Tesla introduced a wrap-around ambient lighting strip to its new Model 3
crospotter13
If you look up ambient lights for Tesla, you'll see several ads for third-party light kits. Perhaps this is why Tesla added its own Ambient Lights feature to the new Model 3. So, let's get enlightened.
Tesla's ambient lights are thin light strips that are embedded in each of the vehicle's doors near the top edge. It also curves around the dashboard near the windshield, giving passengers a near 360-degree light effect.
Supported Models
Tesla new ambient light feature is available on the new Model 3 (2024+), and will be available on the Cybertruck in a similar manner. With a refresh ongoing for the Model Y, known as Juniper, it will likely also have ambient lights. That just leaves out the most luxurious flagship vehicles, the Model S and X, for now.
The Model S and Model X could be due for a minor refresh that would not only add ambient lighting, but also include a front-bumper camera that the Cybertruck has and the new Model 3 is expected to have in the near future.
Customization
Tesla introduced a wrap-around ambient lighting strip to its new Model 3
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The ambient light settings allow you to light up the interior in a color that reflects your mood or preference. Under Controls > Lights > Accent Lights, you are handed the freedom to choose virtually any color to adorn the interior of your Tesla.
You have control over whether the ambient lights are on, off, or set to an "Auto" setting, though not fully clarified, seems to promise intelligent lighting adjustments akin to our control over dome lights, offering a reduction in reflections during drives.
While the ability to control the brightness level seems missing, Tesla did include color presets, letting you curate a series of your favorite colors.
It should be noted that the changes are confined to the light strips on the doors and dash, steering clear of the footwell lights and other interior lighting.
Future Enhancements
With Tesla, we can be assured there will be enhancements to this feature in a future update. In fact, the Tesla community is already busy coming up with useful suggestions. Some owners thought Tesla should take advantage of the lighting to provide driver feedback, such as automatically changing the ambient lighting to a red hue when there's a vehicle in your blind spot. Tesla could also glow the light strip on a door if it's not closed properly, or use the lighting to provide feedback when Sentry Mode is enabled.
Other uses could be more fun, such as cycling the light through various colors when the 'Rainbow Road' easter egg is activated.
Ambient Lighting in Action
While the possibilities are endless and Tesla engineers will surely have fun coming up with creative uses for the feature, the biggest improvement we can hope for in the near future is the ability to adjust the light intensity.
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If you’ve got a 3D printer or know a friend who does, this article is for you. We’ve gathered some of the best 3D-printed Tesla accessories and toys for Tesla owners.
We’ll feature some utilitarian accessories for your Tesla and then cover some fun items later. The links provided are all to Prusa’s Printables website and are safe to visit and download.
As a note, mostly everything should be printed in either ASA, PETG, or ABS unless you’re planning to use them indoors. PLA won’t withstand the heat in your vehicle and will warp and break. There are some places you can use PLA without a worry, though, so we’ve gone ahead and made recommendations for each item.
Car Charging
Not a Tesla App
First on our list is a wall-mounted cable organizer that also fits the NACS adapter right in. We recommend using any filament for an indoor mount, but if you’re mounting outdoors and exposed to the sun, ASA or PETG are better choices. Be sure to choose a high infill percentage to keep the organizer sturdy.
Next up is for folks who need to regularly get their cable outside through their garage door. This garage door cable protector keeps the cable from getting squished when the garage door closes.
Not a Tesla App
There’s also this great holder for your J1772 adapter that lets it fit snugly in the door pocket. Tesla actually sells this product too, but you can just print your own instead.
Once again, use ASA or PETG due to sunlight and heat exposure.
Phone and Airpods Charging
Not a Tesla App
There are other accessories that could make charging your phone or wireless headphones easier. Most Teslas feature wireless phone chargers that fit most phones. However, if you’d like to charge your AirPods or a smaller phone, it may not work out so well. You can use these adapters to charge AirPods and Galaxy Buds.
There are even spacers for Tesla’s wireless charger to help position smaller phones in the correct spot. These may work okay in PLA if you don’t leave them exposed to the sun, but PETG is a better option.
Interior
Not a Tesla App
There are also plenty of functional utilities for the inside of your vehicle. The Model 3 and Model Y have large, open vents underneath the front seats to get conditioned air into the back. This vent cover adds a grate to the vents, preventing small things from falling side. It’s applicable for either the Model 3 (non-refresh) and the Model Y, also non-refresh. Any filament will do for this since it won’t be in direct sunlight.
If you need somewhere to hang some bags, here’s a bag hook for the Model Y. You’ll need a cargo shelf mount for this to attach to. Print it in PETG or ASA.
There’s also a variety of console trays to pick from. The author personally uses this center console tray with a J1772 slot, and this second one as the other console tray. If you’ve got a Model S or Model X instead, this console tray would work for you.
Tools & Etc.,
Not a Tesla App
One of the best tools for any owner with a hitch installed – a hitch tool. This tool makes it easy to open up the hitch cover. There are no recommendations on the filament here, but stronger is better.
Here’s another super tool if you don’t have one — a windshield washer fluid funnel. It can be difficult to fill up your washer fluid without spilling, so if you don’t already have a funnel, this could be a good option. You can print this in PLA and just leave it in the frunk, as even a little deformation won’t matter.
Not a Tesla App
Wheels
Not a Tesla App
If you have Tesla’s Aero covers but don’t use them year-round, this is a nice accessory to hang them on the wall. There are also other accessories to cover up the Aero center cap and lug nuts when you do use them. You can print the hangers in PLA, but you’ll absolutely want the center caps and lug nuts in ASA or ABS.
Fun Stuff
Not a Tesla App
Ok, now on to all the fun stuff. There are a ton of different Tesla models to print. There’s an RC Cybertruck (best in ABS) and a Cybertruck model kit card (PLA). If you’re up for something in between, you can check out this model kit instead, which bridges the gap.
There’s also a lot more available on Printables (or your site of choice) than the ones we’ve highlighted here. This is just a small tidbit of some of the cool and unique stuff that’s available.
If you have some other awesome ideas or have designed something yourself, let us know on social media.
Another Tesla update has finished rolling out to the fleet and we once again have a list of undocumented features in this update. Tesla update 2025.2 was the first update of the year and it brought along features such as wiper improvements for the Cybertruck, support for the cabin radar, and third-party charger preconditioning.
However, other changes made it into the release as well but weren’t mentioned in the release notes. If you love following Tesla software changes or just want to be aware of all changes in your vehicle, these will help keep you updated.
Autopilot Warnings
Tesla has now carried over some of the updated warnings from FSD to regular Autopilot.
Warnings such as “Autopilot will not brake” when the accelerator pedal is actively pressed and others will now be presented at the top in a translucent rectangle, instead of near the bottom, where they can be easily missed.
Supercharger Notification
Not a Tesla App
After using a Supercharger, your vehicle will now display a notification with the total cost of the charging session. In addition to the cost, the alert will also display the location, total energy added, and the cost per kW/h.
This is a really nice addition as it brings the price of the charging session front and center when it matters most — as soon as you’re done charging. Previously, you could navigate to Controls > Charging to see the cost of charging.
Recommended Tire Pressure
Not a Tesla App
The Tire Pressure card on the Model 3 and Model Y will now show you the recommended tire pressure in the bottom left corner of the card. It continues to display the tire pressure reading for each wheel.
Service Mode
Max Bracco / X
As usual, Service Mode sees several improvements to make serving your vehicle easier.
Brake Burnishing: The Brake Burnish procedure parameters have been updated to reduce the need for coming to almost a complete stop during each cycle.
Legacy Model S and Model X only.
Charge Port Calibration: The charge port door calibration routine (PROC_CP_X_DOOR-SENSOR-CALIBRATION) and charge port latch calibration route (PROC_CP_X_LATCH-CALIBRATION) have been added to the Charging panel. Those routines are required to be run following the replacement of the charge port or charge port door.
All Model 3s and Model Ys.
Signal Viewer Panel: A new Signal Viewer panel is available to monitor multiple signal values live on a graph. If one or more of the signal values is unavailable, the graph will stop updating. To access the new panel, tap Tools > Signal Viewer.
Noise Recording Panel: To improve the user experience, the recording duration has been decreased to 30 seconds, and reliability of the download routine PROC_ICE_X_FETCH-DIAGNOSTIC-AUDIO-RECORDS has been improved.
Cybertruck only.
Next Update
If you want to read about the official changes in this update, check out our release notes for 2025.2.
Tesla has now started pushing software update 2025.8, but it’s currently only going out to a very small segment of vehicles. It’ll soon go out to more owners in larger waves, but if you’re interested in seeing what’s coming take a look at our 2025.8 update release notes and the undocumented features we’re aware of so far.
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