Tesla has launched a new retrofit kit for Model Y owners in China, allowing them to upgrade their dash with newer materials and ambient lighting.
In September 2023 Tesla made a surprise update to the Model Y in China, just a few short weeks after the debut of the new Model 3. While the update wasn’t as significant as the new Model 3, it did bring with it three updates, one to the exterior, and two to the interior.
The exterior update was the introduction of Dark Gemini Wheels, which have now expanded to North America and are standard on the Model Y in Canada and the US.
The interior updates included a material used on the dash and door panels, replacing the wood trim that had been around since the Model Ys introduction, and before that on the Model 3. Along with the new material, Tesla also added an ambient light strip to the dash.
Now owners of Model Ys built between January 24, 2022 and October 1, 2023, can purchase a retrofit to add the new dash and ambient light strip. According to the Tesla Shop listing in China, the retrofit costs just ¥1,299, or around $250 in Canada or $180 in the US.
The retrofit has to be installed by a Tesla Service Technician as it also requires a firmware update to add controls for the ambient lighting to the in-car display.
With the retrofit launching in China, the obvious question is whether this will also make its way to North America. We have yet to see Fremont or Giga Texas add the new dash material and ambient lighting strip to their Model Y production lines, but it would be surprising for this not to happen based on all previous changes that have first appeared in China and then appeared in North America.
Once it does, we will likely see the retrofit also added to the Canadian and US Tesla Shop.
For a change however, we may see this in Canada before we do in the US. Just last week Tesla switched back to exporting Model Y from China to Canada. The first units should be arriving in Vancouver soon, and very well could have these updates as Giga Shanghai has been producing the electric SUV with them for some time now.
Would you purchase this Model Y ambient light retrofit kit if it were available in North America? Let us know in the comments below.
