That's a really astute observation. I've heard of people doing this before, but didn't realize that the whole auto-vacation was about a tax dodge. Really interesting.

The BMW fan wiki suggests that's not a tax/tariff dodge as much as the fact that BMW doesn't pay the incentive payment to dealers for euro delivery cars:

http://www.bimmerfest.com/wiki/index.php/ED_Summary#Why_is_E...

In particular, the reverse doesn't work as easily, so a program where Europeans fly to California to buy a car and ship it back wouldn't be a great idea financially. It varies by country, but in many European countries you need to have resided abroad for at least one year in order for a car purchased abroad to count as a personal effect that you can bring back with you tax-free.

Most europeans think American cars are absurd anyway and wouldn't want one.

I can't see Tesla having that problem.

Wouldn't you still have to pay sales tax on it in California? When I moved here I had to pay retroactive sales tax on a vehicle leased 2 years earlier in a different state.

You pay use tax when you register the vehicle at the CA DMV. You get deductions for paying out of state sales tax in certain cases.

http://dmv.ca.gov/FeeCalculatorWeb/index.jsp

Only if you're a California resident. If I reside in Oregon, purchase a car, and change my residence to California, it's an $18 non-resident fee plus the $100 registration. No sales tax paid.

Only if purchased > 1 year from registration (or first use in California). If purchased within the last year you pay the tax difference between the states. You can work it out in the online calculator.