Last updated 11-Feb-2024
Over the years Tesla have made numerous changes to the car design and model line-up. We've tried to capture the history of each of the key hardware changes and model updates and in which year they occurred. The exact date is of little benefit as the transition is often blurred with cars appearing in different parts of the world with different specifications, for instance the 82kwh Long Range battery fitted to the Model 3 has varied by factory and country the cars have been delivered to.
The following is a list of the main changes we can find. We are sure there are some changes we may have missed, either due to small production numbers or country specific (Canada for instance had a compliance version of the Model 3) but feel free to email us with any significant errors and we'll happily take a look and see if we agree. We're also only recording the history of when features actually arrive, not when they are announced or promised.
We also have a list of the Tesla software release notes over the last few years, with the ability to filter by subject area to see how it has evolved.
2024 M3 MY
Tesla introduce adaptive headlight capability on cars with matrix lights. Initially the ‘highland’ M3 but also on other cars with suitable hardware
2024 MY
Model Y production in China switches to HW4, essentially tweaks to the cameras and and a new processing capability.
2023 MY
Tesla launch 2 new colours in late 2022 (2023 model year) for the Model Y built in Berlin. Quicksilver Paint (option code appears to be PN00) and Midnight Cherry Red (PR00) have been added to the configurator with start dates 4th and 7th of Jan 2023 respectively.
2023 MY
Small differences are being seen between production from different factories. The front seats in German built Model Y seem to be more support and higher quality. Some pictures have also appeared of a longer seat base on the rear sats for Model Y production for the China market (but this does not appear to extend to all China production).
2023 MY
Model Y suspension changes which result in a smoother ride. These are said to include an increase in top support stiffness and a reduction in spring rates.
2023 MS MX M3 MY
Tesla starts to introduce cameras that can be physically wiped clean. The guidance previously was to only spray with water as contact could scratch the glass. We believe this is part of the HW4 update
2023 MY
Berlin production of the MY RWD has the BYD 7C 60kWh LFP Structural Battery
2023 MY
Tesla have made a relatively minor update to the interior including new trim material, adding additional ambient lighting and black Gemini wheel covers. Initially this option was only seen on China model.
2022 M3 MY
A heated area of the windscreen to defrost the wipers. This is similar to the heated areas as part of the cold weather pack on the Model S and Model X.
2022 MY
Rear parcel being added to the car according to the user manual. First appearance is on cars for China market and Berlin production and then introduced globally by the second half of the year. A retro fit option is said to be available although 3rd party solutions may be better.
2022 MY
Texas Model Y production using the 4680 batteries begins with deliveries starting March 2022. This is also believed to be a structural battery pack. Despite thr promises the 4680 battery cell is more energy dense, these cars are effectively a Short Range RWD model.
2022 MY
A Model Y All Wheel Drive is being selectively offered to people close to the Texas factory. 270 mile range, 5s (although may be 4.8s depending where you look) to 60mph and assumed to be 4680 cells. This now also has the option for an acceleration boost to drop the 0-60 time to 4.2s
2022 MY
Berlin Model Y Performance production using the same battery as seen in the China built Model Y. Production is initially limited to Left Hand drive, Black cars with a black interior. A limited number of White cars are also believed to be made.
2022 MY
Centre airbag has been added to the car plus extra rubber strips around the trunk lid
2022 MY
Berlin starts to make Long Range AWD models and not just Performance models. Production however seems to be limited to black cars with black interior. Some white cars are also thought to have been made although in smaller numbers.
2022 MY
The technical manuals and user experience suggests the Model Y suspension has been softened slightly mid year. User experience also reports the car seems to lean more in corners which would be an understandable consequence, but may make the car feel like it's handling has got worse.
2022 M3 MY
As part of the increasing use of Tesla Vision, Model 3 and Model Y cars will not be fitted with Ultrasonic parking sensors from around October 2022 in most markets. The Model S and Model X models will also stop being produced with them in due course. It looks like cars with a 2023 VIN letter (P) signify the change, even when built as early as October 2022. Normally Tesla start building the next years VIN year from mid November.
As part of the changes, small tweaks were made to the centre under body, rear under body and horn profile, althought these are largely technical changes and do not change the car from an owners perspective.
2022 MY
A number of small technical changes including new brake rotor and pad manufacturer (possible just for Berlin production), and a the side airbag changed to increase coverage. They also added am interior radar, possible for the alarm system.
2021 MY
Rear seat option introduced together with sliding second row. Heated steering wheel announced.
2021 MY
Tesla fit and start to use the interior, driver facing camera (the cameras are thought to have been fitted for about a year but previously not used). Possibly also applies to the M3, but not the pre 2021 facelift MS and MX.
2021 M3 MY
Tesla remove the radar from Fremont production built for the North America market from May claiming they can move to a pure vision based system. Short term, some basic features such as Smart Summon and Emergency Lane Departure warnings may be disabled and some other features may have reduced performance or operating ranges.
2021 MY
HEPA filter now being fitted.
2021 MS MX M3 MY
Subscription version of FSD now announced in the US. Up to date information can be found on our FSD FAQ
2021 MS MX M3 MY
Tesla introduce driver testing before allowing the deployment of the latest version of City Streets FSD beta. This is for US and Canada only
2021 MY
Rear lights changed in Europe to include 2 reversing lights, one combined with a fog light.
2021 M3 MY
A switch to hairpin windings on the motors. There is no clear cut over as deliveries in Q4 have a mixture of old and new motors. A new performance motor is also being introduced although probably not until 2022.
2021 MS MX M3 MY
Supercharging network being trialled in some countries with other makes of car, this is limited to the countries whree CSS is the charging standard. The main issue seen so far is where cars have the charge port on the opposite side resulting in 2 charging bays being required to charge.
2021 M3 MY
A number of small changes including a new low voltage battery, more laminated rear glass although it's unclear if this is for sound insulation or safety, and a number of small tweaks to sensors and ancilliary devices as a result of the new low voltage battery. One speaker was also removed as part of the updates
2021 M3 MY
MCU3 based on the AMD Ryzen chipset first seen in the 2021 MS and MX have started to be appear in cars, initially for the China market but becoming more widespread with 2022 vin cars made in Fremont. China production also seem to be appearing with the Ryzen processor. The low voltage battery seems to be rolling out at the same time and may be linked.
2021 M3 MY
Lumbar adjustment removed from passengers seat
2020 MY
Model Y starts shipping in the US
2020 MY
Heat pump introduced on MY offering more efficient in car heating.
2020 MS MX M3 MY
A new suspected deep sleep mode to preserve battery life when the car is being left (SW 2020.12.5)
2020 MS MX M3 MY
Side cameras when in reverse (SW 2020.26). The side cameras now appear beneath the rear camera when selecting reverse. These cameras point backwards and not down so they do not operate as a surround view type camera setup.
2020 M3 MY
Wireless phone charger added together with USB C in the rear.
2020 MY
Acceleration boost made available reducing 0-60 from 4.8 to 4.3 seconds, very similar to the M3 Performance Boost that has been available for the LR for some time
2020 MS MX M3 MY
Improved security with the introduction of optional multi factor authentication to the Tesla login. This does not however prevent issues with API tokens.
2020 MS MX M3 MY
Boombox feature added (the car needs to have the external speaker) and other tweaks as part of the end of year release.
2020 MY
Model Y updates for 2021 model year include heated steering wheel, dimming side mirrors, matrix headlights, double paned glass and some cosmetic touches. Few cars where built before these changes.
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