Tesla Model S Changes in the 2021 updated car

Tesla finally started shipping the new 2021 Model S on the 11 June 2021. The most significant change has been the interior and switching to 3 motors in the Plaid version which has allowed for increased performance and torque vectoring. We list the smaller changes that have not yet made the headlines which many owners will be delighted to know have finally been picked up in the new model.

Notable changes

The changes that we have identified beyond the head line specifications if performance, and tri-motor, are:

• An interior camera by the rear-view mirror, similar to that fitted in the Model 3 and Model Y.
• The left yoke button pad covers a general purpose scroll wheel for controlling mirrors, yoke position, wipers and using the media player, plus controls for the headlight high beam and turn signals.
• The right yoke keypad includes a general scroll button for controlling autopilot, plus buttons for horn, wipers and voice commands. In total there are 7 buttons and 2 rotary wheels on the yoke.. so much for simplicity!
• While the drive select stalk has been removed, it there are dedicated drive select buttons below the phone charging dock, together with the hazards switch.
• The rear as expected has the screen, charge points as before, and a fold down centre arm rest complete with charge pads.
• The screen adopts a similar layout that in the Model 3 and Model Y. There is however a gear strip where you can see what the car has decided and where you can override it.
• There is now a customisable 'my apps' area where you effectively save your favourites.
• Improved Adaptive Front Lighting although this seemed limited to cornering and speed based adjustment and not a truly clever full beam option where parts of the light beam are blacked out to prevent dazzling other vehicles.
• The rear screen gives control over media, rear climate control, seat heaters and video streaming.
• The same 3 types of keys as used on the Model 3 and Model Y are now supported including phone, key card and key fob. The doors are also electronically controlled with a similar mechanical lever to the M3Y should there be a power failure.
• There is now a rear folding seat release button from the trunk as well as the back of the seats. Folding and returning to normal is otherwise manual.
• The Driving Instrument panel has a new layout although some features are carried over. The notable ones are the steering wheel and speed icons have moved to the side.
• The front Radar is still mentioned.
• Drag strip mode, this is in addition to launch control as far as we can see
• An Auto setting for the seat heating/cooling where the heater/cooler will come on depending on cabin temperature

Speciation differences

Some of the key dimensions have changed between the two cars. The one we are most surprised by is the increased number of turns lock to lock as turning the yoke steering wheel by more 1/3 or 120 degrees will start to require hands to be moved on the yoke, the variable ratio rack is unclear as to how that will work in practice. On more positive news, other than a fractionally less front leg room the interior space for passengers is bigger in every dimension. It has however come at the cost of approx. 100lt of trunk storage space.

The other ones we've spotted so far are:

What we didn't get

There are some features we would have loved to see but still don't seem to be available. You may or may not agree with our list, but either way the following do not appear present on the new car:

• No truly dynamic headlights that change the beam pattern depending on driving situation when following other cars or to avoid oncoming cars.
• No foot wave under the trunk to open it.
• No 360-degree top down camera view
• No waypoints (some thought Elon Musk announced this at the launch where it appears he was just responding to heckles from the crowd)
• No streaming of dashcam or sentry mode footage over the air
• No Wi-Fi hotspot in the car for those who have subscribed to premium connectivity
• While 10 phones can be Bluetooth paired, it appears only 1 can be active at a time.

More reading

The above changes are taken from the latest Tesla Model S user guide. Please let us know if you spot any mistakes and we will update the article.