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The Tesla Model Y is the most common electric car in the NYC TLC fleet. On October 12, 2026, 6,157 TLC vehicles were Model Ys: 6,155 for-hire vehicles (FHVs) and 2 yellow taxis. That is about 45% of all battery-electric FHVs (13,688).
Most of them arrived at once: 73.5% are model-year 2023. You cannot get a new TLC license for a Model Y today; you can only move an FHV license you already hold onto one.
How we counted
TLC's FHV list and medallion taxi list have no model column, so TLC Help decoded each VIN with NHTSA's vPIC decoder. TLC's own February 2026 FHV License Review agrees on the headline: it names the 2023 Tesla Model Y as one of the two most common make-model-years in the for-hire fleet.
The 2023 spike
Every other model year has a few hundred Model Ys at most (97 for 2020, 311 for 2021, 403 for 2026). Model-year 2023 has 4,523.
Here is the official timeline that matches it. According to TLC Industry Notice 23-09, on October 19, 2023 TLC began accepting FHV license applications from anyone applying with an electric vehicle. After a lawsuit by the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, a court order made TLC stop taking new EV applications on November 13, 2023 at 9 a.m.; applications already submitted were processed. Rule 59A-06(a)(4) allowed up to 25 of these licenses per SSN or EIN at first. Our dataset cannot say which license a given Model Y holds, so treat the link as timing, not proof.
What an EV-only license means for your next car
Chapter 59 describes the EV licenses in rule 59A-06(a)(3) and (a)(4) as "restricted to fully battery electric vehicles." If your plates came from that program, plan on replacing your Model Y with another battery-electric car. See EV FHV license rules and can I switch my TLC car to an EV.
New EV-only licenses are closed. TLC's February 2026 review decided on no additional FHV licenses, and TLC's Get a For-Hire Vehicle License page says only wheelchair accessible vehicles can get new ones. The same review notes that no accessible electric vehicle is sold in the U.S., so there are no electric WAVs. More: can I get an EV TLC license now.
Powertrain and fleet
6,130 Model Ys (99.6% of FHV ones) are at black car bases, the base type app trips run through. That is a higher share than the FHV fleet overall (96.7%). Only 19 are at livery bases, 6 at luxury limousine bases, and 2 are yellow taxis. None are wheelchair accessible.
Uber and Lyft must send a growing share of trips to zero-emission or accessible vehicles under TLC's Green Rides rule; see the Green Rides Initiative. That is a rule for the companies, not a requirement for you to buy an EV.
Cost: what TLC's own comparison found
TLC's February 2026 review used the U.S. Department of Energy's AFDC calculator. It estimated the five-year cost of ownership (loan payments, fuel, tires and maintenance, without purchase incentives) at roughly $67,600 for a base 2023 Model Y and $47,600 for a base 2025 Toyota Camry Hybrid. It also notes the $7,500 federal clean vehicle credit ended in September 2025, and that TLC drivers get a 15% discount at NYC DOT fast chargers. These are TLC's estimates, not your costs. Use the EV savings tool and lease-vs-buy tool with your own prices, and see EV charging for TLC drivers.
Compare the Fisker Ocean, Toyota bZ4X, Tesla Model 3 and Cadillac Lyriq, or see TLC electric vehicle fleet statistics. Inspection rules are in TLC vehicle inspection.
More EV pages are in the EV topic and the vehicles topic.
Data on this page
Aggregates of public data. They describe trips and vehicles, never individual people.
TLC's vehicle lists have no make/model column, so TLC Help decoded the VIN of every licensed vehicle with NHTSA's vPIC decoder (one representative VIN per manufacturer + model-descriptor + model-year pattern) and published only counts. 5 of 115,081 vehicles (0%) could not be decoded to a model and are left out. vPIC sometimes reports trim-family names (e.g. 'RX' not 'RX 350h'); powertrain comes from vPIC's electrification/fuel fields and may misclassify a few model years. Snapshot lists change daily.
- Tesla Model Y: licensed TLC vehicles by model year — Active FHVs and authorized medallion taxis that are a Tesla Model Y, by model year.NYC Open Data: FHV - Active (8wbx-tsch) and Medallion Vehicles - Authorized (rhe8-mgbb), VINs decoded with NHTSA vPIC · pulled Oct 12, 2026Model year from TLC's vehicle_year / model_year columns. Age limits for TLC vehicles come from TLC rules, not this chart.
- Tesla Model Y in the TLC fleet: hybrid, electric or gas — Licensed Tesla Model Y vehicles by powertrain (from decoded VINs).NYC Open Data: FHV - Active (8wbx-tsch) and Medallion Vehicles - Authorized (rhe8-mgbb), VINs decoded with NHTSA vPIC · pulled Oct 12, 2026
- Tesla Model Y: where it is licensed (FHV base type vs medallion taxi) — Licensed Tesla Model Y vehicles by fleet: FHVs by the type of base they are affiliated with, and medallion taxis.NYC Open Data: FHV - Active (8wbx-tsch) and Medallion Vehicles - Authorized (rhe8-mgbb), VINs decoded with NHTSA vPIC · pulled Oct 12, 2026Wheelchair-accessible (FHV list): 0 WAV, 0 PILOT. App-based (high-volume) work generally runs through black car bases.
Frequently asked questions
How many Tesla Model Ys are licensed by the TLC?
6,157 in the October 12, 2026 snapshot: 6,155 for-hire vehicles and 2 yellow taxis. That is 5.35% of all TLC vehicles and about 45% of the 13,688 battery-electric FHVs. TLC Help counted them by decoding VINs with NHTSA's vPIC decoder.
Why are so many TLC Model Ys from 2023?
4,523 of them (73.5%) are model-year 2023. TLC accepted new EV-only FHV license applications from anyone from October 19, 2023 until a court order stopped intake on November 13, 2023 (Industry Notice 23-09). The data does not show which license each car holds, but the timing lines up.
Can I get a new EV-only TLC license for a Model Y now?
No. TLC's February 2026 review decided not to issue additional FHV licenses; new licenses are only available for approved wheelchair accessible vehicles, and no electric WAV is sold in the U.S. You can move an existing FHV license to a Model Y with a vehicle transfer.
If my FHV license is EV-only, can I replace my Model Y with a hybrid?
Rule 59A-06(a)(3) and (a)(4) describe these licenses as restricted to fully battery electric vehicles. Plan on replacing an EV-only car with another battery-electric car, and confirm with TLC before you buy.
Is a Model Y cheaper to run than a Camry Hybrid?
TLC's February 2026 review used the U.S. DOE's AFDC calculator and estimated five-year ownership at about $67,600 for a base 2023 Model Y versus $47,600 for a base 2025 Camry Hybrid, excluding purchase incentives. Your costs depend on your price, financing and charging, so run your own numbers.
Sources
Last reviewed against the official sources on .
- NYC Open Data: For Hire Vehicles (FHV) – Active (8wbx-tsch) data.cityofnewyork.us
- NYC Open Data: Medallion Vehicles – Authorized (rhe8-mgbb) data.cityofnewyork.us
- NHTSA vPIC VIN decoder API vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov
- TLC Industry Notice 23-09: New EV license applications halted (NYTWA lawsuit) nyc.gov
- TLC: FHV License Review, February 2026 nyc.gov
- TLC Rule Book Chapter 59 (For-Hire Vehicles), updated Feb 27, 2026 nyc.gov
- TLC: Get a For-Hire Vehicle License nyc.gov
Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll check it against the official source.
TLC Help is not a law firm and is not affiliated with the NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission or OATH. Explanations on this site are general information, not legal advice. Legal representation is provided by independent attorneys and OATH-registered representatives in our network.