- Tesla’s “affordable” Model Y is set to launch later this year.
- Ahead of the launch, a Tesla hacker has found certain details suggesting what Tesla is stripping out of its cars to make them cheaper.
- It sounds like the cost-cutting is going to go pretty deep.
Tesla’s long-awaited “affordable” vehicle has been rumored for a long time, but we’ve seen few real deatals. After CEO ELon Musk admitted it would just be a low-cost variant of the Tesla Model Y, the hopes of a new model with a Cybercab-inspired design fell by the wayside. Instead, Tesla will focus on slashing the price of an existing model in its lineup.
But how can it do that? The minimalist crossover already uses efficient manufacturing techniques and features an interior with so few manual controls that it’s become a regulatory problem. According to a well-known Tesla hacker who dug through Tesla’s latest firmware, the answer is to strip out basically everything but the central screen.
Details of the changes come courtesy of GreenTheOnly, a rather famous Tesla tinkerer who enjoys finding tidbits of information hidden in Tesla’s apps and vehicle software. According to Green’s latest discovery, the affordable model—internally codenamed E41—is set to strip out a significant number of its already slimmed-down features to reduce the price of the car.
Before we start, it’s worth noting that these are all speculative points. While Green’s leaks usually pan out, we can’t be sure what will or won’t make it to the final product.
Green says that details in the car’s firmware reveal that the car’s interior lighting has been simplified (potentially being limited to the footwell), as have the seat controls (which reportedly only control a single axis electronically). Puddle lamps are said to be removed from the door, and the second-row display is, predictably, gone.
The vehicle’s headliner is also said to switch to fiberglass, which makes sense given that the car won’t have a glass roof, either. Though it’s not clear how Green is coming to this conclusion—I doubt there’s anything about headliner material in the firmware.
Tesla has also reportedly removed the power-folding side mirrors. Green also says that he believes the suspension has been downgraded and the car will ride on “simplified” 18-inch wheels with no Tire Pressure Monitor Sensors (TPMS). Interestingly, Green also reports that Tesla plans to remove the heater from the rear camera, which could be hedging a bet that most folks who buy the cheapest Model Y won’t also be buying Full Self-Driving.
Green added some vague details about the motors, too. He says that the cheapest model could be available with both all-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive, but the cars have “special motor configurations”—though it’s not clear what that means. It would seem logical that Tesla may offer cheaper, less powerful motors in these vehicles as a way to cut costs even further.
Keep in mind that Tesla already has other slimmed-down options in the cheapest Model 3 that it sells in Mexico. That vehicle has a cloth interior (with no heated or ventilated seats), a lack of customizable ambient lighting, fewer speakers (from 17 to 9) and less acoustic glass. Presumably, these new cuts will be in addition to the cost-saving measures Tesla already includes in its most budget-friendly vehicles.
Now, Green’s leaks are usually pretty spot-on. However, it’s worth noting here that certain details like the lack of TPMS do raise some eyebrows. The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards require TMPS in all passenger cars sold after Sepetember 2007, which means that Tesla can’t just pull out TPMS and call it a day, despite what data Green has combed through. But we have seen automakers use “indirect” tire pressure monitoring systems in the past, which use antilock-braking system wheel-speed sensors to infer tire pressure, rather than incorporating a specialized sensor.
That being said, we also can’t verify these findings with Tesla, given that the automaker dissolved its PR department some time ago.
Tesla’s VP of Engineering, Lars Moravy, said that the more affordable model will be “available for everyone” in Q4 of this year, conveniently right after the federal EV tax credit is no longer available to buyers. It’s a good time to launch a cheaper product, but we don’t know if the cost savings will be enough to offset the loss of the $7,500 credit. We won’t be able to answer that until Tesla reveals specifics closer to launch.
