A registration grace period, not a celebrity exemption
The explanation usually given is a California rule that let drivers of newly purchased cars go without permanent license plates for a limited period—commonly reported as six months. During that window, the car could be driven while its registration was being processed. The rule applied to qualifying new vehicles, not specifically to Steve Jobs.
That distinction matters: a car can be legally registered or covered by temporary paperwork before its permanent metal plates are attached. The absence of visible plates did not necessarily mean the car had no registration at all.
Why replacing the car mattered
Jobs was said to lease a new Mercedes about every six months. Leasing made it possible to return one car and take delivery of another, restarting the period in which permanent plates were not yet required under the reported arrangement. Rather than keep one Mercedes long enough for plates to become necessary, he could move into a fresh one.
The workaround depended on timing and the rules then in effect. It was not a permanent right to drive any car without plates, and it would not necessarily work under later registration procedures. Its memorable twist is that a conspicuously plate-free car could be less a sign of special treatment than the result of repeatedly staying inside a temporary window.
