Tesla has finally updated the Model X to add new LED headlights. The update to the Model X comes more than a year after the automaker made the same update to the Model S, bringing all Tesla vehicles up to date with the new headlight technology.
According to a note sent to employees last week, a copy of which Drive Tesla was able to obtain, the automaker refers to these as “global headlamps,” saying this final transition is part of the company’s strategy to have “one lamp for all markets.” While the note doesn’t go into the technical specifications of the new headlights, it does say the lights are controlled by software which allows them to project different lighting patterns based on the requirements for whatever region the vehicle is located in.
The change over at the Fremont production lines has already taken place, with photos of a Model X in Toronto with the new headlights shared on Twitter. As you can see below the new headlights are visibly different from the previous generation with two distinct bulbs in the housing.
Tesla’s latest headlights have often been referred to Matrix LED headlights, including by us, but Tesla has never referred to them as such internally. While the headlights appear to have the technology to provide true “matrix LED” lighting, that feature isn’t enabled on any Tesla vehicles, something we were expecting they would do after they were first introduced in the Model 3. True Matrix LED headlights can shut off individual parts of their beam, thereby illuminating the maximum amount of the road while other parts are darkened to avoid blinding oncoming drivers. As mentioned in the internal note above, Tesla is altering the beam to meet regional requirements, but for whatever reason isn’t enabling true Matrix LED behaviours in their global headlamps.
Maybe that feature will come with the Model 3 refresh known as Project Highland, which will come with an updated headlight design.
