There are over 60 processors in the S/X. The Model 3 has fewer processors, but still quite a few. For a list of those processors on the S/X, see our article:  https://teslatap.com/undocumented/model-s-processors-count/

• Media Control Unit (MCU)
• Autopilot ECU Processor
• HW Release Sequence and Timeline
• Hardware Specifications for new cars (no retrofits)
• Retrofits
• Autopilot and Safety Related Features
• Autonomous Driving
• Part Numbers

Here we’ll focus on two modules that are often confused as to which do what functions. (Apr-2020 Update)

This refers to the single module in the center of the S/X dashboard and includes the touch display, processors, RAM, non-volatile memory, the audio subsystem, 5 amplifiers, WiFi, Cellular, Bluetooth, GPS, the Ethernet bridge, multiple CAN bus communications, the LIN bus, USB ports and more.

The MCU is responsible for the main display, all external communications, audio, cellular, navigation, and settings.  It has little to do with Autopilot, other than selecting various settings.

There are two versions of the MCU in the S/X:

MCU1 – using an Nvidia quad-core processor was in all S/X cars made from the start of production to February 2018. Tesla now offers a retrofit option to switch from MCU1 to MCU2, for those cars with HW2.0.  More details are available on the Tesla Infotainment Upgrade page.

The rear of MCU1 showing the large audio amplifier heatsink

There are actually two MCU1 variants, with different connectors. The internals is basically the same in both variants. The red arrow shows the connector change. The older 1004777 is no longer made. For older cars, the newer 1045006 part can be used with an adapter. Some of the earliest 1004777 MCUs only have 3G and do not have LTE. Tesla offers a paid upgrade for those that want LTE, which changes a module within MCU1. All of the 1045006 variants include LTE.

MCU1 – 1004777 from 2012 to 2015

MCU1 – 1045006 from 2016 to 2018

MCU2 – using an Intel multi-core Atom processor, began shipping in the S/X in March 2018. MCU2 offers slightly snapper operation, WiFi was upgraded to support 5 GHz, the Bluetooth was upgraded with a newer version and additional antennas (external to the MCU2), along with other minor changes.

If you want to confirm which MCU your S/X has, we created an MCU tester. In the browser on the car, enter: TeslaTap.com/mcu

The Model 3 architecture is different, with the display and MCU in separate modules. The Model 3 MCU also uses the Intel Atom processor and other components used in MCU2.

There are currently four-vehicle hardware variants related to Autopilot.

HW0 – No autopilot capability

HW1 – First Autopilot, based on the Mobileye chip. It used a single camera, radar, and 12 medium-range ultrasonic sensors. The electronics are co-located with the camera, behind the rearview mirror.

Autopilot HW1 camera and processor assembly

HW2.0 – Tesla’s 2^nd generation design, using 8 cameras, 12 long-range ultrasonic sensors, and one front radar. An entirely new ECU processor module was created by Tesla, based on Nvidia’s Drive PX2 system. This ECU is located below the glove box.

HW2.5 – This provides a small update to HW2.0, primarily for redundancy and slightly improved reliability. This version also made possible two non-autopilot features – dashcam and sentry mode with locally saved video.

HW2.5 ECU from a Model X with fan cooling (HW2.0 looks almost the same)

The first Model 3 Autopilot ECU hardware is similar to HW2.5 but uses liquid cooling from the cars coolant loop instead of fans.

HW3 – A major update to the Autopilot ECU using Tesla’s own chip design.

HW3 Neural Net Processor Board

HW4 – A major update to the Autopilot ECU using Tesla’s 2nd generation chip design is now in development. It is expected to have 3x the performance of HW3.

* Start of Model 3 production, but different hardware than S/X with the same CPU as S/X.
** There have been a small number of cars in the summer of 2019 that got HW2.5 AP processor instead of HW3.

* In a camera each pixel is represented by 4 photoreceptors, with a combination of filters: C=Clear, R=Red, G=Green, B=Blue.  Multiple same filters for a pixel increases the light sensitivity. With RCCB, there is no green filter to improve nighttime light sensitivity, and green can be calculated to make a color image for the dashcam.

** Pascal SoC includes 2 Denver and 4 ARM A57 CPU Cores and a Pascal GPU

Tesla has stated all owners who purchased Full-Self-Driving (FSD) option will get a free upgrade to the HW3 ECU processor, once the software becomes available to take advantage of the new hardware. HW3 upgrades were started for HW2.5 vehicles in the fall of 2019.

For owners of HW2.0 cars, the addition of HW3 ECU will provide the hardware necessary for FSD but is not expected to provide the two features HW2.5 vehicles enjoy – Dashcam and Sentry mode with local video storage.  HW2.0 does get Sentry mode without video recording to scare those that get close to the car.  Owners can also upgrade the MCU1 to MCU2. We have confirmed that the MCU2 upgrade with HW3 (FSD) provides dashcam features.

The Tesla Autopilot terminology has changed over the years. The first Autopilot system, using one camera, is now informally referred to as AP1.  Starting with the new hardware HW2.0, Tesla changed the feature name to Enhanced Autopilot (EAP) with several extra features. In March-2019, Tesla dropped EAP and created a lower cost, less featured Autopilot simply called AP. In April, this became standard on all new cars ordered from the web (It’s not standard on the special order Model 3 SR).  This new AP is a subset of EAP features, with other EAP features being moved into the FSD (Full-Self-Driving) feature set.

Those owners that purchased EAP will continue to get all of the EAP features and are expected to receive upgrades in the future. Enhanced summon for example is an FSD feature, but EAP owners will also get this feature.

FSD features are optional and can be purchased with a new car, or purchased and activated later.

The following feature chart only applies to vehicles made on 17-Aug-2014 and later. Earlier cars do not have any of these features.

* Requires HW2.0 or later or all Model 3 vehicles
** AP1 requires confirmation when traffic safe
*** Was available prior to v8.0 software, but not was all that effective and was removed

The following chart shows the levels of autonomous driving that are generally accepted:

As of the start of 2019, Tesla offers a level 2 type of autonomous automation option. Tesla’s goal is to transition to level 3 and eventually to level 5, which is called FSD. Tesla announced in April-2019 that FSD will be feature complete by the end of 2019 (internal) and may be partially available to customers in summer 2020 depending on regulations. Complete FSD will depend on regulatory approvals in each jurisdiction, perhaps at the end of 2020 for the USA and later for other countries.

Keep in mind there are conditions where FSD will not work, conditions where humans should not drive either, although some humans foolishly try. Some of these conditions include:

• Heavy fog
• Heavy snow/whiteout
• Deep snow on roads
• Hail
• Floods
• Monsoons
• High Winds (Hurricanes & Tornadoes)
• Fires sweeping over a road
• Lava flows
• Mudslides

For 99.99% of daily driving, FSD should work fine – just like humans. We suspect at some point FSD may even be tied into the weather network to determine if there will be an impediment to reaching the destination and advise of the issue.

* The 00 variant has HDMI port, perhaps for development
** Model 3 MCU and Autopilot ECU are two boards in the same module and are functionally similar to the S/X MCU2’s computer and Autopilot ECU 2.5

Here are some of the mostly undocumented technical aspects to the Model S/X/3/Y that may appeal to the engineer in us!  Since little of this is from Tesla, assume some data may be inaccurate. If you know more, we’d love to add to this list – just comment below and if possible, add a source. Tesla makes many ongoing improvements that can change vendors or specifications between older and newer cars, but we’ll try and keep this accurate. (Jun-2020 update)

Acronyms – Use our Acronyms and Abbreviations to help in decoding terminology.

Active Aerodynamics –  Left and right front flaps boost aerodynamic efficiency and range by only providing additional airflow when needed through the radiators. Parts for the S/X are made by Rochling. These flaps are only open about 10% of the driving time according to Rochling.  (from the article in Auto Industries magazine Q1-2014, page 82). The Model 3/Y also includes its own shutter system, different from the S/X.

Aluminum – The Model S skin and structure is 98% aluminum. The aluminum body only weighs 410 lbs (Dream Cars video Dec-2014). The Model X is similar. The Model 3/Y uses aluminum in the doors, hood, and trunk. The Model 3/Y fenders are steel, as is much of the structure.

Antennas (14 + 7 fob) S/X

• AM Radio – Rear hatch glass
• Bluetooth – Near the top of 17″ display (based on our signal strength measurements) in MCU1; With MCU2 (March 2018 and later cars), antennas in each side mirror housing.
• Cellular – 800 MHz GSM (USA) antenna resides in both side mirrors (Nearfield Systems)
• Charge port release – Uses FOB antennas (see below at Key Fob)
• FM/DAB Radio – Rear hatch glass
• FOB – See below at Key Fob (7 antennas)
• GPS – Under the top of back hatch glass, left-side
• Homelink – Front of car, 3-5″ from the frunk latch, passenger side
• TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitor Service) – near the bottom front of AC propulsion motor in 2012-2014 cars using 355 MHz. Late 2014 cars switched to 433 MHz and have displayable tire pressures.
• WiFi -Passenger side mirror (Nearfield Systems)
• XM Satellite – Under back hatch glass, top right-side in cars built before December 23, 2014, under the pano roof center-rear in later editions

AutoPilot HW1.0 – The system is based in part with the Mobileye EyeQ3 hardware/software, a front-facing camera, radar, and 12 long-range ultrasonic sensors. (Computer Vision Video by Mobileye). Auto-pilot hardware was made available in all Tesla cars produced in September 2014 to mid-October 2016.

AutoPilot HW2.x – The hardware includes Nvidia’s DRIVE PX 2 AI computing platform, estimated to be 40 times more powerful than AP1. In addition, the system includes 8 cameras, 12 longer range ultrasonic sensors (about 30 feet range), and front radar. The hardware is included in all Tesla vehicles produced after October 19, 2016.  Two levels of optional software are offered – Enhanced AutoPilot, as a set of features that includes AP1 and more. A second Full Self-Driving (FSD) option provides Level 4 or 5 autonomous driving, once it completed and is approved by regulators (perhaps in 2019-2020). FSD requires a new processor called HW3.0.

The Tesla AP2 processor board includes an Nvidia PG418 MXM module. This board contains a GP106 GPU and 4 GB of GDDR5 memory.  The GPU has 1280 CUDA cores and in this configuration uses 128-bit wide memory. Interestingly, the PG418 board has pads for an additional 4 GB of memory for use with a 256-bit wide version of the GPU.

The mainboard includes many additional parts, including an Infineon TriCore 32-bit microprocessor; a Blox NEO-M8L GPS/GLONASS/Galileo/Beidou module with sensors and dead-reckoning abilities; and an Nvidia TA795 Tegra SoC with Dual-Core CPU, Quad-Core Arm Cortex-A57 and integrated Pascal architecture.

On the Model S and X, the unit is air-cooled with fans. In the Model 3, it is liquid-cooled using the car’s cooling system.

AutoPilot HW3.x – Tesla announced in late 2018 that a new HW3 AP processor module would be required for FSD. This module includes a Tesla created processor that offers far greater performance than the HW2 platform. Most S/X/3 vehicles made after March-2019 include the new processor. Those owners that have HW2 and paid for FSD are being upgraded for free.

AutoPilot Software (in 2020)

AP – This is a new variant introduced 28-Feb-19 that includes Traffic-Aware Cruise Control (TACC), Autosteer, and Auto lane change with confirmation.

EAP – Now, discontinued, it offered on HW2.x vehicles, AP features above, Navigate on Autopilot on the highway, Autopark, and Summon. It will include advanced Summon when available.

FSD (Full Self Driving) – For HW3.x vehicles, it adds to AP and EAP features: Navigate on Autopilot in the city, traffic light and stop sign detection, auto-lane change without confirmation. These features are not released yet.  Customers with a prior FSD purchase will get the HW3.x upgrade for no cost. Customers who ordered EAP prior to 28-Feb-19, but where the vehicle had not been delivered at that date, will get FSD instead of EAP at no additional cost.  Prior EAP owners can purchase FSD at a discount, which includes the HW3.0 upgrade.

AutoPilot 2.0 Cameras

Common color cameras use four filters – RGGB (red, green, green, blue) over cells to create a single color pixel (two green are used to increase the resolution/luminance. Most Tesla cameras use clear on 3 cells for monochrome and a red filter on the fourth cell (RCCC). This increases the monochrome light sensitivity, as color is not important, except for the ability to detect red traffic lights and taillights.

All but the rear camera is the same Aptina AR0132 camera (Aptina is now On Semiconductor). It is a 1/3 inch CMOS 1.2M device, capable of 720p at 60 fps. Tesla appears to be using a visual field of 1280 x 960 at 36 fps. An additional 4 vertical rows of camera (not visual) data make each frame 1280 x 964.

The rear camera uses the OmniVision OV10635 720p CMOS sensor  Tesla is using 1160 x 720 at 30 fps. SMK from Japan appears to be the company assembling the module. At the introduction of AP2, the rear camera module changed and has a built-in heating element. The module is connected via four wires – power and LVDS data lines.

AutoPilot 2.5+ Cameras

The cameras used by the DashCam feature and Sentry mode are in full color. This includes the narrow front camera and the left and right side pilar cameras.

Camera Locations

• Front narrow (1.5″ from center); max distance 820 ft., 35-degree field of view
• Front main (1.5″ from center); max distance 260 ft, 50-degree field of view
• Front fisheye (center); max distance 195 ft., 150-degree field of view
• Left Pilar, 195 ft., 80-degree field of view
• Right Pilar, 195 ft., 80-degree field of view
• Left Repeater, 325 ft., 60-degree field of view
• Right Repeater, 325 ft., 60-degree field of view
• Rear max distance 160 ft., 140-degree field of view
• Cabin (model 3 only)  details unknown *

* does not appear to be used yet
Left and right repeaters are the rearward-facing cameras in the side “T” markers

Thanks go to verygreen, lunitks and others for some of this information.

Batteries – Primary Model S and X

• Long Range/100 – 101 kWh – 400V, 8256 total cells in 16 modules, each with 6 groups of 86 cells = 516 total cells in each of 16 modules, producing 25v per module (from wk056’s rip down)
• 90 – 85.8 kWh – 400V, 7104 total cells in 16 modules, each with 6 groups of 74 cells = 444 cells, producing 25 volts (our analysis from battery photos); nominal voltage 346 VDC. The 90 uses higher-capacity cells than the 85.  The 90 pack weighs about 1330 lbs.
• 85 – 81.5 kWh – 400V, 7104 total cells in 16 modules, each with 6 groups of 74 cells = 444 cells, producing 25 volts (our analysis from battery photos); nominal voltage 346 VDC. The 85 pack weighs about 1330 lbs.
• 75/70/60 – 350V 5880 total cells in 14 modules, each with 70 cells = 420 cells, producing 25 volts (our analysis and conjecture); nominal voltage 302 VDC. 75 uses higher-capacity cells and has 75 kWh capacity. 70 kW cars starting around May-2016 are using the 75 kWh pack, but are software limited to 70 kWh. These packs can be upgraded over-the-air to 75 kWh for a fee.  Similarly, the 60 version 2 (June 2016 and after) use a 75 kWh pack and is software limited to 60 kWh and can be upgraded to 75 kWh for a fee.
• Classic 60 – 61 kWh (2015 and older) – 350V, 5040 cells in 14 modules, each with 6 groups of 60 cells = 360 cells, producing 25 volts; nominal voltage 302 VDC. The 60 pack weighs 1150 lbs.
• 40 – 61kWh – 350V, is a 61 kWh pack software limited to 40 kWh
• Each cell has about 12Wh of energy
• Individual cells are 4.167 volts at 100% SOC or nominal 3.6 V (based on our reverse calculations of pack cells and capacity)*  The classic cell current is 3100 mA, and newer cells used in the 90/75 pack current are about 3280 mA.
• Cells are in a 18650 form-factor casing sourced primarily from Panasonic (the exact battery is only sold to Tesla and is not otherwise available).

Batteries – Primary Model 3

• LR – 74 kWh – 4416 total 2170 type cells in 4 modules; 2 modules with 23 groups of 46 cells each, and 2 modules with 25 groups of 46 cells each (from electreck).  Based on the Tesla EPA report, the long-range battery pack is a nominal 350 volts. The max is 400 volts, and a minimum of about 242 volts with a peak discharge rate of up to 1200 amps. The pack weight is 1054 lbs.
• MR – 62 kWh (Now discontinued)
• SR+ – 50 kWh – 2976 total 2170 type cells in 4 modules; 2 modules with 23 groups of 31 cells each, and 2 modules with 25 groups of 31 cells each (from electreck).
• SR – Same 50 kWh battery as the SR+, but software limited to have 220 miles of range.
• Battery active conditioning – Cooling when at 48°C or above, and heating when -7.5°C or below (from Ingineerix).

Batteries – Other, Model S and X

• 12 V,  33 Ah sealed absorbed glass mat deep cycle lead-acid. It is used for most everything other than propulsion and HVAC. Tesla used the C&D Technologies DCS-33IT battery for years. Currently, the DCS33-UNCR battery is specified for pre refresh in models. The refresh S now uses the AtlasBX U1 battery. The 12v battery condition is monitored with a Hella Intelligent Battery Sensor.  See more at our 12 Volt Battery Compendium.
• Model S – 3V coin cell for FOB – CR2032
• Model X – 3V coin cell for FOB – CR2354

Batteries – Other, Model 3

• 12 V,  45 Ah, Atlasbx, 85B24LS – An advanced lead-acid battery. See more at our 12 Volt Battery Compendium.
• 3V coin cell for FOB – CR2032

Bluetooth – MCU1 – 3.0 + HS; Audio streaming with A2DP sink, A2DP source, AVRCP 1.4; Audio Profile A2DP includes support for standard SBC codec (highly compressed low-bit rate audio); Uses the Parrot FC6050 W chip.  We believe MCU2 uses Bluetooth 4.0, but have not yet been able to confirm it.

Browser User Agent Strings

Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; x86_64 GNU/Linux) AppleWebKit/601.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Tesla QtCarBrowser Safari/601.1 [MCU2]

Mozilla/5.0 (X11; GNU/Linux) AppleWebKit/601.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Tesla QtCarBrowser Safari/601.1 [MCU1, New browser around May-2018]

Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux) AppleWebKit /534.34 (KHTML, like Gheko) QtCarBrowser Safari /534.34  [MCU1, negligible changes from v5.0 through v8.1 until around Apr-2018]

Bus Systems – CAN (Controller Area Network), LIN (Local Interconnect Network) and 100 Mbps Ethernet via a 6 port switch (Model S/X)

CAN 2, 3, 4, and 6 are accessible from the diagnostics connector. The OBD2 port has access to CAN 1 and 6. Ethernet is accessible from the ethernet diagnostics port, but only by service. With current software, it is normally disabled.

• CAN1 – MCU/ODB-II
  • A single connection between ODB-II  and MCU.
  • Presumed not implemented in software
  • In our tests, we were unable to see any data at 250 and 500 kbps, similar to other owner reports
• CAN2 – Body, 125 kbps
  • AM/FM Radio Unit (with optional XM radio)
  • Door controllers
  • Lights (signals, dome, etc.)
  • Mirror controllers
  • Sunroof controller
• CAN3 – Powertrain, 500 kbps
  • Charger 1 and 2 (if equipped)
  • Charge port
  • Drive Inverter -Rear
  • Drive Inverter – Front (AWD only)
  • DC-DC converter for 12V charging
  • HV Battery Management System
  • Thermal controller
• CAN4 – Body Fault Tolerant, 125 kbps
  • Climate Control Cabin Air Heater
  • Climate Control module
  • Memory Seat Controller
• CAN6 – Chassis, 500 kbps
  • Air Suspension (if equipped)
  • Blind Spot and Parking System (if equipped)
  • Camera, forward (AP1, if equipped)
  • Electronic Parking Brake Controller
  • Instrument Cluster
  • LIN bus
  • Power Steering Controller
  • Radar (if equipped)
  • Stability Control and Braking Controller
  • Tire Pressure Monitoring System
• CAN Stability Control
• CAN FastCharge – Supercharger/CHAdeMo to Internal Charger, 33.3 kbps
• LIN – For simple low-speed devices, 20 kbps
  • LIN1 – Steering wheel controls
  • LIN2 – Homelink, 12v Batter and monitor
  • LIN3 – Seat Heaters and Rearview Mirror
  • LIN4 – Future
  • LIN5 – Body Control Module – Rain/ light sensor
• Ethernet A – Instrument Cluster
• Ethernet B – Main Display/MCU
• Ethernet C – Diagnostic port
• Ethernet D – Gateway

Connectivity – GSM 3G/4G LTE with HSPA+ depending on vehicle production date.

In the USA, Tesla uses AT&T’s cellular network.

Every Model S supports 3G.  The hardware does not support LTE in early cars. New LTE capable hardware/software is included in all cars manufactured after May 2015.

Early cars use the Sierra Wireless AR8550 (TMC Forum). We suspect new cars have switched to the Sierra Wireless AR755X module (unconfirmed).

Contactors – These connect the high voltage battery pack to the car. See our detailed Contactors explanation and analysis.

Display – Instrument Cluster (IC) S/X

• 12.3″ LCD, Current: 1920 x 720;  Earlier vehicles: 1280 x 480 resolution
• Before 1-March-2018: Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core CPU (Mercury News, 15-May-2013′ MCU1), Reset by pressing top left and top right buttons at the same time on the steering wheel (safe to do anytime)
• After 1-March-2018: display is run from MCU2 (no unique reset)
• Software – Linux, QT and custom Tesla code (PC Word interview)

Display – Main Computer Unit (MCU1) S/X

• 17″ LCD, 1200 x 1920 resolution
• Nvidia’s Visual Computing Module VCM
• Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core +1 power-saving core
• Cypress MultiTouch controller (press release)
• Reset by pressing center-left and center-right scroll buttons at the same time on the steering wheel (safe to do anytime)
• Software – Linux, QT and custom Tesla code (PC Word interview)
• Our analysis of 7.0 UI
• Run our MCU1/MCU2 Tester – Run within your Tesla browser by typing: teslatap.com/mcu

Display – Main Computer Unit (MCU2) S/X, Cars made March-2018+

• 17″ LCD, 1200 x 1920 resolution
• Intel Gordon Peak Board using the Atom E3800 series CPU and Intel Apollo Lake system-on-chip (Electrek & TeslaTap)

Display – Main Computer Unit (MCU) Model 3/Y

• 15″ LCD
• Intel Gordon Peak Board using the Atom E3800 series CPU and Intel Apollo Lake system-on-chip (Electrek & TeslaTap)
• Reset by pressing center-left and center-right scroll buttons at the same time on the steering wheel (safe to do anytime)
• Software – Linux, QT, and custom Tesla code

GPS – U-Blox (from a Model S diagnostic screen, installed equipment); AP2 cars also include a high precision Blox GPS module. See AutoPilot above for more details.

Key FOB – Model S

• 1 ring antenna behind the back bumper, bottom-center (visible with the bumper removed)
• 1 ring antenna behind the front bumper, bottom-center, slightly to driver’s side
• 1 ring antenna near the top center of the rear seat
• 2 bar antennas inside at dash, at the left and right side panels
• 1 dead-fob ring antenna below right side parking light (early production cars) or below the dash near the bottom of the windshield centered on the passenger seat  (new cars)
• 1 bar antenna inside the center pedestal
• Fob antennas each have a range of about 3 feet.
• 315 MHz for North America, 433.93 MHz for Europe and Asia (industry FOB standards)
• FOB uses TI TMS37F128 Controller
• If the battery is dead, it can be powered via RF energy from antennas – best placement is in the cup holders, or on the center windshield if outside).
• New FOB design with improved cryptography with new cars starting in June 2018.

Key FOB Model X

• 2.4 GHz Bluetooth LTE in the USA. Other countries add 315 MHz (Canada) or 433.94 MHz (Europe/Asia) to meet local transmission regulations
• Antenna placement within vehicle not yet known, but likely similar to Model S above
• FCC documents and photos

Key FOB Model 3

• In final development – likely to be released in Q4-2018 as an option
• 2.4 GHz Bluetooth LTE
• Uses TI MCU CC2640
• FCC Documents and photos

Lights – Our lighting count has over 430 LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) in the Model S.

Memory – Vehicles have various types of memory in different modules. The MCU1 (17″ Media Control Unit) include:

• 2 GB DDR3 SDRAM (on the Nvidia VCM board)
• 8 GB eMMC NAND Flash (on the Nvidia VCM board)
• 16 GB SD flash memory card, primarily for Garmin mapping data storage
• 4 GB SD flash memory card, for firmware, keys, etc. (unconfirmed)
• 2 MB flash memory (for 32-bit 116 MHz CPU, firmware)

Motors – Our motor and solenoid count for the S/X comes up with over 60 when all options are included.

Motor – Propulsion (non-AWD) S/X

• Three-phase, four-pole, AC Induction, 320 Volts
• 18,700 RPM at 155 MPH
• Classic S60 – 302  hp (In Oct-2014 website changed to 380 hp, but we believe  it may be a website error; discontinued)
• S60 version 2 – 382 motor power, 315 hp battery limited (new, June 2016; discontinued in April 2017)
• S70 – 382 motor power, 315 hp battery limited (discontinued in June 2016)
• S75 – unstated, assumed similar to S70/S60 v2 (discontinued Jan 2019)
• S85 – 373 hp (before April-2015, listed as 380 hp, then 362 hp to July-2015, now discontinued)
• P85/P85+ – Originally 416 hp, upgraded in 2015 via software to  470 hp (now discontinued)
• A reduction gear ratio of 9.73 to 1
• Liquid-cooled, with temperature, monitored stator
• Motor weight about 150 lbs.
• Motor assembly (with reduction gear and inverter) weigh 300+ lbs.

Motors – Propulsion (AWD) S/X

• Three-phase, four-pole, AC Induction, 320 Volts
• Small motor 18,200 RPM (pre-Raven)
• Larger motor 18,700 RPM (available on the rear of Performance versions only)
• S60D – 259 hp motor power front and rear, 328 hp total battery limited (now discontinued)
• S70D – 259 hp motor power front and rear, 328 hp total battery limited (discontinued in June 2016)
• S75D/X75D – unstated, assumed similar to S70D/S60D (discontinued Jan 2019)
• S85D – 417 hp (S85D discontinued)
• P85D – 259 hp front, 503 hp rear motor power (until July-2015 – 221 hp front, 470 hp rear motor power and  originally 691 hp total, but now total unstated, P85D discontinued)
• 90D/X90D – 259 hp motor power front and rear, 417 hp total battery limited* (discontinued)
• 100D/X100D – Unknown, but more than 90D/X90D.
• P90D/PX90D – 259 hp motor power front, 503 hp motor power rear, 463 hp total battery limited* (discontinued)
• P90DL/PX90DL – 259 hp motor power front, 503 hp motor power rear, 532 hp total battery limited* (discontinued)
• P100DL/PX100DL – Unknown, but more than P90DL/PX90DL.
• Reduction gear ratio- Large motor 9.73 to 1, Small motor 9.34:1
• Liquid-cooled, with temperature, monitored stator* Model X horsepower values are no longer stated on the Tesla website after 2015 and assumed to be unchanged from prior values.  Battery limited values are maximum motor shaft power.

Motor – Front Propulsion (AWD) Model 3/Y and Raven S/X in 2019

• Three-phase, four-pole, AC Induction
• Liquid-cooled
• Variable frequency drive

Motor – Rear Propulsion (AWD and RWD) Model 3/Y

• Switched-Reluctance partial permanent magnet motor
• Liquid-cooled
• Variable frequency drive
• 17900 RPM maximum
• Small motor 18,200 RPM
• Nominal voltage: 370 V
• Maximum current: 800 amps
• Maximum motor power: 165 kW
• Maximum wheel torque: 165 kW
• Oil filter and electric brushless hydraulic oil pump
• About 200 lbs including inverter

Motor Inverter – This converts the DC battery voltage to AC, powering the motor. On the S/X, it delivers up to 1000 amps (from Tesla 2010 10K annual report). On the P85D/P90D it delivers 1300 amps. With the Ludicrous option, it is boosted to 1500 amps (from Tesla blog).

Music Formats – While only MP3, MP4 and AAC (without DRM) are documented, it also supports AIFF, OGG, WAV, and FLAC (16 and 24 bits up to 192 kHz) files.  Version 7 and older had undocumented support for WMA and lossless WMA via USB, but a bug causes dropouts in WMA files. WMA has since been dropped in Version 8. AIFF format supports 16-bit, but not the less common 24-bit format. See ‘USB’ below for flash drive formats.

The best audio quality occurs when using a lossless format such as AIFF and FLAC via the USB connection. See more at USB Flash Drives for Music.

Navigation System – A Tesla combination of Google on the main display and Navigon (a Garmin company) for the Instrument display and guidance. In about 2018, Tesla dropped Navigon and switched to using OpenStreetMap via MapBox.

OEM Suppliers – There are over 300 OEM suppliers providing over 2,000 parts for the Model S (from 2013 Annual report). This Model S Suppliers Business Chart shows many of the major OEM parts supplied to Tesla in 2012.

While many of the suppliers are the same as the Model S, this 2016 Suppliers for the Model X chart shows the latest OEMs (although the image is the prototype X).

Operating System – Tesla created code running on Linux, written in C (PC World interview); Modified Ubuntu using the ext3 file system (Dragtimes).  Early in the development Tesla considered both Android and iOS, but the key people at Android recommended against it, and Apple was unwilling to even talk to Tesla (Elon, video @36:10).

Vehicles- before version 8.1 (17.24.30) used the Linux kernel 2.6.36 for the center display. With the Tesla version 17.24.30, the kernel was updated to Linux 4.4.35. (Electrek). Functionally, there doesn’t appear to be any difference and no new features were added related to the OS upgrade.

Paint Color Codes – Tesla uses standard paint color codes. Some colors have multiple names or have changed names. You can also confirm the color on the label when you open the driver’s door. Look for the white label is near the bottom door jam.  The paint code appears on the bottom line of the label after PNT. Check our in-depth article on Paint and coatings.

Patents – Tesla Motors has hundreds of patents issued and hundreds more pending (from 2013 Annual report). Lots of interesting reading!

Power Connector – Below the center arm-rests, the 12 v “cigarette lighter” power connector is fused for 15 amps. It is a switched circuit and power is removed when the car turns off.  When the car is on, and the car is charging the 12v battery from the main battery, this connector’s voltage measures at 14.4 volts (from our measurements and analysis).  The Model X/Y includes a second 12v power connector in the trunk area.

Power Consumption – Using the included Model-S charger, after the car is fully charged the vampire AC power load is less than 10 mA, essentially zero!  (from our measurements)

Processors – Our CPU report has over 60 processors on a fully loaded Model S.

Radar Transponder – Tesla uses a 77 GHz radar transceiver (from an article by Ron Freund in Jan-2015 Current EVents). The first radars likely used the  NXP’s MR2001 chipset or similar and the chip consumes a negligible 2.5W when operating. The Radar system is present in all cars built after late-September 2014 and until Fall-2017 were sourced from Bosch.

Vehicles with AP2.5/3.0 hardware, including all Model 3 cars, now use a radar assembly from Continental, the ARS410 CV, similar to the ARS404-21 or ARS408-21.  It consumes under 7W typical, with a peak of 12W.

Rear Camera – 720P HD 30 fps  (from 2012 OmniVision Press Release, no longer linkable)

Sounds and Noises – Our analysis of Normal and abnormal sounds from your vehicle along with solutions.

Speakers – Standard Audio –  a total of 200 W (details from a Sinn press release, s1nn acquired by Harmon), and TeslaTap’s rip-down).  For the Model S and X:

• Door mid-woofers (4) – 160 mm, 40 W each, 2 ohm
• Front pillar tweeters (2) – 30 mm (passive)
• Front middle dash mid-range – 80 mm, 40 W

Speakers – Ultimate Audio – a total of 560 W; For Model S and X:

• Front door woofers (2) – 200 mm, 80 W each, 1 ohm
• Rear door mid-woofers (2) – 160 mm, 40 W each, 2 ohm
• Front pillar Tweeters (2) – 30 mm, 20 W
• Dash mid-range (3) – 80 mm, 40 W
• Hatch mounted mid-range (2) – 80 mm, 40 W
• Passenger side, rear  sub-woofer -200 mm, 80 W, 1 ohm (in a 25-liter bass box)

Special Access – For Tesla Personnel

• Diagnostic Access – Press the Tesla logo at top of the main display for 2 seconds, then requires a password. The password is changed frequently (daily?) and is specific to each car.
• Screen Snapshot – Press the lower-right steering button labeled “Back” for 2 seconds. Used to save both screens to a file. Only Tesla has access to the file.
• Ethernet connector – For the S/X via custom 4-pin connector behind driver side dash panel (only enabled via Tesla service through WiFi or 3G/LTE). A fleetwide software update in August 2015 added additional security to prevent non-Tesla access through this connection.
• Bug reports – If you have what appears to be a software bug, press the Voice button and say “Bug Report” along with a short description of the issue. Both screens will automatically be captured with the log, along with the message. This is all forwarded to Tesla.
• Honk to manually save 10 minutes of video when the dashcam feature available.

Superchargers – see our Supercharger SuperGuide.

Suspension – While components such as the Bilstein monotube shocks and Brembo brakes are well known, check out this excellent analysis by Edmunds of the entire suspension system with extensive photos and explanations.

USB Connections – Two front ports on all Model S/X/3 provide USB 2.0 (compatible with USB 3.0 running as 2.0) for connecting to USB drives and charging devices. The refreshed Model S and Model X has two additional rear ports for the 2nd row and the Model X in the 6 and 7 seat configurations as one more port in the last row. These additional ports only supply power for charging devices.  USB 2.0 ports can source up to 500 mA, although our tests showed we could get about 600 mA from the charge-only ports.  Devices that can be connected in the front ports include flash drives, hard disks (with USB connection), phones, mice and USB diskette drives, and some music players. USB keyboards were disabled in software version 4.5 and later.

All model Y include USB-C connectors, and Model 3 vehicles made around Jun-2020 switched to USB-C style connectors.

To access music via USB, the drive must be formatted for FAT32 or Linux Ext4 format. In 2020- exFAT support was added. NTFS is not supported. See more on how to select and use a USB Flash Drive for Music.

Some USB connected Android phones and tablets may provide drive-like memory access that the vehicles can see. This seems to be a bit hit and miss depending on the device’s design. Apple’s iPhone and iPod’s proprietary data format is not seen by the vehicle.

VIN Decoding – Try out our VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) decoder, supporting all Roadsters, Model S/X/3/Y vehicles at Vin Decoder.

WiFi – b/g/i/j/n 2.4 GHz hardware support, but we believe only b/g is currently enabled in software; Uses the Parrot FC6050 W chip. Use WPA or WPA2 for the best security. Low-security WEP was supported in early software versions, but now smartly, it is no longer supported.  With the Model 3/Y and S/X MCU2 in March-2018, 5 GHz is supported.

This guide shows how to add FM or FM/XM to a vehicle that has been or is being upgraded from MCU1 to MCU2. The issue is caused due to the radio in MCU1 cars having the audio sent to MCU1 in analog form and is controlled via the CAN bus.  MCU2 requires the audio, in digital form, and control signals to be sent via ethernet from a new digital radio.  (Jun-2020)

• Summary
• Parts List
• 3D Printed Cover
• Recommended Tools
• Installation before or after MCU2 Upgrade
• Removing the Radio Module
• Analog Radio Details
• Digital Radio Details
• Wiring Diagram
• Cable Assembly
• Cable Routing
• Provisioning the Radio
• Contributors

According to service, it is not possible to make FM/XM work with the retrofit, but we are not convinced. It makes sense that Tesla doesn’t want the extra cost and labor to replace the radio with a new one as it is not a simple process, but we expect it can be done with anyone willing to spend some DIY time with your car and with a little help from Tesla. While we’ve not yet completed the project, we’ve documented the steps to make it work.

• Purchase of the MCU2 compatible digital radio.  There are different radios as noted for the USA market. See below for part numbers.  We will also test if the very similar Model 3 digital FM radio will work in a Model S. The M3 tuner requires a bracket and some minor physical modifications.
• The existing antennas will work fine. Tesla uses the same antenna connectors between the S/X analog and digital radios.
• Purchase the parts for the connectors, terminals, and wire
• Create a new radio harness to connect power and data to the new digital radio.
• Replace the radio and install the new harness.
• Provision the car to recognize the FM or FM/XM radio [This is the hardest step – see below]

Here are the latest Tesla part numbers for the upgrade and radios. In the USA the current radio cost (any S/X version) is $225.00. it should be noted that Tesla’s policy is to not sell a specific part for your car that does not match what was originally on the car. For example, if you didn’t have UHFS/Premium sound with the Subwoofer, they will not sell you the Subwoofer.  What this means is if you have FM only right now, it is unlikely they will sell you the FM/XM tuner.  For that matter, they may not sell you the digital tuner at all to replace the analog tuner.  Note that the catalog states “No sale restriction”, but you may get pushback from the Tesla parts department. Hopefully, when you explain that the radio is required to make FM work with the MCU2 upgrade, they may relent.  You can also scan the used market like eBay, but we’ve not seen any show up over the last few months.

Cable Purchase

We made a small number of cables available on eBay for $57.95 with free USA shipping. This includes the assembled cable, the mounted 3D printed cover, the optional blue power LED, and a tie wrap. We also tested the cable to ensure the 12v polarity and LED works. On the terminals, we crimp and solder each one to ensure the best connection possible.

Update: I’m sorry to say we’ve sold out of our 2nd batch of cables. At this time, we are not planning to make any more.  All the parts and details on how to make one are here. If you or someone else wants to go into production, we would be happy to provide a sales link here. Note that the digital radio connector is very hard to source, so if you embark on this project, get that part first. The other parts are easier to obtain.

The analog radio connector is only available in a PCB mount style.  In some ways, this is easier to connect to, but the rear pins are exposed. I’m sure there are a number of ways to cover these pins. We elected to make a 3D printed cover that press-fits onto the rear of the connector.  As a bonus, since the material we chose is translucent, we can install an LED on the back of the connector to confirm the connection is working.  It consumes a negligible 1 mA when the car powered up.

3D printed cover design

For the 3D print, we use PTEG filament, which is suitable for higher-temperature environments, such as the vehicle cabin.  Do not use PLA, as it will warp and melt if the cabin gets too hot. We used Formfutura TransBlack HD Glass filament, with the bed at 80°C and nozzle at 225°C, 0.2mm layers, and 100% fill with supports. Plenty of other higher-temp filaments may work fine too, but we’ve not tested any others.  Use our STL file V9 to make the 3D print.  Once printed, you’ll have to physically remove the excess support.

If you don’t have a printer, you can use 3Dhubs to find someone to make the cover for you. A quick check appears the part can be made for less than $20, depending on the quality.

For the radio replacement

• Hex bit type screwdriver or power screwdriver
• T20 bits, short and long shafts
• 10mm socket
• 12″ or longer socket extension
• Socket driver
• Midget ratchet with shallow depth for tight spots
• Auto trim removal toolset

For making the cable

• Soldering iron
• Crimping tool
• Diagonals
• Wire stripper
• Longnose pliers
• Heat gun

One difficulty with this project is connecting the FM radio ethernet connection to  MCU2.  it’s located on the back of MCU2, and is difficult to reach after MCU2 is installed. Ideally, you would install the new digital radio, the radio connections, and route the FM ethernet connection over behind MCU1.  When Tesla does the retrofit, have them attach the FM ethernet connector as they install MCU2.  They can then provision the new radio as well, so you’re good to go!

The big question is whether Tesla’s service is willing to do this. It may be some techs will and some will not.  Of course, if you have the MCU2 upgrade performed before you install the new digital radio, you’ll have to do the connection yourself.

Connecting the FM ethernet to MCU2 yourself may require more dashboard disassembly, and possible pulling MCU2 partly out.  Here’s one video going through the steps to remove MCU1, which are the same steps for MCU2. No cables should need to be disconnected. When removing the MCU, you may want to disconnect the power before starting.  In the passenger side fuse box, remove F235.

Rear view from the passenger side, inside the dash, radio not connected

Rear of MCU2

We discovered that if you remove the analog radio connection while still using MCU1 there are no error messages. Removal will stop new software updates from installing.  Simply plugging the analog radio back in allows an update to be installed.

The radio is mounted to the left of the steering column behind the padded dash panel. #4 in the image below. There are two modules next to each other. The left module is the premium amplifier for cars with UHFS, and the right module is the radio tuner. It is not all that easy to access, but we’ve outlined the basic steps to get to it.

Disassembly steps 1 through 7

1. Position the driver’s seat as far back as possible for easier access and remove carpet mat
2. Remove the dash driver’s side panel and disconnect the FOB antenna
3. Remove the T20 screw that holds the footwell cover to the under-dash and remove the cover
4. Remove the driver’s side padded lower dash trim that is left of the steering wheel, held on by 9 strong snaps
5. Ignore this step.
6. Remove the two T20 screws near the firewall that hold the under-dash closing trim and partly remove
7. Disconnect the footwell lamp mounted to the under-dash closing trim and remove the trim
8. Remove the two screws holding the ODB-II connector to the tuner bracket
9. Remove the connectors attached to the radio module
10. Remove the three 10mm bolts holding the retaining bracket
    

    View through the front opening

    

    View looking upwards between tuner and firewall

     

11. Remove the retaining bracket along with the analog radio module
12. Remove the 4 screws holding the radio module to the retaining bracket, 2 on each side.
13. Replace the radio module.

It may be helpful to see a video on Removing MCU1.  It shows some of the steps we outline above as well.  Here’s a video on a 2014 Model S that shows the amplifier and radio removal at the 17-minute mark. A refreshed Model S is similar with minor differences.

The rear of the analog FM only radio

We will connect to the Tesla analog radio connector to get 12 v power for the new radio.  The mating Molex connector is only available in a PCB mount variant. We made a 3D printed cover to insulate the PCB pins using PTEG.  Do not use PLA, as it will deform under high cabin temperatures. As an alternative, perhaps you could use hot-melt or perhaps some other means to insulate the back pins once you’ve attached wires for power.

The digital radio is much smaller and is mounted on a bracket that fits into the same spot where the analog radio resided on older cars.  It has the same style antenna connections (shown on the bottom) but a different data connector on the top (purple). There are no AM radio electronics in this module, so there is zero hope for those that want AM radio. The digital radio is made by Harman (now a Samsung company) and manufactured in Mexico. The radio module, not including the bracket, looks very similar to the Model 3 FM radio, which has a third connector to power the antenna amplifier. I suspect a model 3 radio could be used if you don’t need XM since the connectors appear the same. You would have to fabricate a new bracket. I only mention this, as eBay has a number of used Model 3 FM radios, but I’ve not seen any Model digital S/X radios for sale on eBay in the last few months.

Top view of digital FM radios

Side view of the 10-pin connector for power and data

The digital radio connector uses the TE Connectivity 2302475-2 housing and requires five terminals TE Connectivity 2-1703930-1. This connector only has power and ethernet data (4 wires). The way the connector housing works, there are locks on both sides to ensure the terminals do not slide out.  Since there is only one terminal in slot 4, on the bottom row, we need to crimp one terminal without a wire and insert it into slot 10, so the housing properly lock.  The lock tends to pop open without this extra terminal inserted. Be aware the tiny terminals are difficult to crimp and even more difficult to get into the housing.

The ethernet connection to MCU2 uses MOLEX 34791-0040. housing and uses two female terminals MOLEX 560023-0550.

Cable wiring diagram to add a digital FM/XM radio to MCU2 upgrade. Power is supplied from the old analog radio connector and you can include an optional power-on confirmation LED as part of the analog connector. Some vehicles are not equipped with an XM radio antenna.

Analog radio connector 3D printed cover v8

T1 LED polarity

Analog radio connector with LED and resistor

Analog radio connector connected to cable

Analog radio connector power test

MCU2 ethernet connector wired

Digital radio connector wired

The completed cable assembly

When installing the digital tuner, first connect the two (FM) or three (FM/XM) antenna connections as they may be difficult to get to once installed.  On the cable assembly, attach the large 16-pin black connector to the connector that used to go to the analog radio. Use the tie wrap around these connectors and the cover to ensure it will not come apart.  Secure the connector so it doesn’t rattle around behind the dash. You may want to warp some felt around the connector as well. The connector back should light up blue if power is on.

Connect the smaller 10-pin white connector to the bottom of the digital tuner.  Run the long white ethernet cable to behind MCU2.

Route of ethernet cable

The cable under the steering column

Cable route over to MCU2 via cubby

Radio connection to the rear of MCU2

As of this writing, the biggest issue is not the hardware or wiring, but making the car recognize the newly installed digital FM radio. We have confirmed that doing a reset on MCU2, a power-down, or installing a new software version does not activate the radio. It is not like a Windows PC with plug-and-play hardware detection.  It really needs to be provisioned by Tesla service.  Kyle recommends the following approach when you go in for the MCU2 upgrade:

Dear Tesla Technician,

I know that my MCU2 retrofit means that I will lose AM/FM/XM radio because part of the retrofit process does NOT include replacing the old analog tuner that worked with MCU1 with the new digital tuner for MCU2.

I have replaced the tuner myself, and all the wiring is completed. I’ve even routed the FM ethernet cable (white) to the rear of the MCU so you can plug it into MCU2 during the retrofit.

However, MCU2 does not provision the new tuner unless you enable it in the gateway’s internals.dat car configuration. It’s my understanding that all that needs to happen is to change ethernettunertype 1 to ethernettunertype 0 or you could removing that line entirely in the gateway and it’ll start to work.

Would you mind doing this while Toolbox is connected?

Thank you

We have heard that service centers are not allowed to make configuration changes like this. I’d argue that the FM radio is a Tesla part, and clearly MCU2 is designed to be compatible with Tesla’s digital tuner.  The car had FM service, so it’s not enabling a feature that didn’t exist previously in the car.  Hopefully, if you do this in a respectful way, and treat the techs right they will do these extra steps for you, but I fear we may need to get corporate to relent before a service center can or will make the change. The more owners that ask for it, the more likely Tesla may accommodate us.

A big thanks go to those that helped with this project and supplied some of the photos, including akikiki, Kyle, Art, as well as a few others!

There have been many changes over the years, and Tesla does not make changes on any kind of regular schedule. There are no model year changes, as new variants are put into production as soon as they are ready. This allows Tesla to stay way ahead of the competition but can make it difficult to know what’s in a specific vintage car. These lists show the dates of most of the major changes to each vehicle type. (Feb-2020)

For more about HW versions and MCU versions and related features, see our article: Autopilot, Processors and Hardware.

• Model S – By Date
• Model S – By Name
• Model X – By Date
• Model X – By Name
• Model 3 – By Date
• Model 3 – By Name

* Equivalent hardware to S/X, but with minor changes for the 3.
** Originally 310 miles, upgraded via software update to 322 miles in April 2019.
*** Originally 240 miles, upgraded via software update to 350 miles in April 2019.

* Equivalent hardware to S/X, but with minor changes for the 3.
** Originally 310 miles, upgraded via software update to 325 miles in April 2019.
*** Originally 240 miles, upgraded via software update to 350 miles in April 2019.

Some owners may be surprised to learn their car includes a 12v lead-acid battery. We’ll explain why and delve into everything about the 12v battery used in Tesla vehicles today.  (Updated Jun-2020)

• History and Use
• Battery Types
• Battery Longevity
• What is Different About How Tesla Uses the Battery?
• Improving Longevity
• Charging the 12v Battery
• Battery Failure Warning
• Battery Location
• What Kills an AGM Battery?
• Why Lithium-Ion 12v Battery is a Bad Idea
• Why Lithium-Iron Phosphate 12v Battery is a Good Idea

The earliest Tesla roadsters didn’t include a 12v battery but used a portion of the main lithium-ion pack to supply 12v for accessories and lights.  This was not ideal, and in 2010 Tesla switched to a separate 12V battery in the Roadster 2.0. All Tesla vehicles since that time also include a separate 12v battery.

2010 Roadster 2.0 12v battery position

The reason for a separate 12v battery is to power critical systems in the event of a high-voltage battery disconnect. This keeps key systems operational such as emergency blinkers, airbags, seatbelt pre-tensioners, brake booster, and a host of other systems. The high-voltage battery might be disconnected due to several rare events – such as a high-impact crash, internal main battery pack problems such as some types of cell failures, a contactor failure, and a few other unlikely situations.

Many parts of the Tesla vehicles today are powered by the 12v battery, including:

• All lights, such as headlights, turn lights, fog lights, taillights, backup lights, license plate, and interior lights
• LCD Display –Instrument Cluster (S/X) and the main display
• The MCU and many modules with processors (50+ in the Model S/X)
• Non-traction motors, such as windows, liftgate (S/X), wipers, washer fluid, seat motors, side mirror adjusts, sunroof (if equipped) charge port door, steering assist, fans, valves, and coolant pumps
• An audio system including tuners, antenna amplifiers, and audio amplifiers
• Safety systems, such as airbags, brake booster, and seatbelt pre-tensioners
• Autopilot systems including cameras, sensors, and radar
• Heated items, if equipped such as seats, steering wheel, washer nozzle, side mirrors, rear defrost and camera heaters.
• Other items like the alarm, rearview mirror dimmer, USB ports, horn, Homelink, air suspension (if equipped) and various latches (doors, trunk, frunk, glovebox)
• High-voltage battery pack contactors

Only a few items are directly powered by the high-voltage battery pack. This includes the traction motor(s), the a/c compressor, cabin air heater, battery coolant heater (S/X only) and the DC to DC converter for 12v power and charging the 12v battery.

Tesla ran into a major snag with the introduction of the Model S in 2012.  The 12v battery was sourced from an American firm, who unbeknownst to Tesla, outsourced the battery to China, and the Chinese company outsourced it to Vietnam! The quality was sub-standard and rarely lasted more than a year. Tesla switched vendors in 2013 and replaced all the marginal batteries in early build cars with a far more reliable battery under warranty.

The Model S uses a 33 or 35 Ah sealed AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) deep-cycle lead-acid battery. One early supplier for the pre-refresh Model S was the C&D Technologies DCS-33IT, now discontinued.  For these older cars, Tesla now recommends the C&D DCS33-UNCR.  For the refreshed Model S, Tesla now uses the AtlasBX U1 a 35 Ah AGM battery.

Model S C&D Technologies Battery

The Model X uses a 40 Ah AGM battery. The primary battery used is the AtlasBX with the model 60B19RS.

The Model 3 uses a 45 Ah, AGM Battery. One supplier is AtlasBX with the model 85B24LS.

Model 3 AtlasBX battery

AGM batteries provide more power for size and weight than traditional lead-acid batteries. Deep cycle versions, like those used in Tesla vehicles, are designed to be repetitively charged and discharged. If you were to use a typical lead-acid battery in this application, it may only last a few months!  AGM batteries are also sealed, which eliminates acid spilling accidents and the need to periodically add water.

In new Tesla cars, the 12V battery lasts about 3-4 years for most owners, although paradoxically, if you put a few miles on the car, it may last as little as 1-2 years. The difference is how many discharge/charge cycles the battery goes through and how deeply the battery is discharged. When driving, the DC-DC converter helps power the 12v system, and fewer charge cycles occur. A car left sitting, will need more charge cycles, and will age the 12v battery faster.  Some Model S owners still have the original battery after 4 years and over 170,000 miles of use!  The Model 3 is too new to evaluate its battery longevity, but Tesla made considerable changes to the electronics, which may increase battery life as well.

AGM life cycle – deeper discharges will result in fewer cycles

Your Tesla maintains power for some key computer systems all the time, so you can disarm the alarm, unlock the car with your FOB (or phone for the Model 3), and when you enter the car, everything starts up without any pause. In addition, the cellular connection for remote access needs power. All these systems require power even when the car is not in use. This is often called the car’s vampire drain. Tesla, via software, has significantly reduced the vampire drain of all cars over the years, but it can’t be eliminated.

Newer cars also use modules that take a bit less power when the car is parked, so that helps. Even the oldest cars should easily get 2-3 years of 12v battery life, although there can be rare exceptions. Just like ICE cars, sometimes the battery fails prematurely.

Often an ICE car goes 3 to 5 years before replacement.  The way the 12v battery is used in ICE cars is quite different than an EV. When the motor is running, normally the alternator powers all the 12v items in the car and charges the battery. The primary use of the 12v ICE battery is to start the car, which takes 2-3 seconds with very high currents.  After starting the car, the battery is not really used. When the car is off, very little power is used, otherwise the battery would die in short order.

A few BMW ICE models, and perhaps other makers, use a far larger battery and intermittently use the alternator. This reduces gas use with less alternator drag on the motor. The downside is the far more charge/discharge cycles means the battery is replaced about once a year, a $700 hit in the BMW!

Tesla provides one option that may slightly improve the 12v battery longevity if that is important to you. Turn off Mobile Access. This means you cannot access the car via your phone app.

Mobile access on the Model 3, and is similar on the S/X (v9+)

For most owners, the battery replacement cost is a negligible part of the ownership costs. Having remote access is a great feature, usually worth trading off for a slightly shorter 12v battery life.

The 12v battery is always charged via a DC-DC converter from the main battery pack. This takes the packs high voltage and converts it to about 14v to charge the 12v battery. It’s a bit more complex, as the voltage to charge the AGM battery is tightly regulated and is compensated due to temperature.

Even when you are charging the car, only the main pack is connected to external power.  While quite rare, if the DC-DC converter fails, the 12v battery can no longer be charged.

The Gen 2 DC-DC converter in the refreshed Model S accepts 220 to 430 VDC at 15 amps and outputs 9 to 16 VDC. When outputting 12 VDC, it can deliver about 200 amps.

DC-DC converter (Model S, Gen 2)

The Model 3 and Y integrates the charger and the DC-DC converter into a single package, the PCS (Power Conversion System).

Tesla included additional hardware at the battery to help detect when the battery is nearing its end of life. Should the battery get within 3-4 weeks of the end, Tesla warns you with a clear message that the 12v battery needs replacement. This is dramatically better than most ICE cars, where the battery dies without much if any, warning.

Warning message for the Model S/X (left) and for the Model 3/Y (right)

Part of the reason ICE car batteries often die unexpectedly is the type of battery used. A standard lead-acid battery will degrade over time, but the lead sheds during use and can short out plates at some point, causing the immediate cell death. An AGM battery, like the ones Tesla uses, should never fail this way.

In all Tesla, the 12v battery is located under the hood. Over the years and models, it has moved around somewhat. The classic Model S RWD had the battery deep on the passenger side in front of the firewall. This location is tricky to get access too, but a trained Tesla tech can often replace this battery in less than 20 minutes. For someone not familiar with the process, it will take quite a bit longer.

Starting with the AWD Model S, the battery was relocated to be easier to access and replace – on par with most ICE cars. The location remains about the same for the S, X, 3, and Y. There are several easy to remove plastic panels to gain access to the battery. No tools are required to gain access.

Refreshed Model S Battery Location (with cabin air inlet panel removed)

Over time the ability to charge and discharge effectively slows due to sulfation. Lead sulfate accumulates on the negative and positive parts within the battery during discharge. Over many charge/discharge cycles this process reduces the amount of energy that can be stored and extracted.  At some point, the battery is considered bad, even though it continues to work at some level. With proper instrumentation, such as done in the Tesla, a degraded battery can be detected well before the useful end of life. Fully discharging an AGM battery is bad, but not normally fatal. Fully discharging an AGM battery does reduce the batteries’ longevity. Normally this never occurs in a Tesla, but if a vehicle is not connected to a charger, and the main battery is drained to 0% SOC (which has a hidden remaining charge), the 12v battery will stop being charged to protect the main battery. Within a few days, the 12v battery will be drained.

One rare failure mode is open contact between two cells.  This is usually caused by improper manufacture of the battery or an external short.  The battery voltage goes from normal to zero as soon as the open occurs, usually early in the life of the battery.

Heat is also bad for an AGM battery, but the heat conditions encountered in a Tesla are fine. AGM batteries are not suitable in an ICE engine compartment that exceed the AGM’s maximum charging temperature of 140°F (60°C).

There are 12v lithium-ion drop-in replacements for ICE car batteries. These are quite a bit more expensive but do weigh less – so you’d think they would be great in an EV. Not so fast. Turns out for Tesla’s application the frequent deep charge/discharge cycles would greatly shorten the life of a lithium-ion battery designed for ICE cars, perhaps only lasting 6 months to a year. Since there is no climate control on the 12v battery, it’s life would also be shortened if you encounter climate extremes. Lithium-ion 12v battery makes little economic sense in a Tesla.

Ohmmu makes a 12v battery replacement specifically for Teslas. These batteries use different chemistry that works in a Tesla and should give superior life over the standard AGM battery. This special chemistry is not as energy-dense as conventional Lithium-Ion cells, so they are not effective for the main battery, but can work well in Tesla’s 12v application. These batteries handle a wide temperature range, support deep discharges, and many more charging cycles than the AGM battery. Ohmmu includes a 4-year warranty. The only downside we see is the expense.

This guide explains some of the choices you and your electrician will make in creating a safe way to charge your Tesla. While we don’t recommend you do the work yourself, it is smart to understand the various choices and what they mean. (May-2020 update)

• Charging Speed Calculator
• Recommendations – Going beyond the minimums
• Getting Power to your Home
• Electrical Service Panel
• Breakers
• GFCIs
• Wiring and Conduit
• Termination Box
• Outlets
• Electricians and Inspections
• NEC Code
• Useful Links at Tesla
• Additional Useful Links

Updated Oct-2019

To find out the minimum outlet required, enter your model. If you plan to charge in freezing temperatures, set the adjust to Yes to compensate for additional power needed to heat the battery. Also, set how many miles you typically drive in a day and the planned charging start and end times. For example, many power utilities offer a lower rate if you charge between midnight and 6 am, so this may be your preferred charging time. If you have the same power costs around the clock, then perhaps you start charging when you typically arrive home at 6 pm and stop when you leave at 7 am. The objective is to find a starting point for how much power you need based on your specific car and time available to charge.

Charging speed needed	15 miles of range per hour
Volts	240 VAC
Breaker Size	50 amps
Max EV Current	40 amps
Wire Size (Copper THW)	#6 awg
Connection	NEMA 6-50 or 14-50 Outlet
Tesla Adapter	6-50, purchase from Tesla 14-50, included with vehicle
Configuration Diagram

NOTE: Tesla does not include the 14-50 adapter with some vehicles starting in June 2019, but Tesla sells the Mobile 14-50 adapter separately.

If you only need a lower power solution today, you may still want to consider one of the higher power options, such as a NEMA 14-50 outlet, or a Wall Connector. For example, let’s say you used our range calculator and found that a NEMA 6-20 (240 VAC, 20 amps) would be adequate for your daily charging needs. If you buy a different EV or have a friend that needs to charge when visiting, or you think you might change jobs in the future that might lengthen your commute, then starting out with a higher power outlet or Tesla Wall Connector might be wise!

Another consideration is if you plan to leave your Mobile Connector (MC) at home. We do not recommend unplugging it daily and storing it inside your car. Aside from the hassle, high-power outlets are poorly suited to many insertions and removals. If you do feel you need to keep the MC within the car, then you should consider getting one of these options:

• Gen 1 Mobile Connector – Suitable for up to 40 amps (M3 SR/SR+/MR limited to 32 amps)
• Gen 2 Mobile Connector – Suitable for up to 32 amps with optional 14-50 adapter
• Tesla Wall Connector – Suitable for up to 80 amps depending on vehicle

The Wall Connector can be set with an internal switch to work with 15 to 100-amp service. Here is the maximum charging current for each Tesla vehicle:

* Older cars came with a Gen 1 MC that is capable of charging at 40 amps
** 72 amp charger for S100 prior to Nov-2018. Current North-America vehicles are limited to 48 amps. Vehicles with 3-phase charging such as Europe, are unchanged.

Power lines to your home arrive underground or overhead from a large transformer. There are three wires, shown in the diagram as blue, white, and red.  The 240 volts is between the blue and red wire, while 120 volts is between the blue and neutral white wire, and between the red and neutral white wire.  These colors are just for illustration, and usually, the real wires are all black or the neutral may be a bare wire.

Simplified home power connections

The three wires pass into the meter to monitor how much power is drawn by your home. The wires then feed from the meter into your service panel.  In most cases, the utility service wires are made from aluminum. In many homes, the service panel is also the main distribution panel with all the home’s breakers. In some homes, the service panel feeds a secondary breaker panel. The power is then distributed to appliances, lights, and outlets throughout the home.

The service panel or breaker box distributes power to your home. A home often draws its total power from 100-amp service to 200-amp utility service. Small houses, some condos or very old houses might only have 60-amp service. Very large houses with major electric appliances, heating, and cooling may have 300 or 400-amp service.

Your incoming utility service panel usually has one large breaker, separate from all others. This breaker rating shows the service capacity.

Determining service capacity

An electrician can evaluate if there is adequate power for the home and the necessary open breaker slots for your planned EV charging. This is also the time to consider if you might get a second EV in the future (i.e. two vehicles charging at the same time), add other major electrical appliances such as air conditioning or add a solar array. These may influence a panel upgrade and upgrade sizing.

Increasing home power is rarely a trivial task nor cheap. On the plus side, for an older home, you’ll get a new breaker panel that is modern and safer. Ask for a panel that has room for expansion, with at least 4 free slots once the project is complete.

A circuit breaker protects your home from an electrical load that is beyond the capacity of the wiring or outlets. Without a circuit breaker, a short or overload is likely to cause wires to overheat and possibly catch any combustible material near the wires on fire!

Eaton dual 240V breaker

Understanding How Magnetism and Thermal Expansion

At one time in your youth, probably in some science class, you wrapped some wire around a nail and then connected it to a battery and, lo and behold, you could pick up paperclips with it. When you disconnected the battery, the paperclips fell to the floor. What you discovered is that when electrical current flows through a wire, a magnetic field is created around that wire. Wrapping many turns of the wire around an iron nail essentially concentrates that field making it strong enough to pick up the paper clips. The more current that flows, the stronger the magnetic field. Keep this in mind.

Magnetic Nail Experiment

You also know from practical experience that as you heat things up or cool them down, their dimensions, length, width, thickness, change. You know not to fill an ice cube tray (if you still remember how we made ice before the introduction of automatic ice makers into homes) all the way up because water expands quite a bit as it gets cold and freezes. Most substances don’t change as much as water does and most actually shrink as they cool, but you get the point. Different substances expand and contract at different rates. Now imagine two paper-thin strips of different materials that are bonded together back-to-back, as you heat this up, the two strips change their length. But, if we select the right substances, one strip grows longer substantially faster than the other and this causes the bonded combination of the two to bend, to curve as one side gets longer faster than the other.

The last thing you need to know is that as an electric current flows through a conductor, the conductor heats up. Some do this more than others, Copper, what we often use for electrical wire, doesn’t do it as fast as say nickel-chrome which is what we make electrical heating elements out of.

How a Breaker Works

With these prior things in mind, we’ll show what trips a common household circuit breaker! The common breaker contains two tripping mechanisms.

The first is an iron rod with a wire wrapped around it. The current through the breaker causes the rod to become a magnet. If the current gets too high, the magnet gets strong enough to pull the mechanical trip mechanism to trip the breaker. Remember when you picked up paper clips and then disconnected the battery? The paperclips fell as soon as you disconnected, didn’t they? The magnetic field appears and disappears and shrinks and grows virtually instantaneously with the rise and fall of the current, so this trip mechanism in the breaker reacts instantly to sudden large currents.

The second trip mechanism in a common breaker passes the current through a small heating element which heats up a strip made of two different materials bonded back-to-back. As the current flows, the heating element heats up. If it heats up enough, the strip bends to touch the trip mechanism, which disconnects the power. This mechanism responds to low/slow faults in the circuit, a sustained drawing of even just a couple of amps over the limit. But, because it takes time for the heating element to heat up, this mechanism allows devices to draw a “surge” or “inrush” current at startup. Motors often draw a high current at start-up as they overcome static friction. Heating elements also often draw a higher current when they’re cold until they heat up.

Internal breaker parts

When the breaker handles a short circuit, hundreds of amps may be flowing for a very short duration. As the breaker opens, an arc forms between the contacts. An array of thin copper plates that are not electrically connected to each other serve to dissipate the arc away from the contacts.

A big thanks go to our guest columnist Chuck for explaining breakers!

Breaker Types

There are many breaker types, but the breaker must match the service panel design. Some of the popular breakers include those made from GE, Eaton, Homelink, Murray, Siemens and Square D. A breaker for a 120 VAC circuit fits into one slot, and a 240 VAC breaker fits into two adjacent slots. Some manufacturers offer a quad breaker that fits into 2 slots that control one 240V circuit and two 120V circuits. If your panel has no open slots, you may be able to replace two breakers in two slots with a quad breaker in those same slots.

Square-D quad breaker

Special Case – 50-amp Outlet on a 40-amp Breaker

Code appears to allow a 40-amp breaker and circuit for a 50-amp NEMA 14-50 outlet for one very specific case – a range or oven that is always left plugged in. There is no 40-amp outlet made, so using a 50-amp outlet appears acceptable in this one narrow case. We cannot find any allowance for use of a 14-50 outlet for any other use. It’s our opinion it’s a bad idea, and very likely against the NEC code to have an exposed 50-amp outlet in your garage that is connected to a 40-amp breaker and related undersized wiring. Do not let anyone talk you into this risky setup.

In a two-wire circuit, be it 120V or 240V, there are two wires. (We’ll get to the ground wire in a moment, trust me.) In 120V two-wire circuits in North America, we call these Hot and Neutral. Hot is usually color-coded black, and sometimes red). Neutral is always color-coded white. Current flows from the Hot to the Neutral. Along the way, that current can do some work. But, regardless of the work that is done, the amount of current flowing in the hot wire should always be the same as the amount current flowing in the neutral wire.

Nothing, however, is ever perfect. Some of the current sometimes can “leak” out. In fact, the electrical code allows up to 20 mA to leak out of a residential circuit. Where that current may leak to is something we’ll take up in a moment. But, for now, it’s enough to say that if you are touching the circuit, then through your body is one path it might leak through. And a current greater than about 50 mA is considered quite-often-fatal. So, 20 mA is thought to provide enough safety margin to avoid most fatalities (“Most” fatalities? you may ask. Well, unfortunately, there is no such thing as safety, only degrees of danger. And the experts — whoever they may be [whispering] they actually work for the insurance industry[/whispering] — have decided that 20 mA results in an acceptably-low number of fatalities.)

In a 240V two-wire circuit (again, we’ll get to the three-wire circuit in a moment, trust me) there are also two wires. We call them Leg One and Leg Two or just L1 and L2 for short-short nomenclature, that is, not short circuit. Sometimes, the wires are color-coded black. Sometimes one is red. Sometimes one is white but painted black or red, or wrapped with some black or red tape; this is called “decoding.” In this case, current flows between the two legs so that the current in L1 must equal the current in L2. Again, there might be some “leakage” in “the real world” and code allows up to 20 mA.

In a three-wire 240V circuit, there are three wires. They are called L1, L2, and Neutral. Neutral is always color-coded white. L1 and L2 may be both black, or one black and one red. Decoding techniques may be used here to color code better. In the two-wire 240V circuit, 240V is the only voltage you can get. In this new three-wire circuit, you can get 240V between L1 and L2, or you can get 120V between L1 and neutral, or you can get 120V between L2 and neutral. Current in this circuit is tricky. Basically, current in L1 minus current in L2 plus current in neutral must equal zero. But, again, code allows for 20 mA of “leakage.” The advantage of the three-wire circuit is that you can get the 120V which is easier to work with for some applications. Consider a clothes dryer, for example. The heating element uses 240V between L1 and L2, but the drum light bulb may run from 120V.

What about the ground wire which is often just bare copper or may be insulated with green plastic or green with a yellow stripe? That is a safety measure. It’s attached to any exposed metal on the appliance so that if something inside breaks and the hot wire or L1 or L2 touches the metal which may be touched by the user, that current immediately flows through the ground wire tripping the breaker and making the situation safe. Normally, no current should flow in the ground wire. Think of it as the overflow drain on your sink. Normally, no water flows down the overflow drain. The overflow drain’s only functions in an emergency if you leave the water running too long. In the case of the ground wire, it’s not too long that counts, but the voltage in the wrong place.

A Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter is a safety device that monitors the current in the hot, neutral, L1, and L2 wires as appropriate for the circuit involved. If it detects any missing current — well, more than 20 mA of missing current — then it shuts everything off virtually instantly. When more than 20 mA is unaccounted for, it’s better-safe-than-sorry, best to shut everything off.

So where does current leak to? Well, the ground wire is one possibility. Remember, any exposed metal is connected to the ground wire. If an internal fault develops inside a device such that hot, L1, or L2 touches any of that exposed metal, the current flows to the ground, and the GFCI sees it as leakage and shut down the party.

But there is a more sinister option. That current could leak through your body. And 50 mA is likely fatal. So, again, it’s good to shut things down.

But if current enters your body, why does it flow? Where does it flow out of your body too? The most common answer is that it flows through something wet and then to ground. This is why GFCIs are required on outlets used in bathrooms, laundry rooms, kitchens, garages, outdoors, around swimming pools and spas, places that can be expected to be wet.

You don’t need water to have a ground fault. An internal fault in a device can cause a ground fault too!

GFCI Outlets and GFCI Breaker

Tesla includes a GFCI in the Mobile Connector and the Wall Connector. There should be no need for an expensive GFCI breaker on a 240V garage circuit. A GFCI is required by code on all 120V circuits in the garage. This can either be a GFCI breaker or a GFCI outlet.

A big thanks go to our guest columnist Chuck for the GFCI section!

Between the breaker and the outlet or Wall Connector is a run of wire. The safe wire size depends on the type of conductor (Copper or Aluminum), the expected maximum amount of current flowing through the wire, and other factors such as if the wires are exposed or installed within walls.

Copper or Aluminum

Aluminum wire is cheaper than copper, but the wires must be thicker to carry the same amount of current. In addition, every type of attachment (breakers, outlets, etc.) must be specifically rated for use with aluminum wire (and many are not). Lastly, care must be taken to apply the correct anti-oxidizing paste. If aluminum wiring is not properly installed, over time it can cause dangerous overheating resulting in fires! For this reason, we strongly recommend the use of copper wires for EV charging to avoid the risk of improper installation. The Tesla Wall Connector is rated only for copper wire.

Wire Types

Within Copper or Aluminum there are also multiple types, primarily relating to the insulation and temperature handling abilities. Generally, you want a wire rated for 75°C or more. This ampacity table provides more details on current handling for a wide range of wires sizes and types.  For the recommended wire, use the chart below.

You can always go with a wire that has larger current handling abilities than specified in the code. The thicker wire has a smaller number, so a #3 wire can handle more current than a #4 wire. The amount of current being pulled by your charger heats up the wires, losing a small amount of power. The thicker wire has less resistance and less power losses.

Sheathed or Conduit

For lower power circuits, typically wires are bundled together with plastic sheathing. Plastic sheathed 14/2 and 12/2 is commonly used for 120VAC circuits in homes. Sheathed cables are available for just about any size, but often the installation becomes difficult with thicker cables. A conduit can be plastic or metal but must be rated for electrical use. PVC plumbing pipe is never suitable and does not meet any electrical codes. There are also codes that may limit physical exposure to wires, so conduct may be required. Your electrician can determine the proper types for your specific installation.

Single Run

Ideally, the wires should be one continuous run from the breaker to the outlet or Wall Connector. The code does allow for a spliced connection, so long as properly done, and occurs within an accessible electrical box. With the high currents involved with charging, it becomes another risk point for failure and should be avoided if possible.

An outlet must mount in a suitable electrical box. It can be plastic or metal, although some situations may require one or the other. For example, a metal box is required if using metal conduit or metal-sheathed wiring. Metal is also preferred for an EV outlet, as it is far stronger. Some codes may require plastic when mounted behind the drywall between a garage and a living area. If sealed properly, it prevents toxic carbon-monoxide gas from ICE vehicles in the garage leaking into the home. Just another good reason to switch to non-toxic EVs!

4″ Steel box, 21 cubic-inches

The size of the box is also important, and code requires the box to be large enough to accommodate the wires and the outlet. The calculation is a bit tricky, but we’ve made a handy calculator for the required box size using NEC section 314. For example, if you use a NEMA 14-50, with three #6 wires and a ground, you’d need a box with at least 30 cubic inches.

If you can’t find a metal box big enough, there are extension boxes, which look like a box with an open back. These are attached to create an even larger box. For surface mount installations, typically installed with conduit, some outlets are made that include the box as part of the outlet, which may be a better solution for some.

If you are mounting the outlet outdoors, it needs to be installed with a rainproof enclosure. The enclosure must meet the NEC box size requirements too.

If you run a non-metallic sheathed cable into the box, the cable must be protected with the proper hardware, so the sharp edges of the box do not cut into the cable. In addition, a ground wire must be physically attached to the back of the box.

Outlets are made in three grades, residential, commercial, and industrial. Once you or your electrician selects the outlet size, we strongly recommend using an industrial outlet. These are designed for many more insertions and removals with far longer service life. These outlets can be costly, but we feel they are well worth it.

Outlet	Configuration	Voltage	Circuit breaker	Industrial Versions
NEMA 5-15		120V	15 Amp	Leviton 5262 Leviton G5262 (GFCI)
NEMA 5-20		120V	20 Amp	Leviton 5352 Leviton G5362 (GFCI)
NEMA 6-15		240V	15 Amp	Leviton 5651
NEMA 6-20		240V	20 Amp	Leviton 5461
NEMA 10-30 (not recommended)		240V	30 Amp	Leviton 5207-S10 Leviton 5054†
NEMA 14-30		240V	30 Amp	Hubbel HBL9430A* Leviton 55054†
NEMA 6-50		240V	50 Amp	Leviton 5374-IG Leviton 5378†
NEMA 14-50		240V	50 Amp	Hubbell HBL9450A* Leviton 55050† CE CESMPS54HR**

† Outlet is part of a surface mount box
* Tesla Recommended
** Rainproof outlet and enclosure
NEMA 10-30 Adapters from Tesla are available, but due to the lack of a ground wire, we don’t recommend it. Use NEMA 14-30 if you’re adding a 30 amp connector.

We recommend you hire a qualified electrician to evaluate your needs and complete the necessary work for a safe and quality charging connection. Armed with a bit of additional knowledge from this article goes a long way to getting exactly what you need. We also recommend you obtain a permit from your local city. While this adds a small cost to the project, it provides an inspection by the city to verify the work is done properly. If your electrician balks at getting a permit, perhaps you should consider another electrician. The electrician may price the project higher with a permit – partly because the electrician must do the job right, and partly as it may take some additional time to pull the permit and be on hand for the inspection. You may be able to save a few dollars by handling the permit yourself. Many cities even let you do this entirely online.

While no one wants to spend money unnecessarily, doing it right is important. Should the installation cause a serious problem, having the proper permits and inspections may make it easier in dealing with insurance claims. Done properly, it may also increase the value of your home to a future buyer.

Tesla maintains a list of recommended electricians that are trained to install Tesla charging equipment.

Key talking points with your Electrician

• Can an existing circuit be used?
• Does your home have enough power (remember, most charging is done when other appliances are not in use)?
• Should you upgrade to a higher-power outlet or Wall Connector for the future?
• Where to install the outlet for easy access to the left-rear charging port?
• You want copper wire, not aluminum.
• Ask for the cost difference of using thicker wire than required.
• Suggest that an extra foot of wire be looped behind the outlet box in case you later install a Wall Connector.
• Decide who will get the permit and be on hand for the inspection when done.
• Consider if a whole house surge or lightning protector might be worth including in the project.

The NEC (National Electrical Code) is a standard for the safe installation of electrical wiring and equipment in the United States. It’s the work of literally hundreds of engineers and scientists coordinated by the National Fire Protection Association, the NFPA, which comes out of the insurance industry. Quite a bit of the NEC is focused on reducing the risk of fire, for which the insurance industry often ends up paying. The NEC is not a law, but a model for a local jurisdiction to use by the local building code’s compliance office. Many cities and counties adopt the code as a requirement for work done within the region. The code changes every three years, and states and cities may adopt these changes or can be 3- 9 years behind the latest code. In addition, a city can elect to skip sections or have additional local requirements. As there are slight variants in the version of the NEC and local code, we can’t provide every option and detail. Your electrician should be up on your local requirements.

Tesla – Home charging

Tesla – Installing a Wall Connector

Tesla – Wall Connector Installation Manual

Tesla – Electrician referral

Tesla – Buying a Model 3 Gen 2 Mobile Connector

Tesla – Buying adapters not included with Mobile Connector kit

TeslaTap’s Supercharger Superguide

Our Model 3 Home Charging Guide

Acronyms and Abbreviations to help in decoding terminology.

As I stated in the start, this project is a bit crazy for the cost and amount of effort it took. It really started with a phone-based CAN bus analyzer I designed. This got bogged down as the off-the-shelf CAN bus products I tried couldn’t keep up with the massive amount of data Tesla produces on a single CAN bus, let alone the 4 busses I wanted to monitor. It works well when you limit the data (which is done at the hardware level), but I wanted it all.

I shifted gears to designing my own low-level hardware and writing my own code for the microcontroller. This connected to the phone via USB. Bluetooth would never work for this, as it is way too slow. I then found the phone itself was also unable to process the massive amount of data coming in, store it and display the data in different ways in real-time. This was not going the way I wanted!  During this time, a few other owners introduced products with limited CAN bus recording with off-line processing. I may revisit that project as the phones/tablets gain more power. I only need that Intel i9 18 core extreme CPU that lasts longer than a few seconds on a cell phone battery!

I got the idea for Tshow when the refresh Model S came out, as it had the perfect display area behind the front T-badge. I could reuse some of the hardware and software work I’d previously done as Tshow is far less demanding.  Meanwhile, a new microcontroller with dual CAN bus hardware appeared late last year, which was perfect for this project.  I didn’t need all four CAN buses, but I did need two (CAN 2 and CAN 3) for monitoring data.

With some of the prior work I’d done and more analysis of CAN bus traffic, I identified critical ids to track for the various features.  Here are the IDs I track for Tshow:

This CAN data was on a refreshed Model S. It’s likely to be the same on all versions of the Model S and Model X.  It may even be the same on the Model 3.

To include day/night brightness and holiday features, I needed an accurate date and time. Unfortunately, I was only able to find the date/time broadcast on CAN bus 6. Since I didn’t want to add a third CAN bus to the project, so I used the processor’s built-in RTC along with battery backup. I wrote the code so the time and date are automatically set when the app connects to the processor.

I built the prototype on a breadboard, which makes it easy to try out different processors and design ideas while creating the companion Android app.

An early breadboard test

As the project rolled along, I concluded PCBs would be necessary to ensure reliability and compactness.  That meant learning the latest schematic and PCB software. Of course, I made a few mistakes and had to re-run new boards. This is no different than most engineering projects (although costly for a one-off project).

Processor PCB version 2

Version 2 still had a couple of minor errors, and the remote control’s NeoPixels data was unreliable on longer cables. I  added a second differential bus transceiver and fixed the errors on the version 2 board. The version 3 schematic covers all these changes.

Processor Schematic (version 3, click for full size)

A few sharp engineers may notice I used some modules rather than surface mount ICs. Surface mount parts are difficult to solder for a one-off project and these specific parts are only available in surface mount. Luckily, there are modules available with the surface mount ICs, that is only slightly more expensive than the IC itself. They do take up a little more PCB board space, but not enough to matter.

The NeoPixels use a single serial data line. This becomes unstable for longer runs, typically over 12″. By using differential transceivers, the signal is not affected by wire length. The processor module connects to the receiver and remote via a differential connection, which in turn connects to NeoPixels.

Tshow receiver schematic

The receiver needs mounting on the T-badge assembly very close to the NeoPixel input. I found the desired mounting on the passenger’s side physically interfered with the radar module, so in a last-minute decision, mounted it on the driver’s side and flipped the NeoPixels so the start (i.e. pixel 1) was on the driver’s side to keep the wire run as short as possible between the receiver and the NeoPixels data input. This required a fairly significant software change to “flip” the visual direction in various display modes.

Tshow remote schematic

Along the way, I couldn’t find a suitable plastic box to house the remote unit. I got the brilliant idea to make a 3D box for it – having never done so before! This required learning a new CAD system – Tinkercad. It took 3 tries to get it right, but the design improved dramatically with each iteration.  With that under my belt, I had planned to use a stock plastic box for the receiver, but a 3D box would be so much better.  I got a good box design after two tries.  For those who have never done 3D design, the tools today are quite impressive. Once the design is complete, I used an online service to choose a fabricator to make it, often in 2-3 days. Printing each box in ABS costs under $20. In the last iteration, I combined both boxes into a single print.

3D view of receiver box and lid (top), remote control box and lid (bottom)

My one regret is not making a 3D box for the processor unit. This would have been a bit more complex design and costly. It would have saved quite a bit of rework on the stock plastic box. If this is ever made into a production product, a 3D processor box would be great.

I wrote the microcontroller software using the Arduino IDE, in C++ code. While the Teensy 3.6 processor can run at up to 192 MHz, I run it at 120 MHz as more speed is unnecessary and it reduces the power consumption slightly. I wrote the Android software in Java using Android Studio. As such, it may not be easy to port to Apple iOS.  Not something I’ve investigated. Android devices such as a 5″ quad-core phone with Android 6.0 and Bluetooth 4.0 can be had for as little as $50 and will work great with this project if you don’t already have an Android phone or tablet

HomeLink is the brand of universal garage opener system offered on many vehicles. HomeLink technology is basically identical to all brands and vehicles.  It has a maximum of 3 recording slots in the HomeLink hardware. If you need more slots, the only way is to add an external HomeLink system for another 3 slots.

HomeLink only sends one “toggle” signal to the door opener. It has no knowledge of the current state open or closed – it just sends the signal “change door state”.

HomeLink is compatible with most garage openers, gates, and a few other simple devices.  It can handle rolling codes commonly used in most openers made in the last 20+ years and handles a wide range of frequencies from 26 MHz to 868 MHz, depending on the country and module.  In North America, the most common frequency is 433.92 MHz and the Tesla module handles 288 MHz to 434 MHz. Europe commonly uses 868.3 MHz

List of compatible openers in the UK/Europe

HomeLink is not supported in all countries. For example, HomeLink is not supported in Australia. Likely it has more to do with frequencies used and/or regulatory approvals needed in a country not supported.

Tesla has added a few clever enhancements:

• Built-in step-by-step instructions to setting up HomeLink shown on the main display.
• Each of the 3 slots can be labeled with a description, such as “Home”, “Gate”, “Work”, etc.
• Buttons can be associated with a GPS location – to highlight the correct choice when nearby.
• Auto-open – A specific slot signal can be automatically sent when you enter a GPS coordinate, such as arriving at your home.
• Auto-close – A specific slot signal can be automatically sent when you leave a GPS coordinate, such as leaving your home.

The HomeLink unit is behind the front facia a few inches to the passenger side (LHD cars).  The Tesla on-screen instructions will also describe the location for your vehicle. You’ll need to place your original opener remote near the HomeLink module during the learning process.

1. HomeLink has never worked

Replace the battery in the remote with a new one (even if your original remote works). Erase the setting in Tesla and reprogram it. Surprisingly, this often works.

For some openers, you may need a compatibility bridge. From HomeLink: The HomeLink Compatibility Bridge Kit is designed to allow compatibility between a newer Chamberlain, Sears Craftsman, or LiftMaster garage door opener fitted with yellow antenna wire and the HomeLink system in your vehicle. These garage door openers were manufactured in 2011 or later.

Liftmaster 855lm Chamberlain OEM HomeLink Compatibility Bridge

From Homelink: If your opener does not have a yellow antenna wire or is not one of the brands listed above, please consider purchasing a Universal Receiver to ensure compatibility.

Universal Dual Frequency Radio Conversion Kit for most Door Openers

2. Genie opener doesn’t work

New Genie openers have two modes, where the default “Green” mode doesn’t work with Homelink. To switch to “Red” mode that works with Homelink, press the learn button on the opener (mounted in the garage) and hold a button for 10 seconds until both red and green lights are lit, then quickly double-tap the button. It should change to red. Proceed with the normal process of teaching the Tesla your remote and have the opener learn the Tesla signal.

3. Sommer Opener doesn’t work

The Sommer Direct Drive (blue buttons on the transmitter) and 310MHz Sommer (TX03-310 on the back of the transmitter) garage door openers are not compatible with HomeLink. Sommer has a fix available (extra cost). Contact Sommer support at 877-766-6607.  The issue is 310 MHz is non-standard whereas 315 Mhz is the industry standard. The fix is a new radio receiver that works at 315 MHz, where Homelink can also work.

4. Manual activation no longer works

a. If the physical remote that came with the opener works.  In the Tesla, erase the slot and relearn the remote. Don’t forget to have the opener relearn the newly saved HomeLink slot.

b. On some openers, they only have a small number of memory slots to learn remotes and vehicles. If this fills up it may not allow new ones, or old ones are dropped for new ones. Check your opener manual – there may be a way to clear all the slots and have it re-learn your remote and vehicles that have Homelink.

5. Only work sometimes

If you press the manual open and it requires multiple presses to get it to open, but it does open after 3 to 8 presses (with 5+ seconds pause between presses). The fix is to erase the recorded signal and start over. The rolling code has likely gotten out of sequence with the opener and the slot should be relearned from the remote and saved by the opener.

6. Opener range seems minimal or has reduced since using LED/CFL bulbs

Some bulbs interfere with the opener RF signal. Confirm the issue by removing the bulbs from the opener. If it starts working better, try a different bulb manufacturer. Your opener manufacturer may also have a list of bulbs that work with their opener.

7. Works closing the door, but not opening

A metal garage door may be reducing the signal or the opener antenna has an issue. Move the car close to the door and see if it works manually. If so, back up to see how far it still works.  If it only fails for auto-open, you may need to reset the GPS location closer to the door.

See the next section “Opener Antenna Fixes” too.

See the prior section on LED/CFL opening range reduction.

8. Opener Antenna Fixes for limited range issues

Most openers (but not all) have an 18-inch wire antenna. It should be positioned straight down. In rare cases, someone has cut off the antenna, not realizing what it is, greatly reducing the sensitivity. Some newer units no longer have this visible antenna.

If you have a metal garage door, you might try to add a wire to the antenna so that it reaches to above the door. Avoid routing the wire near metal or power lines. Thanks go to Pnajar for this fix.

9. Works opening the door but not reliable auto-closing the door

Is there any chance you stopped the vehicle before the close signal was sent? As a safety measure, if you stop your car while backing out, but before the close-door signal is sent, the auto-close is terminated and you’ll have to manually tap the Homelink button to close the door.

This is a recent Homelink Module used in both the Model S and Model X. It is made by Gentex, and other than the label looks identical to ones used in various Audi, Porsche and VW models.

It only uses three wires – two for 12v power, and one connected to the low-speed LIN data bus 2. Here’s an inside view:

The FCC ID is NZLJCIBUSHL4.  The output transmitter power is specified as 47.5 uW. This FCC id was registered in 2014, so it is possible older cars use a slightly different design.

Our Tesla WiFi guide shows you the why and how of WiFi along with troubleshooting tips and tricks. (Oct-2019 update).

• Why Connect to WiFi
• Requirements
• Making a Connection
• Antenna
• Technical
• Testing in Your Vehicle
• Testing WiFi
• Oddities
• Troubleshooting
• Recommended WiFi Routers
• Recommended Extenders

Tesla recommends connecting to WiFi while at home if you have a network connection available. In some cases, updates through WiFi get priority over those Tesla sends over the cellular connection.  You can also use WiFi to tether the vehicle to the internet through your phone. This can save you money after the 4 years of free cellular connection expires, or if you have a poor cellular connection in your normal travel area and have a better connection via your phone.

• 2.4 GHz WiFi (All Model 3 and S/X cars built after Feb-2018 have 5 GHz support as well).
• Must use WPA or WPA2 security, or no security (The obsolete WEP standard no longer works with 8.0 software and later)
• Allows a VPN with UDP without a short timeout (see technical below for explanation)
• WiFi must have an internet connection

At the top of the main display, tap on the signal strength indicator. A list of available and previously set WiFi connections will appear.

Tap the one you want and if never accessed before, enter the password for your WiFi router. It will remember the connection and automatically connect when in range.  If you travel to another location and it has WiFi, you can use the same process to add additional connections.

To add a new WiFi connection you can also go into settings and tap Add Network.

When you add a network via the dialog, there are a few quirks to be aware of. After you enter the password and press “Enter” on the keyboard nothing will happen. You have to tap “CONNECT”. It usually takes about 30 seconds to validate and connect. If it fails, it usually does within about 1 minute.  In either case, it doesn’t directly tell you if it succeeded or failed. If succeeded, the security and password and a button “FORGET NETWORK” will be grayed out and cannot be selected. If it failed, These options will be available and the “CONNECT” button also remains. You can then try another password.

We’ve also identified a Tesla bug that if your password has a single quote symbol, the password will be rejected. This should be an allowable password character and we’ve laboriously confirmed all other symbols on a US keyboard work fine in a password.

Most Tesla sales offices and service centers have free WiFi. It will connect automatically without needing any entry. If your vehicle is in for service and has an open service order, and the vehicle needs a new update, the update will be downloaded automatically while at service.

The vehicle’s WiFi antenna is in the right side mirror housing on both LHD and RHD vehicles. The best signal strength occurs with a minimum of walls and objects between the antenna and your WiFi router. The image below shows the mirror with the back removed. The smaller rectangular antenna on the left is the WiFi antenna. The larger antenna is for cellular.

Model S/X mirror housing  (prior to March 2018)

The vehicle’s WiFi hardware is located behind the main display. When a connection is made, Tesla uses a VPN (Virtual Private Network) with UDP (User Datagram Protocol). What this means is the data passed through the connection will be secure and low-latency.

When the vehicle is connected via WiFi, at the top of the main display the five-bar cellular signal strength indicator changes to the WiFi icon with arcs for signal strength indication.

You can try any of these three easy tests:

• Maps – Move the map to a new location or zoom out. The gray areas should fill in quickly.
• Music – Select Streaming and select a category to play. Confirm the music plays.
• Web – Select the browser and enter a site like Teslatap.com.  The home page should display.

We wrote a WiFi Meter app for Android phones and tablets. While we don’t think you need it (and it costs all of $0.99), it may be helpful to some.  It gives you a far more precise indication of signal levels at different locations, a speed test and a number of other WiFi details and helps to explain what it all means.

When the vehicle is using WiFi and you drive away outside its range, the vehicle automatically switches to the cellular connection. This switchover can take a few seconds, and if you’re listening to Streaming music, it may force the next song to start playing, even if the prior one was not completed.  It seems more transparent when switching from cellular to WiFi.

Weak signal

Many owners find they get a weak signal in the Tesla from a home router. Typically, the router is far away from the garage and the signal must penetrate many walls, greatly reducing the signal level. If the tests above are slow or erratic, you may want to improve the signal to your vehicle. Solutions to consider include:

• Move the location of your WiFi Router
  If you can move the WiFi router closer to the vehicle, it should increase the signal strength. Often hard to do, so one of the other solutions may be required.
• Get a new WiFi router
  If your router is more than a few years old and/or a bottom end cheap router, it likely performs poorly in general.  Most routers that are provided by your Internet provider are also usually bottom end devices that will contribute to the problem. Look for a premium WiFi router that connects to your internet connection. Note that there are different connection types – DSL, cable modem or Ethernet to your internet equipment. See below for our recommendations.
• Get a WiFi Extender (also called repeater or booster)
  These devices are located halfway between the router and your Tesla. It picks up your WiFi signal and then re-transmits it – extending the range of your WiFi. The device only needs a power plug – no other wires are necessary, although most also provide one or more router ethernet ports. See below for our recommendations.
• Move your vehicle to a better position
  You may get some improvement by just moving the vehicle.  Position the vehicle so that the right side mirror is closer to your router.

Doesn’t work or you never get updates

Here’s our list of possible fixes:

• Reboot
  If WiFi had been working fine, but just stops working, try a reboot in the Tesla. Press in both scroll wheels for about 15 seconds, until the main display goes black. A reboot takes less than 60 seconds, but WiFi may take some additional time to get reestablished – less than 2 minutes.
• Remove and Reconnect
  Go into the vehicle and select the antenna icon at the top of the display and go into WiFi. Remove your current connection, reconnect and enter the password.
• Use 2.4 GHz WiFi (S/X built prior to March-2018)
  Most WiFi routers use 2.4 GHz or a mix of 2.4 and 5 GHz. If your router is set to only accept 5 GHz or perhaps a setting of “N only”, the vehicle will not connect. Change the router’s settings to allow 2.4 GHz. Newer high-end routers allow both 2.4 and 5 GHz communications at the same time, which may be beneficial for your situation.  Model S and X built after February 2018 include hardware and software to support 5 GHz, as does all Model 3s.
• Change Router Band
  On your router, check if the router is set to a congested or non-supported band. The Tesla hardware support bands 1-11, the standard in the USA. Some countries allow additional bands that Tesla cannot use, so if you’re outside the USA, be sure to use bands 1-11.  Due to reduced interchannel interference, channels 1, 6 and 11 can often be a bit more reliable than other channels.
• Use WPA/WPA2
  On your router, confirm your WiFi is set up for WPA or better WPA2.  If you are using the obsolete and insecure WEP standard, the vehicle will not connect.  It will connect if you have no security, but we don’t recommend anyone leave a WiFi router set to No security. It’s not an issue for your vehicle, as all communications are encrypted.
• Unblock VPN connections
  While most routers have no problems with VPNs, some may have an option to block/allow VPNs or it has a firewall that blocks a VPN. Check your router to see if there is a VPN blocking option and set it so it does not block VPNs.  VPNs use port 1194. Some routers have a firewall that blocks everything other than ports 21, 80 and 443. Allow port 1194 as outgoing. Note this is not the PC’s firewall, which doesn’t matter. This is a setting within the router itself and does not affect the security of your network.
• Change UDP timeouts
  Some routers have a short UDP timeout that can screw up Tesla updates and downloads. If you can find UDP timeouts (not all routers have this option), for Unreplied and Assured, set the values to 60 seconds.
• Switch to a Guest Network
  Most routers today offer a guest network option with a separate SSID WiFi Name.  Some complex home systems that have a DLNA server in the network (even if wired), seem to cause connection problems with the Tesla and/or make the Tesla keep connecting and disconnecting. A guest network connection on a separate IP, without any DLNA servers, often makes it all work.

Auto connects at one place, but not another place

For example, it works at home, but will not auto-connect at your summer cabin.  Check if both locations use the same WiFi SSID name. Only the details from one SSID name can be saved. If this is the case, change one of the WiFi SSID names so that they are not the same.

There are hundreds of WiFi routers, but like most products, there is considerable variance in the quality of WiFi supported, features and price. We’ve compiled a list of highly-rated WiFi routers over a range of prices that could enhance your Wifi to your Tesla and other devices in your home.  All support dual-band 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, have Gigabit Ethernet ports, and support the standards – 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac.  Cost is the street price as of Jul-2019 and may change.​

	Linksys	TRENDnet	TP-Link	ASUS	NetGear
Model	EA6350	TEW-827DRU	Touch P5	RT-AC88U	X10–AD7200
Photo
Cost	$79	$100	$74	$222	$379
Released	May-2014	Jan-2015	Apr-2016	Oct-2015	Sep-2016
Ports	4	4	4	8	6 + 1-10GB
USBs	1	2	2	2	2 – 3.0
MU-MIMO	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Other			Touch-screen		Tri-band; Plex Server

MU-MIMO – allows multiple simultaneous communications on different channels. Especially desirable with 4K video and other devices on the WiFi network.

Use an extender to provide more quality WiFi coverage in your house or garage. There are quite a few low-cost extenders in the $30-50 range, but most lack power and/or feature that you may want for other devices in your house. All those below support dual-band 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, have one or more Ethernet ports, and support the standards – 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac.  Cost is the street price as of Jul-2019 and may change.

	TP-Link	Linksys	Amped	NETGEAR	TP-Link
Model	RE350	RE6500	TAP-EX2	EX7000	RE590T
Photo
Cost	$46	$70	$46	$110	$55
Released	Aug-2016	Jun-2014	Apr-2015	Jan-2015	Feb-2016
Ports	1	4	3	5	4
Other	Strength LEDs	Audio Jack	Touch screen, USB		Touch Screen

This guide helps you understand the need for a dashcam and how to get one that best fits your requirements. You can install it yourself with our guide or use a third-party installer.  Last Update: Jan-2020.

• Five Reasons to get a Dashcam
• Comparison Guide
• Other Options
• BlackVue DR650S/750S/900S Summary
• Thinkware F800/Q800 Summary
• Viofo A119 Summary
• Resolution Comparison
• Field of View
• How Many Cameras?
• What about Tesla’s Dashcam Feature?
• Front Dashcam Location
• Rear Dashcam Location
• Always-On Power
• Front Camera Installation with video
• Rear Camera Installation with video
• Setup
• Enhancing your Dashcam
• Micro SD Card Recommendations

1. Security – you’d like to record anyone messing with your car, keying it or general vandalism
2. Accident Recording – If you’re a good driver and get into an accident, it’s more likely the other party caused it. Having a video record of the event can help confirm what happened.
3. Parking lot bumps – Another driver bumps or scratches your car while you are away, and fails to leave a note. Having a video may show the event, the perpetrator and their license plate.
4. Third-party events – crashes or problems you’re not involved in, but would love to have recorded. This might be red-light runners or accidents between other cars in front or behind you.
5. Video log of a trip – Record your travels to show your family, friends or put on YouTube.

There are dozens of dashcams available today, but we’ve narrowed the list to a few popular dashcams that are good fits for the Tesla. There are a lot of budget dashcams. We don’t recommend them, as they usually suffer from poor build quality and low visual quality.  Our editors select and review products independently. We may earn affiliate commissions from buying links, which help support our testing.

Manufacturer	BlackVue	Thinkware	Viofo/SpyTec
Model (links to Dashcam Store)	DR590W-2CH DR750S-2CH DR900S-2CH	F800 Pro Bundle Q800PRO
Product
Rear wired camera	1080p	Yes, 1080p	No, use 2nd unit
Price	High	High	Low
Included SD Card	16-128 GB	32 GB	No
Resolution Front	1080p 30 fps (590W) 1080p 60 fps (750S) 2160p 30 fps (900S)	1080p 30 fps (F) 1440p 30 fps (Q)	1440p 30 fps, 1080p 60 fps
Max bit rate Mbps F=Front, R=Rear	F: 10, R: 10 (590S) F: 12, R:10 (750S) F: 25, R 10 (900S)	F: 9.5, R: 8 (F) Unknown (Q)	22
Wide Dynamic Range	Yes	Yes	Yes
Video Format	MP4	MP4	MP4
Video Playback	No	No	Yes
WiFi	2.4 MHz (all) 2.4 & 5 MHz (900S)	2.4 MHz	No
App Win/Mac	BlackVue Viewer	PC Viewer	Dashcam Viewer
App Tablet/Phone	Android and iOS	Android and iOS	No
Audio Record	Yes	Yes	Yes
GPS	Yes	Yes	Yes
Backup Power	Capacitor	Capacitor	Capacitor
Lens (Front)	139° (590W, 750S) 162° (900S)	140°	160° f1.8
Lens Adjust	Vertical only	Vertical only	Vertical & Horiz.
LCD display	No	No	2” Color
Shock Sensor	Yes	Yes	Yes
Motion Detection	Yes	Yes	Yes
Max SD Card	256 GB	128 GB*	128 GB*
Function buttons	2	5	5
Size (Front)	119 mm wide, 36 mm diameter	110 mm wide, 32 mm x 41 mm	70 mm wide, 50 mm x 45 mm
Volts/Current	12-24v, 400 mA	12-24v, 290 mA	5v, 400 mA
Power, typical	5.6 W	4.1 W	2.0 W
Manual	User Manual 590W User Manual 750S User Manual 900S	F800 Pro User Manual Q800PRO Manual	User manual
Released	Feb-2018 (590W) Sep-2017 (750S) Apr-2018 (900S)	Sep-2017 (F800) Feb-2019 (Q800)	Jul-2016

* Manufacturer states 64 GB max, but owners have no problems with 128 GB

Each dashcam has several additional features, some unique to a specific brand. You’re unlikely to need or want to use those features in a Tesla, and we didn’t include them here. All three dashcams can be removed from the attached mount, have loop recording modes, have parking modes that only records when the image changes and shock detection to prevent overwrite of that video segment. They all do a good job at recording video in harsh conditions such as direct sun and nighttime.

These are dashcams that other Tesla owners have purchased are worth consideration:

Azdome GS63H – One of the first to offer 4K 24 fps recording (2160p), 150 degrees wide, f1.8 lens, GPS and a 2.4″ LCD screen. The suction mount allows easy attachment/removal, but it not discreet when attached. Released April-2017.
BlackVue DR490-2H – The 2 channel model looks similar to the DR650 and upgrades the rear camera to 1080p recording. Do not confuse the very similar model name DR490L-2H which is physically quite different, but also offers front and back 1080p resolution.  No WiFi in either model. No internal GPS, but external GPS is an option. Announced in July 2017. Note that there are gray market sellers, where BlackVue will not honor the warranty. Buy only from BlackVue or authorized resellers. USA resellers include The Dashcam Store and HDVD.
Vantrue N2 – Dashcam has 1440p 30fps recording (2304x1296P), 170 degrees wide-angle and has a second 1080p cabin camera. Has a 1.5″ LCD screen. The suction mount allows for easy attachment/removal. Includes GPS. Released  September-2017.

BlackVue dashcams have been very popular with Tesla owners in the past and I own an older model and the newest 900S. On the 650S the low-resolution rear camera is a disappointment and the newer 750S or 900S is preferred. The 900S moves to 4K recording, which we consider well worth it. Note that while BlackVue recommends buying PowerMagic, this is really for ICE cars and is unnecessary and should NOT be used in the Tesla S/X, but may be needed in the 3. Use of PowerMagic may actually stop recordings while parked on the S/X.

Positives

Includes rear camera (with 2-CH versions)
The smallest size of the choices
Single SD card to record both front and back cameras
Cloud option to access remotely over WiFi
WiFi to phones and tablets
Best looking dashcam
4K Recording (900S)
Wider camera angle (900S only) captures more useful video

Negatives

Low-resolution 720p rear camera (650S only)
No Wide Dynamic Range feature (although still quite good)
App required to change settings other than WiFi on/off
Pricy

It offers a full 1080p rear camera and all the key features.  The F800/Q800 improves the low-light recording. Thinkware has two very similar products, the newer F800, and the F800 Pro. The F800/Q800 has a better low-light recording. The F800 non-pro and pro have really minor differences that may not matter to most Tesla owners. The Q800 improves resolution to 1440p.

Positives

Includes high-resolution rear camera
Single SD card to record both front and back cameras
Cloud option to access remotely over WiFi
An Amazon package includes the optional hardwire kit
WiFi to phones and tablets

Negatives

When parked, always turns off in 48 hours with no disable option
App required to change most settings
Pricy
Requires a 3-wire power (always on and switched power) making installation more complex. The Q800 can avoid this, but will not capture a bump when parked, only 20 seconds after the bump).

This is the bargain of the bunch while offering different features and higher video quality. In side-by-side tests, many places license plates are readable where in 1080p the plates are not readable.  The UI is lackluster, but at least it has one – others require the use of an app to change settings. I also own this unit.  For the price, it is a good value, but the quirks diminish the shine and could be too annoying for some users.

Positives

High resolution – dramatically better than 1080p – visual quality similar to DR900S
Wider camera angle captures more useful video
Can take Jpg snapshots while video recording with a button push
On-screen display – can playback video in the unit, confirm date/time, recording modes, etc.
Can be powered by USB
Low price

Negatives

In settings mode, button choices are confusing
No rear camera option (although two units could be used)
Optional 12v to 5v hardwire kit required for Tesla ($11)
SD card not included (Class 10 SD cards are cheap nowadays)
Third-party app required for viewing on PC/Mac, no WiFi

Here are two samples comparing a 1080p frame with a 1440p frame.  These were taken in the same location at the same time in my Tesla. The dashcams were about 5 inches apart.

Next, we look at the car on the far right at full resolution. Both are the same portion of the image, only cropped at 344×343 pixels. No image manipulation was done.  The portion from 1080p on the left makes it very hard to even tell what brand of car it is and it appears to be a black car. With the portion from the 1440p image on the right, you get enough detail to clearly make out the license plate, that the car is a grey Toyota Camry. If you know license plates, you can also tell it is a California plate.

The 1080p image came from a BlackVue DR500GW-HD, while the Viofo A119 was used for the 1440p image. Settings on each device for maximum quality were used, and the frames were extracted from video while the car was in motion. The latest firmware in each as of Jan-2017 was used. We didn’t cherry-pick these images – we compared multiple frames in different situations and saw similar results. We really wish more vendors would boost the video quality as it makes a huge difference.

We created a new resolution test with the BlackVue DR900S-2CH and the Viofo A110 in June 2018 in my Tesla. For this test we used the latest firmware for both, and used the highest quality options – 2160p extreme for the front DR900, 1440p for the Viofo, and 1080p using the DR900’s rear unit pointed forward. All three camera lens was within 3 inches of each other, running at the same time.

You can click on the image above to see a larger view (but 50% of actual size due to how large the image is).  We did brighten the A119 image slightly to give all three images a similar brightness but otherwise did no other modifications. We also carefully picked the images from each camera to be matched within one video frame time-wise.

The colors in the DR900 appear a bit more natural to us. The clarity of the A119 1440p image is very close to the DR900 2160p front camera, but the DR900 is capturing a wider view requiring more pixels. The manufacturer’s specs claim they cover the same wide-angle, which does not appear to be true.

We get some vehicle glare, which is typical of all dashcams. We normally use a polarizing filter to reduce glare but removed them for these tests. See below for more about polarizing filters. This last set of images were taken while the car was moving at 25 mph.  In other tests, even at 70 mph, the dashcam pictures hold up quite well. Ok, did you identify the silver car as a new Model 3 without a license plate?

Another important issue is how much of the area does the dashcam cover. While no dashcam can show 180 degrees, several now offer a 160-degree view.  The wider the view, the more you capture of any events occurring. In this next image, we compare the Tesla built-in dashcam at 60 degrees vs. the 162-degree coverage of the BlackVue at the same spot, although not at the same time. We’ve also dramatically reduced the resolution of the BlackVue images to match the same height as the Tesla dashcam image.

In this example, the Tesla dashcam image on the left was also adjusted for brightness and color.  The BlackVue image on the right is so wide, that parts of the car’s cream-colored A-pillar appear.

The prime need is a front camera and covers much of what you’ll want to record. A rear camera is a bonus and gives you far more coverage.  Many owners are opting for a dual-camera solution today.

A few owners go all the way and install 4 cameras, getting full 360-degree coverage.  For example, using two BlackVue 650S-2CH cameras, you would mount one primary at the front, and its rear camera on one side. Mount the 2^nd BlackVue on the rear to get full 1080p rear coverage, and use its second camera on the other side.  The lower resolution side cameras would be mounted in the front door’s small triangle window area.

If you have the built-in Tesla dashcam which has three cameras, the sides are fairly well covered, and a 4 camera third-party setup seems like overkill. Adding a front/rear for a wider field of view, higher resolution and other features can still be of value.

Tesla provides some basic dashcam like abilities for vehicles with HW2.5 or later (vehicles built after July 31, 2017) with Tesla software version 9. Older vehicles do not get the dashcam feature, due to hardware limitations.

Four cameras used for recording do so at 1280 x 960 pixels, a fairly low resolution when compared with most dashcam alternatives. At this resolution, a license plate can only be read when the car in front is about 8 feet or less in front of you. Tesla also uses an odd frame rate of 36 fps. This makes it somewhat jittery when viewed on most video devices that require conversion to 30 or 60 fps.  Most third party dashcams start at 1920×1080 at 60 fps (1080p).

Looking at the Tesla dashcam video, the side and rear cameras look good, but the front camera is quite dim with a greenish cast. This is likely the optical effects of the light going through the windshield glass. It can be compensated after the fact with increased brightness and contrast, along with some color correction in video editing software.  Here’s a frame in full summer sun at noon, before and after correction using Photoshop.

The recording is done to your own FAT32 USB flash drive, up to 1 hour in 1-minute segments while driving. An option is available to save the last 10 minutes by tapping the dashcam icon on the display. This moves 30 files from the RecentClips folder to the SavedClips folder (i.e. they are not copied).

Sentry mode keeps the cameras and AP processor powered up to record events. This consumes about 250W costing about 1 mile of range per hour. Sentry events are stored in the SentryClips folder.

While this integrated option from Tesla is a welcome addition, the best quality will come from the installation of your own dashcam cameras. Features currently lacking in the Tesla dashcam that are available in high-end dashcams like the BlackVue 900S-2CH:

• 4K resolution (front: 3840×2160 at 30 fps)
• Front and rear recording (Tesla covers the front and both sides and rear)
• Many hours of recording (depending on memory size)
• Choice while parked of motion detection recording or time-lapse recording
• Shock sensor to lock recordings and warning of shock event while parked
• WiFi connectivity to view on tablets or phones
• Automatic upload of view via WiFi to the Cloud when within WiFi range
• Security indicators
• Voice announcement of status
• GPS tagging of location and vehicle speed into video
• Player to seamlessly view the video, locate segments and map tracking of location
• Many settings to customize the operation
• No effect to the range when parked or driving

It’ hard to beat the price (free), but not nearly as good as using a dedicated dashcam.

You may find our companion site CamMem to be helpful in understanding the Tesla dashcam, memory recommendations, preparing your drive and troubleshooting.

Ideally, you want it out of sight with the camera up high and centered on the windshield. For pre-AP cars and all cars with a very wide-angle dashcam like the DR900S, a good location is below the rearview mirror housing. On AP cars another option is to place the dashcam on the right side of the housing up higher if the mirror mounting doesn’t obscure part of the image. The right side may also be a better place so the dashcam gets the best signal for GPS. This location should have a ‘clear’ area that does not have the metallic IR shield and it may help to be near the glass edge. I’ve tested the GPS both on the right and also below the AP2 housing and GPS works fine.

Another consideration is if buttons are in reach or if that is even important to you. Rarely will you need to press buttons while driving. During installation, be sure the lens is not obstructed by the black area of the windshield or the mirrors/AP housing. Confirm the lens is in the area cleared by the wipers. Confirm the unit and power connector will not bump into the headliner or mirror housing. Leave room to make the unit removable too, which varies by dashcam selected.

Position the dashcam at the top of the hatch glass, so the dashcam lens is centered in the hatch. Ideally, you want the view to not be obstructed by a defroster line, but that may be difficult. If you ever expect to remove the rear mount, you may want to avoid placing any adhesive on the defroster line. When removing the mount, it will likely damage the defroster wire.

You really want to keep your dashcam powered on all the time. The power use is minuscule in comparison with the battery capacity and you’ll be able to record events while parked and you’re away from your vehicle.

Keeping the power on is a problem on ICE cars, and various solutions designed for ICE cars works poorly on the Tesla S/X.  For example, the BlackVue recommends using the PowerMagic add-on. Do not use it in the S or X, but it may be necessary for the 3.  In the case of the Thinkware F770/F800, the 3 wire hardwire kit must be used to get around the power sensing limitation of its design.  For the A119, we’ve selected a hardware kit that works great in the Tesla. Be aware some other kits will power down when the 12v battery is low. Trust me, you do not want this to happen!  The Tesla 12v battery may appear “low” to a dashcam multiple times each day even while driving as the Tesla 12v battery is recharged automatically as needed from the main battery.

We’ve seen a number of reports that the Model 3 12V battery system does not play well with a dashcam that remains on while parked. It may show a 12V fault message and/or the 12V battery may need to be replaced.  One solution if you wish to maintain recording while parked in the Model 3 – BlackVue has a second battery backup option called PowerMagic Ultra ($299). Owners who have used this have reported no problems. Be aware it turns off the dashcam when this auxiliary battery gets too low. It should run the dashcam for about 24 hours when parked.

All dashcams come with a 12v cigarette lighter type power adapter. We recommend you try out your new dashcam before mounting using this connection. Get the hang of how the dashcam works and verify the video produced looks fine. Try out your planned mounting location before actually attaching it to ensure there are no visual obstructions. Since Tesla’s 12v power plug turns off when the car is off, it is a poor choice for day-to-day use.

Before you begin, clean the windshield in the area you plan to install the dashcam. I’d even perform a quick test to confirm your planned location does not have any viewing obstructions. The dashcams have a very wide-angle, and some positions may have visual obstructions. For example, the A119 fits very well up high, about 1″ away from the passenger’s side of the AP/mirror housing, while the BlackVue may be better placed below the AP/mirror housing with the lens on the vehicle’s centerline. Don’t block the light sensor on the back of the mirror, on the driver’s side. On a pre-AP car, you may prefer to be up on the passenger side of the mirror mount.

On the BlackVue it has “PITTASOFT” in white letters on the bottom of the mount facing outside. We’d rather go more incognito so we used a black Sharpie pen to blackout this logo before mounting.

Tools 

It may depend on the tools you have available, but we used a fish tape<, a screwdriver with a T15 bit, a small flat screwdriver, a black sharpie pen, scissors and several feet of string. Wire strippers and diagonals are useful for the wiring. Soldering iron and solder may be required depending on which power method you choose.

Microphone Panel Power (Model S)

Most Model S cars include an always-on power source in the headliner, behind the microphone panel.  To open this panel, pull down using your fingers, at the back edge. Two snaps will release and it will hinge down.

There should be a 4-pin, 3-wire connector taped to the panel, or in Europe, cars with the pano roof option may be connected to the intrusion module (part of the EU security package).

Intrusion module connector after being untapped from Microphone module

During a small period in late 2013 to early 2014, some owners were unable to find the connector and it may be missing or tapped up in the wire bundle. If missing, you’ll need to route the wires to another point, such as the ODB II connector in the driver’s footwell.

Intrusion Module Connector Pinout

Pin 1: 12v, wire color: Red/Dark Blue (older cars and AP2 cars), Tan/Black (after Oct-2014, before AP2). We’ve also heard one unidentified car had a gray wire!

Pin 2: LIN bus (do not use this wire), wire color: Light Green/Red

Pin 3: Ground, wire color: Black

Pin 4: Unused

Power Connection

You DO NOT want to install or use PowerMagic (BlackVue) on the S or X. It will only cause problems, but maybe needed in the 3. There are two microphones with 3 wires each. Do not connect to either of these, as there is no power on these connections. If you have the 4-pin intrusion module connector, this is the best source for always-on power. All cars made after September 16, 2015, have this connector, as do most 2012-2013 cars.

For a BlackVue installation, you’ll need the BlackVue Hard Wiring Power Cable. It may have been included with your package, but it not, you’ll need to get one.

We made a dashcam cable project that provides power without any cuts or modifications to your car using the same connectors as Tesla uses. It also works if you have the intrusion module or plan to buy one in the future.

Dashcam power cable assembly

Another option if you don’t have or plan to have the intrusion module is to use a 4-Pin Fan connector that will fit the connector. Wires are pre-attached, so cut off the unneeded female end and solder your power leads to the pin 1 and 3 pigtails or use solderless connectors.  Pin one is a blue wire for +12VDC, and pin 3 is a red wire for ground.  We cut off the wires on pins 2 and 4 as close as possible to the connector

For our BlackVue DR900S installation, we cut the long two-wire cable to about 18″ and reattached the fuse. If using our dashcam cable project, just insert the dashcam power to the T connector and clamp shut. If using the fan connector, solder the wires. Other dashcams should have similar cables and can be attached to power the same way.

If using the fan connector, the wire colors do not match up as you might expect. Pin 1, blue, connects to the fuse. Pin 3, red, connects to the BlackVue black wire. The other end of the fuse connects to the BlackVue red wire. We used some heat shrink tubing to protect the connections.

Other power options (for all Dashcams) include:

1. You can tap into the wires with 20-24 gauge red Posi-Taps.
2. If the connector is not attached to a module:
   • You can use a male header strip. Cut off 3-pins of the strip and solder the red wire to pin 1 and ground to pin 3 (pin 2 is unused). Use heat shrink tubing to prevent shorts and clearly mark pin 1. I used a silver marker, but better to use red shrink-wrap on the +12v lead.  On my header, I pulled out the header center pin 2, which made it easy to tie wrap the header to the Tesla connector (to avoid coming apart under vibration).
     
   • You can buy the mating connector – TE part 3-968696-2 along with two crimp pins 1-928918-1 (sold in a strip of 100).
     

For the Thinkware F770/F800, you need to buy the 3-wire hardwire kit. The red and black power leads can be connected to power as shown above. The ACC yellow wire must be connected to a switched power source, so the parking mode works.  While we didn’t install this dashcam, others have found the Tesla rearview mirror uses switched power and you may want to tap into this connection.

The mirror switched power wire color has changed over time. For older cars, you need to Yellow/Dark Green wire. For cars built after Oct-2014, the wire color is just Yellow. We have not confirmed the color in AP2 cars, likely still Yellow.

The mirror cable may be accessible from the microphone opening on pre-AP cars. It’s a separate bundle of wires, wrapped in black. With AP1 or AP2, you may need to disassemble the camera housing and locate the rear-view mirror connector and tap into the correct wire using a Posi-Tap. We recommend you first confirm it is a switched 12v power wire with a voltmeter. Otherwise, you may need to pull out a part of the headliner (quite difficult) to access the bundle of wires with the switched power.

Model X Power

We’ve not done a Model X install but can describe the power connections.

For always-on power, you’ll need to run wires up from the rearview mirror area up to the intrusion module’s 8 pin connector near the dome light.  Use the black wire, pin 1 for ground, and the red-blue wire, pin 4 for power.  Do not use the green data wire on pin 2.

For the Thinkware F800, you’ll also need switched power. You can tap into the 4-pin mirror power connector. Use the black wire, pin 1 for ground and use the red-blue wire, pin 3 for switched power. Do not use the green data wire on pin 2.

Model 3 Power

Model 3 uses an electronic fuse system, that if tapped into the wrong place, your dashcam will generate errors and problems!  Tesla was nice enough to provide a separate 10 amp circuit that is electronically fused for 15 amps. It is not used for anything else, but it is switched power – meaning the power turns off when the car turns off. Use Video1 and  Video 2 from Ingineerix to help connect to this power source in the cabin at the left footwell module.

Video Installation
Here’s how we installed a BlackVue DR900S front camera in our Model S in less than 4 minutes (ok, we made a few edits to cut out long pauses).

Routing Power to the Microphone Panel

We want to remove the small visor receiver to make running the wire through the headliner easier. First, push the visor to the side. Using a small screwdriver, pop the plastic tab on the visor receiver. Be aware it is hard to snap open. Using a Torx T15 bit, unscrew the screw and remove the receiver.

Visor receiver with T15 screw exposed

Use a plastic pry tool to temporarily open a small gap between the windshield and the headliner near where you want power wire to exit the headliner. Leave the pry tool in place to keep a 1/8” opening or so.  I picked a spot about 5” from the AP/rearview mirror housing.

From the microphone housing opening, feed Fish Tape over and down through the location of the pry tool. I connected a 3-foot string to the fish tape.

Blue pry tool in the headliner, fish tap with a string attached

Pull back the fish tape so the string is now hanging out both sides. Remove the string from the fish tape. At the microphone panel opening side, we tied the string to the power connector side of the dashcam power cable and pulled the string from the windshield side to get the cable through the headliner. Adjust the length and position of the cable to connect to the dashcam without a lot of slack. Remove the pry tool.

Other Power Sources

If you are unable to get always-on power in the headliner area, you can run the wires across the header and down driver’s or passenger’s A-pillar.

IMPORTANT: Do not push the wire into the side of the pillar! It houses part of the side curtain airbag. On the Model S, remove the pillar by first removing the small rectangular plastic tab that hides a screw.

Side post screw exposed on passenger A-pillar

Remove the T25 screw and snap out the pillar cover from the top. The bottom may be tightly secured and has a connection to the tweeter. You can work with it still attached at the bottom and save some aggravation.  You’ll see a track in the pillar that is designed to feed wire without interfering with the airbag. Be sure to use this channel.

The black side panel of the dash is held on with three snaps. Just pull towards the door to remove, and disconnect the FOB bar antenna. The lower under-dash panel is held with one screw and snaps downward. Be careful not to pull or damage the knee airbag behind the panel.

Feed the wire down to the ODB II port. You can use an ODB II port connector to get always-on power without having to tap into any Tesla wires. If you use a bare ODB connector, pin 16 is 12v, and pins 4 and 5 are ground.

A dual dashcam requires a wire that is routed between the cameras. Single cameras, such as using the A119 or any other single-channel dashcam for the rear only require power, although you can run power from the front dashcam area to the rear.  Most of our installation advice is for a Model S (all roof types), and portions will apply to a Model X.  The Model 3 has a unique problem of where to mount the rear camera with an all-glass roof.

Our example installation is for the BlackVue DR900S-2CH but is very applicable to other dual dashcams. We expect once you have the parts and tools at hand, the installation should take less than 2 hours, and perhaps under an hour if you are very skilled.  That said, it took us about 4 days, with camera setups, trying out different ways that might work, and reshooting segments that were not clear or needed a better angle.

Tools

You will absolutely need a Fish Tape. You’ll also need a 7mm socket wrench, a T25 screwdriver or bit to remove some screws, Pry tools, and other assorted items. We also used some string, electrical tape, and clear silicone sealant.

Tools for installing the rear dashcam and wiring

IMPORTANT: When routing the wire to the rear dashcam, it very important to do it in a way that does not interfere with the side curtain airbag deployment. In addition, you don’t want to accidentally puncture the airbag while routing the wire!

Connecting between the front and rear dashcams

We found a good way to route the rear dashcam wire is along the headliner, around the A-pillar, along the right side front door rubber seal, around the B pillar, along the right side rear door rubber seal, down around the rear cabin corner cover, through the liftgate rubber harness grommet, and through the liftgate.

Wire route between the rear and front cameras.

For the Model S, you will need about 19.5 feet (6 m) of cable. The BlackVue includes this length of cable. For our installation, we had less than 2 inches to spare!  This is partly because of careful routing to avoid the side curtain airbag and complex routing within the liftgate.

As an alternative (or on the Model X), you can go down the A-pillar and go along the sills. This approach will take more wire, often more than is included with the dashcam. You would be wise to buy a longer cable for your dashcam if you choose running along the sills such as a 10, 15 or 20 m BlackVue cable. We also explored some shortcuts, but each had problems or complexities, and we didn’t want to drill holes or risk interference with the curtain airbag operation.

Tips for a successful install

Do not route on the left side of the car (even on RHD vehicles). On the liftgate, there is a left and right rubber harness grommets. The one on the left is packed tightly with antenna wires and it will be difficult if not impossible to add your dashcam wire.  The right side has a group of somewhat thinner wires, that allows for the dashcam wire and connector to be pulled through.

On the current generation of cameras, we don’t recommend cutting and patching the cable. Beyond power, it supplies two-way data at very high speeds. While a splice may work, it could degrade the signal to a point where video becomes unreliable.

When attaching the rear dashcam, avoid placement where the adhesive is on a defroster wire. We don’t think the heat will release the adhesive (but who knows?). Our concern is if you ever remove the dashcam mount, it may rip off a portion of the defrost wire.

Cable Cover (optional)

You’ll see in the video we installed a cable cover to better hide the two wires that go to the front dashcam. This is not really necessary but make for a more professional looking installation.

Some owners have routed the wires through the AP camera housing, but we’re reluctant to do this, as there might be a small chance of knocking the AP camera out of calibration and it may require cutting exit points for the wires.

Our cover was made using HD Glass PETG filament in black, using 200 µm layer height, with support. Due to high cabin heat, while parked, you should avoid PLA as it will likely warp. Here is our STL design file that you can use to make the part:

• Dashcam wire cover V1

Video Installation

Here’s a step-by-step actual rear camera installation in less than 18 minutes, although we trimmed some of the longer parts!

Rear Power Only

If the rear dashcam is stand-alone, you only need power, and the installation becomes easier.  While the power could be routed to the ODB II port near the driver’s footwell, there is a closer spot if your car has the power liftgate. In this case, you connect to the always-on power lead on the Hatch Control Module.

To get to the module, it is located on the passenger side, behind the trunk’s right-side panel.

There are two connectors going to the Hatch Control module, a 20-pin and a 10-pin. You’ll tap into the 10-pin connector.

Pin 8: Red/Gray (thick wire), +12v
Pin 7: Black (thick wire), Ground

You can use two 16-18 gauge blue Posi-Taps to make these connections.

Use the last portion of the installation video above to route the wires into the liftgate.

General Tips for All Dashcams

When you first apply power to any dashcam, it often takes 10-30 seconds to boot up and come online. The delay is not important in normal operation, as it remains on all the time.

To remove the SD card, first, remove dashcam power. Wait 5-10 seconds until it powers down. There is a backup capacitor to allow time to stop recording and properly stop writing to the SD card. Once powered down, you can remove the SD card.

When removing the micro SD card, press in to release. Keep a finger close behind it as it is spring-loaded and can pop out and easily get lost!

BlackVue – All Models

You must either install the BlackVue to your phone or tablet or install an app to your PC (Windows or Mac).  You should also download and install the latest dashcam firmware. Full instructions for BlackVue’s apps or installer here. For a PC, you must also decide if you want to use BlackVue’s innovative cloud service or move the SC card between the dashcam and your PC.

Use the BlackVue on a phone or tablet and connect via WiFi to the dashcam. Download the Android app from GooglePlay or iOS app from the Apple App Store.

Thinkware F800/Q800

You can get the latest Thinkware firmware at Downloads.  First, choose your Dashcam at the top (F800/Q800), and then select the Firmware. To upgrade to the new firmware:

1. Unzip the downloaded firmware zip file
2. Format your Micro SD card in your computer to FAT32
3. Copy the unzipped firmware folder onto the root of the SD card
4. Insert the SD card into your camera and turn on the power
5. Wait for the camera to announce “Upgrade is now complete, continuous recording will now start.” Thinkware recommends not turning off the dashcam power until it begins continuous recording as it can cause permanent damage to the dashcam.

On the same downloads page, you can get the PC Viewer for both Windows and a Mac.  After downloading, run the downloaded file to being the installation.  You use this app with the SC card temporally removed from the dashcam.

Alternatively, you can use the Thinkware Dash Cam Mobile Viewer on a phone or tablet and connect via WiFi to the dashcam. Download the Android app from GooglePlay or iOS app from the Apple App Store.

Either method allows you to change various settings in the dashcam to suit your needs, and view videos.

Viofo/SpyTec A119

Download the latest A119 firmware and unzip the file (2.0 as of this writing)

1. Format the SD card by camera or on a computer as FAT32 (note Windows cannot format FAT32 greater than 32 GB – use an alternative utility or format within the dashcam).
2. Insert the card in the camera and connect it to your PC using a USB cable.
3. Copy only the LDBA119.bin on the root of the SD card.
4. After LDBA119.bin is copied to the SD card disconnect the dashcam from your computer.
5. Reconnect the dashcam to your computer and wait a few seconds until you see Mass Storage on the LCD screen.
6. Delete the LDBA119.bin file from the SD card using your PC and copy the FWBA119.bin file to the root of the SD card. Disconnect the dashcam from your computer.
7. Reconnect the dashcam to your computer and wait until you see Mass Storage, the front LED blinks while the upgrade is in progress. After the upgrade completes successfully, the FWBA119.bin file is automatically deleted by the dashcam.
8. Now you can disconnect the camera from PC and connect it to the vehicle’s power connection or if you want to experiment with it, power it from any AC to USB adapter (i.e. not the PC).

To change settings, if the Rec button is red (i.e. recording) press it once to stop recording – it takes a second, but should switch to flashing. Then press Menu. Ignore the bottom line of the display- the choices do not relate to button positions!

Use the < Rec and Mic > buttons to scroll through the setting choices and the center Warning button to view or change a setting.

When viewing a setting, the < Rec and Mic > buttons shift through the choices for that setting. To save a setting press the center Warning button. To exit without saving press the Menu button.

Here’s our recommend quick starting point for the settings:

Resolution: 1560 x 1440P 30 fps (default)
Loop recording (each file duration): 3 minutes (default)
EV (Exposure Value): 0 (default) or if using CFL filter: +1
WDR (Wide Dynamic Range): On
Time-lapse: Off (default)
Motion Detection: On
GPS: On (only works when connected to GPS mount)
G-sensor: (shock recording): Middle Sensitivity (default)
Time Zone: GMT-8 (for Pacific Standard Time)
others – leave at defaults

One simple enhancement is the installation of a circular polarizing filter (CPF) for your dashcam. This greatly reduces glare from windows and other cars. These are snap-on filters, so are easy to add.  The filter will reduce the brightness slightly, so you may want to increase the exposure a few stops in the settings.

BlackVue – Filter for the 900S Front, Filter for the 750S Front The cost is about $35.

Thinkware – F800/Q800 Filter is about $25.

Viofo/SpyTec – A119 CFL is available for $15

Viofo Snap-on CPL Filter

Most dashcams use a micro SD card to record the video. Since video is continuously recorded to the SD card, it’s important to get a high-quality card designed for continuous HD video recording. A card rated for Class 10 is a minimum speed threshold and UHS-I is even better (and required for 4K video).  You may also want to get a card with high capacity, 64 to 128 GB to increase the storage time before the video is overwritten.

Typical recording time at maximum quality, 30 fps

* 2160p 30 fps front camera, 1080p 30 fps rear camera

Fake Drives

Be aware there are a lot of fake and damaged SD cards sold on-line. If the price is too good to be true, it’s a fake drive. Scammers have figured out how to remark a cheap slow drive as a larger capacity and override internal values to make it look like a larger drive. For example, a 2 GB drive is sold as a fake 64 GB drive. It will appear as 64 GB from your PC/Mac, even if you reformat it. After writing more than the real capacity, the data is either lost or overwrites earlier data, but no errors occur. When attempting to read the data, most of it will be corrupted.

To avoid a fake drive, purchase only a name brand and buy from retail or a trusted online retailer like Amazon, BestBuy or Newegg. Avoid open packages and auction sites like eBay as most drives are fakes.  The scammer hopes you’ll not discover the drive is crap until the return period expires.

Limited Life

There are two types of flash memory – low-cost TLC, which can be overwritten about 500 times before failure, and the more expensive, but more durable MLC, which are at least 3 times as durable and can be overwritten about 1500 to 3000 times.  MLC cards usually have better error correction and wear leveling to further increase the lifespan. The larger the drive, the longer it will last, as the data is not overwritten as frequently.

Our Recommendations (all are long-life MLC types)
All of these drives are suitable for HD Dashcams. High-resolution 4K recording requires 25 MB/s write speed, and dual camera dashcams, like the BlackVue DR900S-2CH, requires 35 MB/s write speed in the highest quality mode. Our editors select and review products independently. We may earn affiliate commissions from buying links, which help support our testing.

SanDisk, other than High Endurance, is not recommended for BlackVue due to reported boot problems on some models.

We’ve identified most of the visible changes made between the 2012 and 2019 Model S. We know there are thousands of additional small and not-so small changes out of sight. Not shown are the extensive software updates and new features, since these changes are mostly included in all cars regardless of age. (Jul-2019 update)

• Adaptive air suspension (April 2019)
• All-Wheel-Drive, with front motor
• AM radio removed in Mar-2018 with new MCU2
• Automatic emergency braking
• Autopilot hardware with 8 cameras, radar and 12 long range sonar sensors
• Autopilot processor upgraded to HW3 with additional redundancies (March 2019)
• Battery (12v) moved for easier replacement
• Brake hold
• Center console with options for additional cup holders
• Charge port door auto-closes
• Charge port lock/unlock quieter
• Charger current boosted from 40 amps to 48 amps
• Charger on single phase S/X 100 changed from 72 amps to 48 amps in Nov-2018
• Collision avoidance
• DRL LEDs are now wider and are very evenly illuminated
• Efficiency improved, new front motor, bearings, and tires – LR version now 370 miles range (April 2019)
• Electric steering upgraded with redundant power connections
• FOB now has rubber surround with key chain ring
• FOB operation changes – roll-down windows function removed, open charge port door added
• FOB security improved (June-2018)
• Front bumper style changed, eliminated nose cone.
• Front carpets are held in place with Velcro tabs
• Front cup holders no longer have cup grippers
• Front defroster area now a screen (like original 2012-2013 cars, but ~2014-2015 cars had plastic vents that poked through the screen that didn’t look quite as nice)
• Front door sills have a metal “Model S” insert instead of just black plastic
• Frunk hatch is a single hook rather than two separate hooks
• Frunk no longer has seal in hood with insulating membrane (just different, not better/worse)
• Frunk smaller (to make room for AWD and HEPA filters)
• Glove box a little smaller, no longer has a cavity for J1772
• Headliner and side pillars in Alcantara rather than a fabric, black, tan or cream
• Improved sound insulation
• Instrument Cluster display has higher resolution (ok, very hard to tell visually)
• LED Headlights
• Left side stalks changed places (turn signal now upper stalk)
• Lower outside panels are now body colored
• LTE cellular (can be retrofitted to non-LTE cars)
• Mobile connector button has no cut-lines
• Mobile connector limited to 32 amps (Gen 1 could handle 40 amps)
• MCU2 – new faster processor, improved Bluetooth (Mar-2018)
• Models 40, 60, 60D, 70, 70D, 75, 75D, 85, 85D, P85, P85D, P85+, 90D, P90D discontinued, 75D returned with raven refresh
• Model designation changed from battery size to terms like Standard Range or Long Range
• No kangaroo pockets in front seats
• Now shows tire pressures for each tire
• Outside bottom rear facia no longer has a chrome strip
• Placement of stitching on armrests moved from top to sides (should show less dirt over time)
• Power folding side mirrors
• Reading lights are now warm-white 2700K rather than the very blue-white 6000K in older cars
• Rear doors open wider
• Rear hatch’s rear chrome strip with “TESLA” now has a much stronger embossing
• Rear license plate illumination is now LEDs
• Rear electric brakes now do dual duty – braking and as the parking brake
• Rear seats have “ISO FIX” buttons to indicate hidden child seat latches (all cars have the latches)
• Rear seat higher headrests (for reduced whiplash risk)
• Rear trunk well lid is stronger and better designed
• Rear USB charge ports and rear cup holders in center console
• Rearview mirror is narrower (which doesn’t matter much)
• Right Drive stalk no longer illuminated at night
• Shape of the trunk well is slightly different and perhaps slightly larger
• Side parking lights are now LEDs
• Slipstream wheels
• Supercharger free for life changed to free 400 kW per year (on cars ordered after 2016, and in 2018, no longer free.
• Supercharger locations greatly expanded from original 6
• Supercharger power increased to 200 kW (April 2019)
• Titanium battery shield
• The 3-camera housing behind the rearview mirror is thinner than the single camera AP1 housing, and only slightly wider than the original rain sensor housing
• Tire types changed several times over the years. Newest tires have sound deadening foam
• Visors are taller
• Windshield surrounding black paint no longer has the round dots transition from black to clear

• Air filters – dual activated carbon, optional in 2016, now standard in 2018
• All-wheel drive, optional in 2014, now standard in 2018
• Autopilot (AP1, AP2, etc.)
• Carbon Fibre rear spoiler now standard on P100D
• Enhanced autopilot (discontinued Feb-2019)
• Fog lights, improved, optional and now standard in 2018
• Full-self driving capability
• Full-self driving pre-order unavailable
• Glass roof, optional in 2016, now standard in 2018
• HEPA Cabin Filtering, optional in 2016, now standard
• High Amperage Charger upgrade (to 72 amps), discontinued in 2018
• Longer range and higher performance with the 90D and P100D
• Ludicrous on performance versions
• Non-leather steering wheel (by verbal request only)
• Pano roof, was optional, but now discontinued Nov-2018
• Parking assist
• Performance options for Insane and Ludicrous modes
• Premium seats have adjustable front headrests
• Quick connection phone dock
• Rear facing kids seats – option discontinued Nov-2018
• Sub-zero weather package with heated rear seats, heating steering wheel, wiper blade defrosters, washer nozzle heaters, was optional, now standard in 2018
• Three position dynamic turning lights, optional now standard in 2018
• Ultra High Performance Sound is now standard in 2018
• XM radio now standard in 2018

• Signature Red option only on Signature cars in 2012 in USA
• Solid White discontinued, then returned July 2019
• Metallic brown, grey, deep green and dark blue discontinued
• Titanium Silver Metallic discontinued (introduced in 2015)
• Deep blue added
• Midnight silver metallic added
• Obsidian black added, and discontinued
• 2019 colors: Black, Midnight silver metallic, Deep Blue, Pearl White, Red

• Grey and Tan interior colors discontinued
• Added Cream interior
• Added Ultra-white interior
• Leather seating option replaced with synthetic leather
• Premium black seating surfaces now standard
• Ventilated seat option added, removed, and now standard in 100D
• Fabric seats a free hidden option (by verbal request only)
• Ultra suede partial dash surface optional, now standard
• Lacewood, piano black, obeche matte, obeche gloss decor discontinued
• Figured ash and dark ash decor added
• Carbon fibre decor standard on 100D, not available on other models
• Interior colors and surfaces now set as a fixed package and cannot be mixed and matched
• Interior brushed silver trim color changed to metallic graphite

This very useful article for owners and enthusiasts of Tesla’s vehicles was created by long-time poster and relatively long-time owner, @J.T. We owe him a debt of gratitude for the last four years. It is currently maintained by @NKYTA, @JeffreyR, and @TeslaTap. We hope you find it useful as it decreases new posts on the Tesla forum for questions that have been already asked and answered.  🙂

If you can’t find what you want to know in the Owner’s Manual you’ll probably find it here. Last modified: Jan-2020

Index

•  MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION
•  USING THE TESLA FORUM
•  SEARCH THE TESLA FORUM
•  ORDERING AND DELIVERY
•  CHARGING AND RANGE
•  OPERATIONS & TROUBLESHOOTING
•  SOFTWARE UPDATES
•  ROAD TRIP!!!
•  SERVICE vs. WARRANTY
•  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED READING & WATCHING
•  AUTOPILOT
•  TIRES, TIRES AND MORE TIRES
•  FOBOLOGY
•  INFO ON MAKING SUGGESTIONS
•  UPDATES AND IMPROVEMENTS TIMING
•  EASTER EGGS

MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION 

• Q: When?
• A: Soon.

 USING THE TESLA FORUM

Where is it?

• Tesla Forum home page
• Tesla OMC Forum page for comments and suggestions

Helpful advice before posting

1. Read these TIPS and TRICKS first. What you think is interesting could be old news.
2. Lurk for a few days to get a feel for the dynamic.
3. Do not use hyperbole to get attention. You won’t like the responses.
4. Be prepared for flames. Most of it is just good-natured ribbing.
5. Search your comment in the Tesla forum at teslatap.com/search or volkerize.com before starting a new thread. Chances are we’ve already heard it dozens of times. Also, TeslaTap’s Assistant Pro (TTAP) can help search, filter spam, and improve navigation & style of the Tesla forum.
6. If posting about a problem please furnish: model/trim, mileage, date purchased, and options— for example, S75D, 27K miles, August 2016, Premium Upgrades Package, AP2, 21-inch wheels w/ Air Suspension, and Pano Roof.
7. Please note that members of the Tesla forum are not privy to ANY time frames of ANY changes to ANY part of Tesla’s production.
8. Tesla employees are generally not allowed to respond to posts. If you have a question you want Tesla to respond to, use the Contact form (not TeslaTap).

Quick Access and Editing

• When returning to a thread, click on the “new” in the Replies column to skip to your unread posts.
  
• If as an owner, you can’t access Private threads (you would see the Clubs at the bottom of the main forum page) call Ownership +1 (877) 798-3752. They’ll hook you up.
• EDITING and DELETING are only available to the original poster and the original post. To DELETE a whole thread:
  Login, Go to your post, click “Edit” (upper-left of the page near Tesla Logo). Then scroll to the bottom of the page, click the “Delete” button. The page prompts to confirm you want to delete the post; Click “Delete”
• The original poster, if a Tesla owner, can select to make the post private so that it is only visible to owners. Most posts are public, but if you want to ask a question only to owners, then making it private is smart. Private is also useful to identify legitimate issues, where we see some public negative posts that are made up of stock manipulators and general Tesla haters.
  
• To change username:
  My Tesla, My Profile, Username, Change Username then, Save
• See a thorough demonstration of HTML tags (most tags are not allowed anymore)
• List of often used abbreviations and acronyms

Including Pictures in the Tesla Forum

 NOTE: Image and video links in posts are no displayed (as of October 2016), but you can use TeslaTap’s Assistant Pro to make most images and video links automatically appear in-line.

Forum example where the video appears when using TTAP

 SEARCH THE TESLA FORUM 

If you’re new to the Tesla forum, you might be wondering where the search feature is hiding. The bad news: there’s no search feature. The good news: there are other ways to search the forum.

The forum is implemented using blog software, so it doesn’t have some typical forum features such as search, notifications, etc. There’s no reason to think that will change anytime soon, but most of us still find the forum useful, even with those limitations. As you might guess, there have been many other forum threads on this topic, but of course, you don’t know how to search for them (yet).

Google search supports the ability to limit search results to a particular site, so you can search for content on this forum using the following syntax in the search field:

site:forums.tesla.com  search terms

For example:

site:forums.tesla.com  autopilot

Note: “site:forums.tesla.com” works too, but it yields different results.

Here’s perhaps an easier method that eliminates the need to use the “site:” qualifier — just click the link below and enter the search terms:

https://teslatap.com/search

If you use the Chrome browser on a PC or Mac, there is the free TTAP (TeslaTap’s Assistant Pro) extension that adds a number of search options and a lot more.

Some of the features added with TTAP

If you use the Chrome browser, you can also try the 2016 Tesla Forum Enhancement Suite, which provides a search enhancement. See this thread for details: https://forums.tesla.com/forum/forums/tesla-forum-enhancement-suite-tfes…

Note the following:

1. None of these methods will find results in private threads, because the Google indexer doesn’t have access to them.
2. Search results might specify a different browser language than the one you’re using. The text will most likely be English, but dates and other keywords displayed by the forum software might be in a different language. If this bothers you, you can edit the URL of the search result and remove the language encoding.
3. If you click on a search result and get a 404 Not Found error, it means the thread was either deleted, renamed (which changes the thread URL), or moved to a different forum. It takes time for the Google indexes to get updated to reflect those changes.

 ORDERING AND DELIVERY 

Tesla is a thinking person’s car. Some are ill-equipped for ownership.

• The options, prices, standard equipment, and design can change at any time which makes it difficult to decide whether you want to wait for the next iteration or place your order and start driving the best car in the world sooner. Be aware that gallery and service center staff have no advance knowledge of any upcoming/unannounced features so don’t blame them should something come along that makes you feel you should have waited.
  You pays yer money and you takes yer chances.

• See @SbMD’s post for an exhaustive analysis of the options available on a new purchase (2015 – still useful, but out of date)
• VIN assignment is unpredictable. However, you will get it in plenty of time.
• For VIN decoding see this Tesla specific decoder.
• Taking delivery soon? Take along the Delivery Checklist. It is a very valuable resource. Created by Nick Howe
• See this in-depth discussion of Air vs. Coil.
• New article on Selecting the right battery size for your new Tesla.

 CHARGING AND RANGE 

What State of Charge (SOC) is best to promote peak battery health?

It seems like a really basic question, but our understanding of Lithium-Ion battery chemistry does not yield a “one size fits all” kind of an answer. And Tesla’s position on this is “it depends.” One thing we do know for sure is that you want to keep your SOC above 20% and below 80%. That seems like a fairly big target, easy to achieve, but even that guideline has its detractors.

“My Service Center says to keep it charged to 90%!”

“The Set Charge screen shows 90% as the top end of Daily Use. Why would Tesla use 90% if it wasn’t good for the battery?”\

The answer, unfortunately, is marketing. Range anxiety is the number one concern of new owners and prospective owners. So, if it was widely reported that Tesla boasts 270-mile range on the 85D but only recommends charging the battery to 80% reducing the range to 216 miles people might start to lose confidence. Go into a gallery and look at the Dashboard of the cars on display. You’ll see most are kept at 100% SOC to demonstrate to shoppers the full range of the car. Now, we know keeping the car at 100% may be harmful for long periods of time, so it’s obvious that Tesla cares more about making the sale than the battery health of that car on display. Your Delivery Experience Specialist (DES) and your Service Center (SC) personnel will suggest charging the car at 90% to stay consistent with the marketing.

Many owners latch on to this “90%” rule for these reasons and add one of their own. “What if you need to make an unexpected errand and your car is only charged to 70%?” My answer is, you drive to a Supercharger on the way add more electrons when you get low. Most people live within 150 miles of a Supercharger, or will soon, so it’s really not a huge concern for most people. “What if” adds a lot to the range anxiety of the uninitiated.

The only thing that cures range anxiety is owning the car for a few months and realizing that 95% of the time you might not even look at your rated range. You pack it in for the day, plug your car in, go to sleep and wake up to a car ready with more range than you need for almost all of your errands. Pretty nifty.

To add just a little more confusion to this topic you should be aware that when asked, Elon Musk and JB Straubel said that the “most comfortable” SOC for the Tesla battery is between 50% and 62%. So, if you need to keep your car plugged in for a couple on months at a time for vacation or travel set the charge level to 60%. This way Vampire Loss might take it down to 55% before recharging.

Which brings us to the next highly debated section:

How often should I charge and should I keep the car plugged in even if it isn’t charging?

Tesla has made it clear as clear can be that it recommends keeping the car plugged in whenever possible. They even used to include in the glove box a card that said, “A Plugged in Tesla is a Happy Tesla.” Of course, people have asked why they should keep it plugged in all the time and Tesla came back with a very technical answer: “Because we said so.”

Of course, there are times when you can’t keep your car plugged in. But, there are times when Tesla can’t keep all of the cars at the factory plugged in so just how important can it be? Think of it this way. If you have your SOC set to 80%, and you keep the car plugged in all the time, a car that has 250 miles range or more at 100% SOC will always have at least 200 miles of range whenever you get in the car. Chances of you running out of charge are pretty slim. A good habit to get into. However, if you thought you were going back out for the day and then didn’t, you might go to sleep and wake up to a car with only enough miles to get you stuck on the freeway. Not a good situation for Tesla should the local news get a hold of it. “Tesla Dies on Freeway Causing Massive Jam.” The story won’t affect Tesla owners, but range anxiety is the number one concern of non-owners, so it’s not going to help the cause.

Admittedly we do not all plugin our cars all of the time. But, most of the time we do. There’s really no good reason not to, and there might be some ancillary benefit, other than waking up to an adequate charge car, that we are not privy to. So, like Tesla and Nike say, “Just do it.”

Understanding Charging 

• To speed charging and learning how it works, check out our Supercharger SuperGuide
• Model 3 Home Charging Guide
• Home Charging Wiring Guide
• Check out this comprehensive article on Charging the Model S and X (also good for Model 3
• For a thorough primer by @sule on all things concerning electricity, power, adapters and battery health
• Detailed analysis by @sule of electricity consumption and costs when charging at home

What’s Going On In My Battery? by @Anthony J. Parisio

Lithium batteries are very stable at receiving and giving power between 20% and 80% of charge. The curve is a straight line between these two points. That means it is like you are plugged into a wall outlet getting constant even power. In the period before 0% and 20%, they are very unpredictable. The 7000 cells in the MS pack can discharge at different rates that can lead to some cells to have reduced capacity or even die over time.

The opposite end (80% to 100%) is also true. The 7000 cells in the MS pack can charge at different rates this might cause some cells to end up with reduced capacity or even die over time. The safest place to be is in the 20% to 80% range. I’m sure Tesla has some hidden space at the top and bottom of the range to keep you away from 0% and 100% but not all that much. They wanted to give us more range.

The reason this is true is that the lithium and graphite compounds used in the batteries are crystals. They grow and contract as the electrons populate and depopulate the crystalline structure. Crystals crack if you push them too far too fast! Cracked crystals are dead batteries. The electrons coming in and going out so fast and unpredictably at the top and bottom of the charge curve increase the chance of cracking. There is no known way to change this; it is the physics of the structure. See why the top and bottom are dangerous.

You will notice when using a Supercharger it will charge really fast at the beginning of charge time. As it gets closer to the top it will slow down. This ensures “not too much too fast.” This minimizes the chance of crystalline structure damage.

All this means is, stay below 80% and above 20% and your batteries will last many, many years. Occasionally going to 100% (which I will bet is not really 100%) is only okay if you are afraid you might not reach the next charge station.

 For a discussion about charger options at the workplace

 To get a Supercharger where you want one

 A great resource on plugs and adapters by the shop

 For an explanation about kWh and Wh/mile

The EPA ratings of the Model S vary from 249 for 75-non-D to 335 for the 100D. The Model 3 goes from 220 to 310 miles depending on the version. Most drivers won’t achieve these numbers on a regular basis due to the following factors:

1. Elevation: Large elevation change is the biggest factor in Tesla’s range. When traveling up a steep incline, the battery will deplete much more rapidly than at the same speed on level terrain. Elevation drops are your friend, regen will add energy back into the battery.
2. Weather: Batteries are less efficient in colder weather. Also, a lot of battery power is diverted to battery maintenance and cabin warming which affects reduces range. Wet pavement and snowy roads also reduce range.
3. Speed: The faster you go the more energy it takes to overcome wind resistance.
4. Acceleration: Just like in conventional cars jackrabbit starts wreak havoc on mileage. If you combine launching with driving fast, you will deplete the battery extremely fast.
5. Tires: Summer tires are stickier than winter tires and reduce range. New tires need to be broken in and some owners have reported reduced range until they’ve put over 1000 miles on new tires.
6. HVAC: AC does affect range a bit but not nearly as much as heat does.

It all comes down to Wh/m, Watt-hours per mile. An 85-kWh battery has 75.9 kWh of energy available to use. The remaining 9.1 kWh is reserved as a battery buffer to prevent bricking. So, we have 75,900 Wh of energy to go 265 miles in an S85 which means you’d need to average 287 Wh/mile to attain that mileage. JT’s lifetime Wh/m average is 346, therefore his rated range on a full charge gets me 219 miles. I live in the Northeast and naturally do much better in the warmer months (@307 Wh/m).  TeslaTap’s lifetime Wh/m average is 327 in sunny California.

On the early S without the self-closing port door, if the charge port door is stuck closed and all the buttons are no help try the “karate chop”. Hit the right-most edge of the door with authority and it should pop open. Moisture on magnets or misaligned magnets are usually the culprit.

If your UMC is plugged in properly and there’s no green light try pressing the reset button on the back of the box.

If your UMC doesn’t unlock, open the trunk, find a little door on the Driver side and pop it off. There is a small lever, which when moved, releases the Charging Plug. This was only on some cars – perhaps 2014-2015 Model S. (@drrob) and all Model 3.

 OPERATIONS & TROUBLESHOOTING 

For the fastest response from Tesla about anything using the contact form on the Tesla website. If that does not work, complain vertically. Emails to first initial+last name@tesla.com will get you everyone but Elon.  And be persistent. Upper management wants you to be completely satisfied.

Operating Safely
This section goes over some important safety tips, including making the car safe and comfortable for pets and passengers while parked.

1.  Water Damage & Safety
   1. Contrary to Elon’s joke about the Model S is like a boat, DO NOT drive through standing water. Tesla Technical Support warned, “This can permanently damage your vehicle.”
   2. Plus if the water is deep enough and moving fast enough you could be trapped and drown; be careful, be sensible.

To keep the accessories on for pets or passengers when you leave the car do one of these things:

• 1. Have a passenger touch the screen and the accessories will come on; or
  2. Leave the door ajar and the accessories will not go off; or
  3. Use the E-Brake on the Control Panel and leave the car in Neutral and the accessories won’t go off; or
  4. You can also manage the climate from your phone in 30-minute intervals; or
  5. When parked, tap climate and select the option “Keep Climate On”. HVAC will remain on until the SOC goes below 20%.
  6.  ALERT:   If you leave by the passenger door everything will stay on until you turn it off from the MCU or reenter the car and open the driver’s door. This is by design, not a bug.

1.  Lightning Information
   1. It is safe to sit in a Tesla vehicle and ride out a thunderstorm. Even if lightning strikes the car, you will not be injured nor will the car be damaged with the possible exception of a paint blemish where the spark contacts the car.
   2. Don’t try to Supercharge during a thunderstorm. A nearby lightning strike to a power line will find its way into the car where the resultant transient energy can damage sensitive electronic circuits throughout the car.

Operations
This section goes over some instructions and tips for getting and operating your Tesla. It also includes some enhancements to improve the whole experience.

• Have a problem after delivery? In North America, call ownership at  +1-877-798-3752. You can also email ServiceHelpNA@tesla.com
• Climate Control tips and tricks by @eye.surgeon
• Door handles will NOT auto present after 48 hours of inactivity on the Model S.
•  IMPORTANT: CELL PHONE INTERFERENCE. Cell phones can interfere with the key fob to car communication. Don’t keep them in the same pocket. A cell phone near your fob in your bag or purse may lock you out. The car does not “see” the fob and locks the car.
• Yellow dotted lines on your speedometer or disabled regen are due to limited charging capability (regen) or limited power output (go). This can be because of a cold or full battery for the former, and cold, hot or a low battery for the latter.
•  IMPORTANT: COLD WEATHER OPERATION. 1BadNerd has written an excellent post on Cold Weather Operation. We strongly suggest that any owner whose ambient temperature drops below 40°F read through it and prepare for the changes in vehicle range and operations.
• For field test data of when the Air Suspension raises to standard after auto-lowering see this thread by @Bighorn
• For a really nice Tesla themed clock
• You can attach a USB mouse to your car
• To change your Valet mode PIN do this: Press where it says you forgot the code and sign in using your Tesla account. Once you log in that way, the next time you enter valet mode you get to enter a new PIN. (proven)
• Always turn the wipers OFF before leaving the car. If you don’t, as soon as you sit down the wipers will wipe and throw water in your car if you haven’t closed the door yet. Also, if ice has formed the wipers can break.

Troubleshooting
This section goes over some instructions and tips for resolving common and not-so-common issues. David Siegel’s old adage, “When in doubt, reload” fits here as well.

• Rebooting solves many problems. If gremlins appear, press and hold both scroll wheels for 10 seconds to reboot MCU (Can be done in motion).
•  REMOVE EVERYTHING FROM USB PORTS BEFORE REBOOTING.  (A bootable USB drive can cause boot problems)
• To reboot the instrument cluster (IC) on your car hold both buttons above the scroll wheel. CAUTION: rebooting the IC in motion can be hazardous. Steering Mode may change, alert sounds will mute, the speedometer will be blank.
• To reboot both screens at the same time hold scroll wheels in for 40 seconds. (by @Amped Realtor)
• To hard reboot the MCU (which takes longer to restart), press the brake pedal and hold the scroll wheels in for about 10 seconds until the center screen goes black.
• After any software installation, many owners do a scroll wheel reboot and a top button reboot.
• Stuck Charge Cable?!! Remember if the doors are locked the charger cable is locked too.

• 1. Hold down cable connector button for more than 10 seconds; or
  2. Hold down trunk button on the fob for more than 2 seconds (Model S or X); or
  3. Open the trunk, find a little door on the driver’s side and pop it off. There is a small lever (available on some 2014-2015 Model S cars only), which when moved, releases the Charging Plug. (@drrob)

• Slacker problems? Try this
• If the car won’t wake up press on the brake, hard and do the scroll wheel reboot.
•  CLUNK SQUEAL WHINE KNOCK THUMP CHIRP If your car is doing any of this checkout Tesla Tap’s Museum of Tesla Sounds and see if your sound is explained.
• Is your calendar not Syncing? Try this tip from @KL: The calendar only updates when the Tesla app is on. So turn on the Tesla app every day that you want your calendar synced. It will only sync for today’s events and tomorrow’s.
• If your Panoramic Roof doesn’t close after a software update here is a workaround until there is a bug fix: Just hold the pano roof close button on the screen for about 5 seconds. The bug is a false hand sensor trip. Holding the button overrides the hand sensor.
• If you’re not getting the same rated miles on a charge as you had previously don’t fret; your battery is not dying. There is no accurate way to determine how many miles of range you will actually get out of a charge except to drive the car until it stops. What you see on your speedometer is a calculation based on an algorithm based on calculations of the state of charge of the battery: it’s a guesstimate. So, if a 90% charge got you 239 miles yesterday and today it only got you 236 just fuhgettaboutit and enjoy the drive. And if you tend to obsess about the number on your dash, a little electrical tape over the number will help. Or, change your readout to percentage and you’ll always see that exact percentage every morning. (@JAD)

Contacting via Tesla Website

There are several ways to contact Tesla. If you have an idea or suggestion and are an owner, use the Contact link at the bottom of every Tesla page (not TeslaTap.com).  Select a topic like “Ordering a Tesla Vehicle”.

You can also contact Tesla through your MyTesla page. After logging in, select the Manage button on the car you own. Go down to the gray support section, and select the Subject line and fill in the “Describe your concern” box.  As of this writing, you can select a higher priority subject “Escalate this concern for executive review”.

 SOFTWARE UPDATES 

• OTA updates take about 2-4 weeks to reach the entire fleet. We don’t know how it’s done.
• Every new version is closely followed by sub-versions. which tweak the update. These are bug fixes. They usually don’t come with updated release notes. Press the “T” on the top center of the MCU screen for your version number.
• When the update is available for your car, an update notification will appear on your screen, and perhaps on your mobile device. You can initiate installation immediately or program the install to start at a later time. If you close the screen and did not set a time to install you can always touch the alarm clock icon at the top of the MCU to access the options.
• An install can take from 45 minutes to as long as 2.5 hours depending on the scope of the update. While the car is installing the update it will appear dead at times, sometimes it will appear possessed. Regardless, you won’t be able to operate anything in the car until the install is finished. So, plan accordingly.
• If you have a bootable USB drive attached, remove it before doing the update (ideally, USB flash drives for music should not be bootable, but it could be if infected with a virus).
•  See all firmware minor change versions and their effect at TMC

 ROAD TRIP!!! 

• Supercharger location reviews by owners
• The Supercharger Location thread also explains which stall is fastest to use when others are occupied.
• Read this thread on advice compiled by @sbeggs for taking your Model S cross country
• Experiment with travel conditions and range at evtripplanner.com
• Road trip charging resources
• Excellent Mapping Tool Using Superchargers by @Blueshift
• Here is @Blueshift’s excellent Supercharge Info which has very up-to-date status reports about new chargers.
• Camper Mode When camping out in your car you can keep the Climate System ON by using the Control Panel to set the E-Brake and putting the car in Neutral.
• When staying at a hotel/motel where there isn’t a good cell signal, connect your vehicle to the WiFi if possible. This way your app will still work. (@mireille&conan)
• For those with back issues or who get a stiff back after long rides, consider this suggestion: Increase the lumbar “out” and turn your seat heater on 3, whether or not you have a cold A/C in your face. Also, on a cross country trip, my masseuse suggested using a tennis ball placed on the seat beneath my right glute, where the IT band travels. I also found it useful to place another between my lower right back and the seat. Apparently long-haul truckers have been using this for decades. It helps! (@NKYTA)

 SERVICE vs. WARRANTY 

• Current Car maintenance and scheduled maintenance on tesla.com
• For a list of normal and abnormal sounds: Sounds of Tesla Vehicles.

 HIGHLY RECOMMENDED READING AND WATCHING

The Owner’s Manual!! You can read the owner’s manual (PDF; EN/US) on any device by going to My Tesla and selecting “Guides” or go to Settings on your MCU and look in the lower-left corner.

• “Tesla Model S – Best Car Ever!” by Frank van Gilluwe (@TeslaTap) and Kim Rogers
• “Owning Model S 2nd Edition” by Nick J. Howe (@nickjhowe)
• For a look at the progress, Tesla has made see Model S changes from 2012 to 2019
• Some of our Favorite Threads compiled by @SbMD
• The Adventures of Bjorn Nyland (Travels Throughout Norway)
• Tesla related videos galore compiled by @Teo
• A Poem by @J.T. (unabridged)
• A must-read on the Model S by The Oatmeal
• The Tesla Advantage by @JeffreyR
• TeslaTap’s in-depth articles on audio, charging, and technical details

 AUTOPILOT 

The Basics on Autopilot today:

•  Keep your hands on the wheel.
•  Keep your eyes on the road.
•  Keep your butt in the seat.
•  Keep the sensors clean.

For the latest on AP2 rollout and available features: Tesla Forum – Enhanced AP 2.0 Q&A

Thanks to georgehawley for the information below.

1. Autopilot is a catch-all term that includes a number of driver assistance features. It is not the automotive equivalent of autopilot in aircraft.
2. Autopilot (AP1) features are only available in Tesla cars produced after September of 2014 that are equipped with a forward-facing radar transducer in the middle of the front of the car, a forward-facing HD camera in the front of the rearview mirror housing and 12 ultrasonic sonar transducers, arrayed around the periphery of the car.  AP2 changed the design in cars made after October 2016 with 8 cameras, radar and doubling the range of the sonar sensors.
3. Autopilot features are enabled by purchasing the Autopilot Features with your initial order, or as an after-delivery addition in cars with applicable hardware. Hardware retrofit is not available.
4. Autopilot currently includes Traffic-Aware Cruise Control (TACC), Auto-lane change, Autosteering, Autoparking and Summoning (operable both using the fob and using the updated iPhone app.) The Autoparking feature is parallel parking and perpendicular parking (car backs into a space.)  Additional features are planned for the future.
5. TACC enables the car to cruise up to a top speed of X mph set by the driver and to follow a vehicle, maintaining a distance that corresponds to the time it would take to reach that vehicle’s current position. The distance is also set by the driver. The control stalk is the small stalk located under the directional signal/windshield wiper stalk. The following distance basically sets the distance based on time to get to the location of the car in front of you. 1=.5 seconds and 7=3.5 seconds (i.e. 0.5 second intervals).
6. TACC locks onto vehicles as small as a motorcycle.
7. Autopilot functions are recommended for use in good weather on well-marked roadways, especially limited access highways. Functions depending on the camera are disabled when driving directly into bright sunlight.
8. Autosteering requires hands on the wheel. It is disabled by the slightest tug on the steering wheel by the driver. The driver will receive a warning if the car senses that the driver’s hands are not on the steering wheel. After three warnings, AP is disabled until the car is stopped.
9. Autopark is initiated by touching a prompting icon on the main screen. The icon appears after the car passes a candidate space. Autoparking requires the car to perform some internal calibration calculations and may not work when first tried.
10. The ultrasonic sensors have a maximum range of about 16 feet in AP1 (first version) and about 30 feet in AP2 (the 2nd version).
11. Multiple software downloads have been delivered since the first availability of initial Autopilot features adding functionality and refining performance.
12. Autopilot features require the driver to be constantly vigilant and prepared to take over control of the vehicle at any moment. It is a driver assistant feature, not full self-driving.
13. Autopilot does not stop for a stopped object or vehicle that has not been previously tracked. You need full-self driving for this ability (not yet available).
14. It is recommended to not use Autopilot in areas of road work or maintenance where there could be lane closures, mismarked lanes or stopped vehicles in a lane.

 TIRES, TIRES AND MORE TIRES 

• Comprehensive tire reference thread compiled by @MNGreene
• Low profile 21/22 inch tires will often wear quickly. Read lolachampcar’s excellent survey on what you can expect for 21-inch tire wear.

 FOBOLOGY 

Tesla cars are activated through the use of a radio transmitter/receiver device in the shape of a miniature Model S or X, as appropriate. Model 3 does not have a fob, and owners can ignore this section. This device is referred to in the owner’s manual as a key. It is referred to in Tesla’s FCC registration as a fob key. Most owners just call it a fob.

Its primary function is to act as a key to unlock and lock your car, to enable the car to operate, and to open/close the rear hatch, to open the front “frunk”, and in the case of the Model X, to open and close the side doors.

It contains a radio transmitter/receiver that emits and receives signals. For the Model S, Tesla uses 315 MHz in North America, and 433.93 MHz in the rest of the world. For the Model X, the fob only uses 2.4 GHz in the USA and may additionally use 315/433 MHz depending on the country. Each fob is uniquely encoded to operate a car with a designated VIN with an encrypted rolling code. The software in the car is able to recognize individual fobs and link them to the Driver profile of the person with that fob.

If the fob is not working, you can unlock the car and turn it on using the phone app.  In addition:

Model S: If the fob battery is low but not working there is a failsafe. For most 2013 and later cars, place the fob at the end of the passenger wiper that is closest to the center. For 2012 and early 2013 cars, place the fob on the passenger side fender.  In both cases, next press and hold a door handle for a few seconds and it should unlock.

Model X: Hold the fob on the driver’s side between the front and rear doors below the door opening and press the door handle for a few seconds. If this fails, remove the fob battery and try again.

The fob has a button style battery to provide power, CR2032 in the case of the Model S, and CR2354 in the case of the Model X. It’s smart to keep a spare fob battery in the glove compartment.

The Model X fob batteries may not be commonly available. Order CR2354 online or at any Tesla service center. Fob batteries are also replaced as part of the annual service.

Fobs are not waterproof, and may not survive a washing machine. If this occurs, you can disassemble a Model S fob and try to dry it out.

More on Fobs:

• Article on how keyless driving works
• Article on how to replace Model S fob battery
• Video on how to replace the Model X fob battery
• Undocumented details on Fobs and antennas

Thanks to George H for the original contribution

 INFO ON MAKING SUGGESTIONS 

Got an Idea?

• Go to the contact page and submit your thoughts directly to Tesla if you’re an owner.
• Post it here: Desired Features for Tesla Models (or vote on existing ideas)
• Lastly, check this post: Suggesting new features and why some are ignored

 UPDATES AND IMPROVEMENTS TIMING

• All are coming “soon” (A four-letter word if there ever was one)
  soon adverb that time in the future about a minute after eventually but a second before pigs start flying.
• Normally, no one in the Tesla forums knows when a car will arrive, new features will be released, or when that new update will get to your car.
• Disclaimer: Tesla built a car, not a perpetual motion machine. Solar panels, wind turbines, wheel generators, and super magnets are not going to change that.

 EASTER EGGS 

Fun bonus ‘easter eggs’ have been hidden by the clever programmers at Tesla. For example, tap the “T” in the top-center of the main screen and then press and hold the model identifier like “P100D” in the lower right corner for 10-20 seconds. Check out more clever easter eggs.

Much has been said about the new instrument panel 7.0 User Interface (UI), but it is actually several UIs, depending if the car is a Classic (pre- Auto-pilot) or it is an Auto-pilot hardware equipped vehicle. We talk a lot about what goes into a UI in our earlier analysis of the Main Screen UI 7.0 Analysis, and won’t bother repeating it here.

First, a few historical screenshots to help keep everything in perspective.

Version 4.5 Instrument Panel, limited power due to low battery SOC

Version 6 Instrument Panel, cruise control active and navigation map

The major change between 4.5 and 6 was the larger fonts for the bottom row and reduced sized font and reduction in brightness of the speedometer and power meter text.

There was quite a bit of debate about how great or poor the new 7.0 UI is. We’re going to really focus on explaining the differences and some of the likely reasoning behind what Tesla did.  Here are a few sample screens for the 7.0 (2.7.56) instrument panel:

7.0 Instrument Panel, Driving with Self-Steering (cars with AP)

7.0 Instrument Panel, Stopped (cars with AP hardware)

7.0 Instrument Panel (cars without AP hardware)

Similar to the v6 instrument panel, it is broken into three sections, a center speed indicator and selectable side widgets. In some cases, the left widget is overridden by navigation, auto-parallel parking or the parking sensor alarm. The center gets the most dramatic change in cars with AP hardware with a view of the car, lane markings and dramatically improved rear and side blind spot indicators.

While there is some controversy over Tesla’s choice to remove the classic center analog speedometer for AP equipped cars, space is replaced with the 270-degree vehicle perspective. The center now shows:

• A tiny analog speedometer icon with the TACC speed setting below it
• Current digital speed (previously available)
• Auto-steering icon
• Auto-parallel parking available (not shown)
• Rough position of any vehicle in front as detected by the AP system
• The speed limit for this road (previously available)
• Blue confirmation of lane detection on each side of the vehicle
• New side-collision warning indicators
• Clearer Blind spot warning indicators
• Brake lights, blinkers, and headlights on/off visually appear on the car icon

Some items available in the v6 display were moved into different widgets. This includes the time, temperature, instantaneous power indicator, and the odometer. Unfortunately, you can no longer view all these items at the same time, as they reside in three different widgets. In addition, if the left pane is in navigation, parking sensor warning, or parallel parking mode, even fewer items can be seen at the same time.

European version 2.7.77 Adds the temperature and time to the bottom so it is visible at all times (not shown).

The battery capacity and range have both been greatly reduced in size and moved to the bottom, likely to deemphasize their importance. The drive status “P R N D” was moved from the center to the bottom right side and deemphasized

The on AP equipped cars the large analog speedometer has been removed entirely although it remains on non-AP cars. The date was removed entirely. You can no longer view the A and B trip information in a widget. The new trip widget has a new feature to show the time when the car was started, the miles, duration and the power used per mile.

New 7.0 Side Widgets: Energy, Tire pressure and seat-belt warnings, Clock

New 7.0 Side Widgets: Trips, Fan (with scroll wheel), Music

Widgets are selectable by holding either side’s scroll wheel in for 2 seconds and scrolling to the desired widget. The new Energy widget is not available on the pre-AP cars, but the old energy widget remains, so there is no loss here.  The tire-pressure widget is not available in cars prior to VIN 50900 when the TPMS hardware changed.

While a few owners bemoan the changes, we think the new AP center view is brilliant. Trying to combine all the needed information while Auto-pilot is active into a clear and easily understood display is quite a task. If feels natural without being confusing. I expect other manufacturers will copy the design when they roll out AP features in the future.

Now the new center AP view is less useful if you have the AP hardware but are missing the optional AP software or you turn off AP features. In this case, some owners have asked to revert the Instrument panel to something closer to that shown on Classic cars without AP.  This might be problematic as some safety features are still available, like blind-spot warning and side collision warnings.  I suspect the percentage of vehicles in this category to be quite small. Perhaps Tesla did not feel it necessary to create a third interface for a few owners. It might also help up-sell the AP software to those owners who originally passed on it.

I’m sure it was quite a trick to maintain as much information as possible while adding a huge amount of new information.  I’m not sure the perfect balance was achieved as there is no way to easily satisfy every owner. Some like to keep it as simple and clean as possible, while others want to cram as much information as possible into the display.  Widgets help to some degree, but more can be done.

Our suggested changes

1. Include an additional trip widget with A/B trip information similar to the v6 trips widget. There no problem having two different style trip widgets.
2. For AP vehicles, add a new widget with an analog speedometer and power meter similar to the old v6 indicator.  Center could include the average wh/mi or other values.
3. Create a new bottom line widget. The bottom line would always include the battery, range and P-R-N-D indicator. Optional items would include:
   • Temperature (now in 2.7.77+)
   • Day of Week and Date
   • Time (now in 2.7.77+)
   • Odometer (not needed in non-AP cars, as it already appears in the dial)
   • Blank

   If any item was selected for the bottom line, it would disappear from the related side widget, so it doesn’t appear twice.

4. Have a setting to change the center car icon to match black paint. If you have a red car, the brake lights are very hard to see. Other paint colors may benefit from having a higher contrast (black) car too.
5. For non-AP cars, increase the brightness of the speedometer/power meter fixed text. Even better only increase the brightness when direct sun is detected. When bright sun is on the top of the dashboard and hood, the markings almost become invisible. In all other lighting conditions, the current brightness is fine.

Rough concept of merging a number of ideas

Changes are already in the works for 7.1, so it will be interesting to see the next iteration.

Notes: Some screens were Photoshopped to remove glare; Most photos are in night mode, while pre-7.0 photos are in day mode. 

We’ll explain what drives you should consider, how to avoid getting ripped off, selecting the best format, and settings that can make a world of difference. Using a USB flash drive for your music provides a number of benefits over other music sources:

• Possible to have lossless audio quality, superior to all other sources
• Ability to have far more content than the limited space in phones via Bluetooth
• Your music library is automatically sorted into various groups such as Artists, Albums, Genres, etc.

Key sections (Oct-2019 Update):

• Part 1: Picking a drive
• Part 2: Formatting your drive
• Part 3: Getting the most out of your music
• Part 4: Troubleshooting the Media Player

While it is possible to use a hard disk drive or even an SSD via a USB enclosure, USB flash drives are the way to go – both being small, fast, economical and easy to use.

Drive Capacity Needed – Number of songs

Notes: Approximation based on 4-minute songs. 128 kbps/256kbps are for compressed, lossy AAC and MP3 formats. FLAC is at a 16-bit/44.1kHz lossless “CD” quality and will vary depending on the music and other factors.  WAV/AIFF is lossless and non-compressed 16-bit/44.1kHz.

Style

There are a large number of flash drive packaging styles, but you’ll likely want one that is either low-profile or a cap-less stick design. Avoid unusual shaped bulky drives as it may block access to the second USB port on the Tesla.

Low profile and cap-less style drives

Low profile drives are more limited in capacity so a stick drive may be your only choice. For cars with a console and using a stick drive, you might get a short 6-inch left-angle extension cable (not shown). If you have an older car without the console, we recommend a Left Angle USB Adapter so that the stick lays flat rather than sticking out.

Left-Angle USB connectors

Often drives come in flashy colors or chrome. While clearly a personal preference, consider one that doesn’t stand out to keep the drive less obvious to possible thieves if your car does not have the Tesla center console.

Performance and USB 2.0 and 3.0

For playing music, the drive performance is not an issue, as slow drives will work fine in the Tesla. The big difference is when Tesla needs to index your library. The scanner needs to look inside every song file to extract embedded tiles, albums, and other details. A fast drive allows this process to take minutes instead of hours.

A fast USB drive is also handy to speed the loading and updating your music from your PC or Mac.  For a real-world example, a slow USB 2.0 drive that writes at about 1.3 MB/second took 25 hours to copy 120 GB of music!  A fast USB 3.0 drive at 40 MB/second only took about 50 minutes.  I didn’t notice much difference when playing from either drive in the Tesla, although track to track seems slower with the slow drive.

USB 3.0 offers the potential for faster read and write times, but DOESN’T assure it. Assume any drive that doesn’t specify read and write times as being dead slow.  Also, you can use a USB 3.0 drive in a USB 2.0 port (like offered on the Tesla), but with a fast USB 3.0 drive, you’ll get the best performance using a 3.0 port on your PC/Mac. Almost every new PC/Mac today offers at least one 3.0 port.  The price difference is minimal now, so I’d strongly consider 3.0 drive over the same sized 2.0 drive, even if you don’t have a PC/Mac today that supports USB 3.0.

Fake USB Drives – Don’t get Taken!

The majority of USB and SD card type flash drives that are unknown brands, no-names and most drives appearing on auction sites are fakes. Price is no indicator, although those too-good to be true always fake. Scammers have taken rejected drives and/or low capacity drives and modified the drive to look like a far larger capacity drive. In reality, only a small part of the drive is useable. Sticking the drive in Windows or a MAC will show the purchased capacity, and you can even write a huge amount of data to the drive without any apparent errors. When you go to read the data, much of it will be missing or corrupted.

The second common trick we’ve seen is labeling a slow USB 2.0 drive as a USB 3.0 drive. They may even use the newer ‘blue’ 3.0 style connector, but inside it’s a crappy slow 2.0 drive. White or black connectors are normally associated with USB 2.0. Even if they use the right hardware, the fake drive could be a fraction of the stated speed.

Blue normally indicates USB 3.0

The last aspect of fake drives is the lifetime of writes may be dramatically lower than those from reputable manufacturers. This is not much of an issue for storing music that is updated infrequently but is more important for other applications such as storing dashcam video.

Scammers are hoping you do not discover the drive is far smaller or slower than you thought until long after they are gone and you can’t get a refund. This is a rampant problem and it’s so bad that you should only buy a drive from a reputable company like Amazon (direct from Amazon, not through resellers), BestBuy, Costco, Newegg, etc. and stay away from a brand you never heard of before.  Even well-known drive companies have seen many counterfeit drives flooding the market through auction sites.

There are a few free tools to detect the true working size of a drive, but they require the drive to be empty, as they need to write data to confirm the true capacity.  I like RMPrepUSB as it’s a bit quicker than others I’ve tried. When installing be sure to select English (German is the default). To use it, if the drive is greater than 128 GB, go to Settings and click on List Large Drives > 128 GiB. Next, select the USB drive in the window (usually only the one drive), and then select Quick Size Test. The test will overwrite data, so be sure there is nothing you need to keep on the USB drive.

Opening Screen of RMPrep in Windows

After several prompts, a command box opens where the test runs. There are long periods with no visible activity. This is normal. After every 5% of the test completes, an estimate of the time remaining appears.

RMPrep size test 5 % complete

It may take an hour or more for a large drive, but when complete, it shows the true USB drive size.

Drive Size Confirmed OK

Recommendations

We recommend the following drives that are available on online and other retail stores. Any of these should work great in your car.

Notes: Speeds are from the manufacturer, and believed to be accurate.  Costs typically go up as the speed and size go up. 

FAT32 Format

Most flash drives, 32 GB and under, are pre-formatted for FAT32. Larger drives may be FAT32, exFAT or NTFS. Only drives that are formatted for FAT32 (or Linux ext4) can be seen by our cars, so if it is in exFAT or NTFS, you’ll need to reformat it (which will erase all the data on the drive).

Formatting with Windows

With Windows on drives at or under 32 GB, open Explorer. In the left pane, right-click on the USB drive and select Format. BE ABSOLUTELY SURE you selected the USB flash drive and not another hard disk. Set the File system to FAT32 and click Start.

Windows Format

Formatting with GUIformat

For drives larger than 32 GB, to use FAT32 (not exFAT) you’ll need a third-party utility since Windows doesn’t allow formatting FAT32.  One free product we like is GUIformat, which is really simple. Click on the image on the web page to download the program. Run guiformat.exe (there is no installation).

Select the USB drive, and optionally set the volume label

Confirm Format

Format Complete

Formatting with RMPrep

You can also use the free RMPrep program listed in the fake drive test above to reformat the drive. Using RMPrep, with the flash drive selected, check the box “Set partition as non-bootable” and in section 4, select FAT32.  Then click on the teal button “6 Prepare Drive“.

Formatting with RMPrep

Formatting with OS X

Open Finder, search for Disk Utility and select.  On the left pane, select your flash drive. Be absolutely sure you’ve selected your flash drive and not the hard disk!  Click Partition to identify the current format. If not “MS-DOS (FAT)”, click Erase. Select MS-DOS (FAT) as the format. Note that Apple makes it a bit confusing as “MS-DOS (FAT)” is really Windows FAT32. Click on the lower “Erase…” button, and a confirmation dialog appears. Click the Erase button and the format should begin.

Formats

We recommend FLAC, as it is a lossless format, especially if you are ripping your existing CD library. Drive capacity is so cheap now it makes little sense to use lower-quality formats. Currently, very few download sites offer FLAC, so you may have to live with lower quality MP3 or AAC files for downloads. There are no problems with having a mix of FLAC, MP3 and AAC files on the same drive.

The proprietary Apple Lossless format is not usable in the Tesla, although there are programs that can convert these files into playable FLAC files.  One popular converter for the Mac is X Lossless.  Another converter written specifically for us Tesla owners is TeslaTunes.

Apple’s proprietary M4P (with Digital Rights Management) will not work in any player other than those made by Apple.  Apple’s less restrictive M4A format, more common nowadays, may work depending on the drive or you may get “Loading Error”.  We’ve done quite a bit of testing with M4A and can state that a Lexar 256 GB drive does play M4A files well. We haven’t found a common reason while some drives do not work well with M4A files, and it is not related to drive performance, read speeds or USB 2 vs USB 3.

Settings

If you have Ultra High Fidelity Sound option (with MCU1), you may want to turn off Dolby Surround. This sounds counter-intuitive, but this option attempts to convert the stereo audio into 5 channel audio.  This tends to distort the sound in a bad way prior to software 2018.12. Very few owners liked this option for music.

A dramatic improvement was made in 2018.12 to Dolby Surround, so it may be worth a try. Note that it works best with the fader centered, and will sound weak if the fader is shifted to towards the back like shown below.

MCU2 (in cars manufactured starting in March 2018) has replaced Dolby Surround with “Immersive Sound”, which is presumed to be a similar stereo to 5 channel conversion and works far better than Dolby Surround in our opinion.

Adjust the equalizer for the tonal balance you prefer. The tone controls set at the center (no boost and no cut) is the best starting point.  At a minimum, check the controls to verify someone else didn’t change your desired settings.  Note that the more extreme setting of the equalizer will add some distortion to the sound between the bands – true of all equalizers.  Best to take a light approach.

Audio Control Screen

The Tesla also offers a slick four-way balance fader. In the cabin image, touch and move the round crosshairs spot to change the sound field.

Here are some of the issues owners have had on occasion and how to fix them. These are issues through software 2018.16 (May-2018) and may be improved in a later release.

Loading Error

This occurs when you use a non-supported format, such as Apple’s proprietary M4A  with digital rights management. You will need to convert these files to an open standard such as MP3 or FLAC. Apples M4A will work, but some USB drives work better than others and eliminate the Loading Errors. See part 2, “Formats” above for more about this.

In very rare situations, we’ve seen the Loading Error on files that have worked fine before. Doing a reboot corrects this. Press both scroll wheels in until the center screen goes black. Booting takes about 60 seconds, but the USB drive needs to be rescanned, which may take a few minutes.

Wrong Album Song Order

Tesla does read the embedded track information and track numbering and works fine when playing albums from the Albums menu choice. If you use the Files choice, within a folder it will read songs in alphabetical order of the filenames.  In many cases the filenames will start with the track number – so they play in proper order. In other cases, if the filename is just the song name, the songs within the folder will not be in the orignal track order.

Files purchased from Amazon use a filename format with the track number first. You can also rip CDs with programs like MediaMonkey to include the track number at the start of the filename.

Also confirm you didn’t turn on the option for random track order.

Missing Cover Art

Tesla uses the album art embedded within the song files. Some programs fail to include the album art and/or only include the album art as a file in the directory of the album (which is ignored).

You can use our free TORG utility (Windows) to scan all the albums on a USB drive to find missing embedded artwork or generate a list of all artists and albums. TORG can also organize your music into alphabetical folders, but this feature is not important with the current Tesla software.

Wrong Cover Art

Assuming the correct artwork is embedded in the music file, we’ve seen this rare condition when you are playing via the USB, then reboot, and while the USB drive is being scanned, you select another source such as Streaming. Once the USB completes the scanning, it may switch back the last song that was playing from the USB, but the cover art does not update. Usually, after you get to another song, the correct cover art appears and it works fine from that point.