describes roll-on/roll-off service and an inoperable fee. It does not, on that page, state an EV ban. Do not assume acceptance. Ask Pasha before you book.

If the move is Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico, read the process page for that route before you request a truck quote. A truck to the port is not the ocean booking. Start with Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico.

What should I do on pickup day?#

1. Read the transport steps for your model and have them on your phone.
2. Unplug. Set the mode the manual names before the car is pulled onto the trailer. Stay with the driver if the screen needs you.
3. Photograph the car, including the charge-port door and the underside if it is low.
4. Mark existing damage on the condition report.
5. Take out loose items. See personal items.
6. Confirm the name and MC or USDOT number of the carrier against FMCSA's public record. The company check is the shortcut. FMCSA's auto-transport advisory says both interstate brokers and transporters must be registered, and that a broker only arranges the move.

If the car does not run, say whether it rolls, steers, and brakes. That is the same three-part answer as any non-running car, with the manual's loading rule added on top. A winch onto a trailer can still be the right load. A winch of a damaged pack is the hazardous-materials case above.