If you own or are considering a new Model 3 or a 2021+ Model S/X and prefer stalks over buttons, we’ve got something exciting to share with you.
Enhance Auto (Enhauto), of S3XY Buttons and S3XY Knob fame, gave us a preview of their upcoming product, the S3XY Stalks. While Tesla’s new stalk-less design is great for most — they’re not for everyone. That’s exactly where Enhance Auto’s new product comes in. They give owners the ability to add stalks back to their vehicles.
S3XY Stalks
The Enhauto Stalks (use code “NATA” for an additional 10% off) bring back the turn signal stalks for the new Model 3 and the redesigned Model S/X. They’re wireless and communicate via Bluetooth LE to the Enhauto Commander. Since they’re wireless, they're super easy to install—which we’ll get into later. Because they communicate with the Enhauto Commander, they’re also very customizable.
The stalks are configurable in the S3XY app, and you get multiple configuration sets—one set while the vehicle is driving and another while in park. With a tap of the lever, you can assign just about any command to the stalks, from turn signals to turning on your seat heater or enabling Autopilot.
You’ll be able to set nine actions per stalk, with actions assignable to things like a single tap, double tap, or even long press. While they don’t replicate the old stalks completely, since they don’t allow forward/back functionality, there is a ton of customizability, and it can do literally almost anything you can imagine—you could precondition your car with a double tap of the button on the end of the stalk, for example.
Not a Tesla App
You can customize it as much or as little as you want. For example, you can customize it so that the left stalk turns on the turn signals when you push it up/down, and the button activates the wipers. Similarly, you can have the right stalk activate Autopilot and shift gears. However, there’s so much more you can do. You can have a double press of a button activate your heated seats or adjust your climate temperature. The options you choose and how much you customize them are completely up to you.
Installation
The Bluetooth S3XY Stalk
Not a Tesla App
The installation procedure is super simple, especially if you’ve already got S3XY Buttons or a S3XY Knob. Simply power them on, peel off the 3M tape protector, and place them on the steering control column where you’d normally have your stalks.
This means that you don’t have to disassemble the steering wheel and remove the airbag inside. Removing the airbag is dangerous and, depending on your regional regulations, can potentially void your warranty.
If you don’t have the buttons or the knob, don’t panic - installing the Commander only takes a few minutes, and then you can set it up in the S3XY app.
Enhauto's website has instructions broken down by Tesla model and more detailed instructions based on model year to ensure you get the right fit.
Check out Enhauto’s launch video here:
How It Works
The stalks are battery-powered and wireless, removing any need for wires to the vehicle or to the main unit. They connect via Bluetooth to the Commander, the brains of the whole system, which communicates directly with the vehicle through the car’s OBD2 port. The Commander is the same unit that powers other Enhauto accessories such as the S3XY Buttons and Knob.
So the wireless stalks communicate with the Commander over Bluetooth and the Commander is directly connected to your vehicle to send commands like turning on your turn signals.
Who Is It For?
This product is perfect for people who love the idea of getting into a new Tesla or even getting their first one but are put off without having stalks to control turn signals or shifting. Plenty of people have built driving habits over decades, and suddenly having to re-learn how to operate an entirely different vehicle can be difficult.
The S3XY Stalks help bridge this gap and let anyone drive a new Model 3, Model S, or Model X without a major learning curve.
How Do I Buy It?
Pre-orders begin on Enhauto’s website today, and there’s an early bird special of 20% off - which will continue until December 20th. Use our code “NATA”, which helps support our site and receive an additional 10% discount.
If you order during the early bird special, deliveries will begin in late February - if you order after the 20th, you’ll see an April delivery window.
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Tesla is rolling out a fairly big update for its iOS and early-access-only Robotaxi app, delivering a suite of improvements that address user feedback from the initial launch last month. The update improves the user experience with increased flexibility, more information, and overall design polish.
The most prominent feature in this update is that Tesla now allows you to adjust your pickup location. Once a Robotaxi arrives at your pickup location, you have 15 minutes to start the ride. The app will now display the remaining time your Robotaxi will wait for you, counting down from 15:00. The wait time is also shown in the iOS Live Activity if your phone is on the lock screen.
How Adjustable Pickups Work
We previously speculated that Tesla had predetermined pickup locations, as the pickup location wasn’t always where the user was. Now, with the ability to adjust the pickup location, we can clearly see that Tesla has specific locations where users can be picked up.
Rather than allowing users to drop a pin anywhere on the map, the new feature works by having the user drag the map to their desired area. The app then presents a list of nearby, predetermined locations to choose from. Once a user selects a spot from this curated list, they hit “Confirm.” The pickup site can also be changed while the vehicle is en route.
This specific implementation raises an interesting question: Why limit users to predetermined spots? The answer likely lies in how Tesla utilizes fleet data to improve its service.
Here is the new Tesla Robotaxi pickup location adjustment feature.
While the app is still only available on iOS through Apple’s TestFlight program, invited users can download and update the app.
Tesla included these release notes in update 25.7.0 of the Robotaxi app:
You can now adjust pickup location
Display the remaining wait time at pickup in the app and Live Activity
Design improvements
Bug fixes and stability improvements
Nic Cruz Patane
Why Predetermined Pick Up Spots?
The use of predetermined pickup points is less of a limitation and more of a feature. These curated locations are almost certainly spots that Tesla’s fleet data has identified as optimal and safe for an autonomous vehicle to perform a pickup or drop-off.
This suggests that Tesla is methodically “mapping” its service area not just for calibration and validation of FSD builds but also to help perform the first and last 50-foot interactions that are critical to a safe and smooth ride-hailing experience.
An optimal pickup point likely has several key characteristics identified by the fleet, including:
A safe and clear pull-away area away from traffic
Good visibility for cameras, free of obstructions
Easy entry and exit paths for an autonomous vehicle
This change to pick-up locations reveals how Tesla’s Robotaxi Network is more than just Unsupervised FSD. There are a lot of moving parts, many of which Tesla recently implemented, and others that likely still need to be implemented, such as automated charging.
Frequent Updates
This latest update delivers a much-needed feature for adjusting pickup locations, but it also gives us a view into exactly what Tesla is doing with all the data it is collecting with its validation vehicles rolling around Austin, alongside its Robotaxi fleet.
Tesla is quickly iterating on its app and presumably the vehicle’s software to build a reliable and predictable network, using data to perfect every aspect of the experience, from the moment you hail the ride to the moment you step out of the car.
The massive legislative effort titled the "Big Beautiful Bill" is taking direct aim at what has become one of Tesla’s most critical and profitable revenue streams: the sale of US regulatory credits. The bill could eliminate billions of dollars from Tesla’s bottom line each year and will slow down the transition to electric vehicles in the US.
The financial stakes for Tesla are absolutely immense. In 2024, Tesla generated $2.76 billion from selling these credits. This high-margin revenue was the sole reason Tesla posted a profit in Q1 2025; without the $595 million from regulatory credits, Tesla’s reported $409 million in profit would have been a $189 million loss.
How the ZEV Credit System Works
Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) credits are part of state-level programs, led by California, designed to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles. Each year, automakers are required to hold a certain number of ZEV credits, with the amount based on their total vehicle sales within that state. Under this system, automakers that fail to sell a certain percentage of zero-emission vehicles must either pay a significant fine or purchase credits from a company that exceeds the mandate.
Automakers who fail to sell enough EVs to meet their quota have a deficit and face two choices: pay a hefty fine to the state government for each missing credit (for example, $5,000 per credit in California) or buy credits from a company with a surplus.
As an all-EV company, Tesla generates a massive surplus of these credits. It can then turn around and sell them to legacy automakers at prices cheaper than the fine, creating a win-win scenario: the legacy automaker avoids a larger penalty, and Tesla gains a lucrative, near-pure-profit revenue stream.
This new bill will dismantle this by eliminating the financial penalties for non-compliance, which would effectively make Tesla’s credits worthless. While the ZEV program is a state law, the Big Beautiful Bill will fully eliminate the penalties at a federal level.
A Multi-Billion Dollar Impact
The removal of US ZEGV credits would be a severe blow to Tesla’s financials. One JPMorgan analyst estimated that the move could reduce Tesla’s earnings by over 50%, representing a potential annual loss of $2 billion. While Tesla also earns similar credits in Europe and China, analysts suggest that 80-90% of its credit revenue in Q1 2025 came from US programs.
Why the Program Exists
While the impact on Tesla would be direct and immediate, the credit system has a wider purpose. It creates a strong financial incentive for legacy automakers to develop and accelerate their zero-emission vehicle programs, whether it’s hydrogen, electric, or another alternative.
Eliminating the need for these credits would remove that financial pressure. This could allow traditional automakers to slow their EV transition in the US without the fear of a financial penalty, potentially leading to fewer EV choices for consumers and a slower path to vehicle electrification in the country.
Big, But Not Beautiful
On Sunday Morning TV, Elon Musk was asked his thoughts on the Big Beautiful Bill. They were pretty simple. A bill could be big, or it could be beautiful - I don’t know if it can be both, Musk stated.
Elon Musk in new interview: "I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit and undermines the work the DOGE team is doing. I think a bill could be big, or it could be beautiful—I don't know if it can be both." pic.twitter.com/DnyjHN7xCY
The bill poses a threat to Tesla’s bottom line and to the adoption of EVs in the US market, where automakers will no longer have a financial incentive to transition to cleaner vehicles, a market they’ve regularly struggled in when competing against Tesla.
Tesla will have to work carefully in the future to cut expenses to remain profitable after the elimination of these regulatory credits.