Tesla’s refreshed Model Y Performance has made another appearance on the famous Nürburgring racetrack, undergoing more high-speed testing. A new video from CarSpyMedia provides a clearer look at the upcoming Performance variant.
The Model Y was once again wrapped in the now-familiar white and black camouflage covering the entire vehicle as it was pushed hard on the track. Since the camo doesn’t obscure the design elements of the front and rear bumpers, we now have a better idea of the changes to the Model Y Performance over the AWD version.
Spoiler, Red Calipers, No Aero Ducts
It appears that this prototype was likely the same one that was previously spotted. This means we’re still expecting it to come with a longer spoiler, similar to the legacy Model Y Performance. That spoiler is likely to be made of carbon fiber and will likely also make its way to the Tesla store in the future as a cosmetic add-on. Tesla did something similar when it added the Alcantara dash trim to the Tesla Store, which was initially exclusive to the Launch Series Model Y.
Interestingly, Tesla isn’t including any aggressive-looking aero ducts on this Performance variant, unlike the Model 3 Performance’s unique front fascia. Instead, it appears the red calipers have made a return, which means that Tesla will be bringing larger, performance-tuned brakes to the vehicle.
Oddly, the rear right brake caliper cover was the only one that wasn’t painted red, but this could have been caused by Tesla engineers working on the vehicle while it was on the track.
Tesla is likely focused on the adaptive and actively-damped suspension rather than any particular aerodynamic improvements. We expect Tesla to include an adaptive suspension system similar to the one introduced with the Model 3 Performance. These adaptive suspensions can adjust to driver and road input in real-time with adaptive damping.
Consistent with previous sightings, it appears that Tesla is still equipping this vehicle with new alloy wheels that resemble the Model S’ classic Arachnid wheels, finished in a sleek-looking matte grey.
We expect Tesla to introduce the new Performance Model Y in the upcoming months, so keep a close eye out if you’re in the market for a faster, slightly sleeker Model Y.
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In one of the most concrete steps toward officially launching its Robotaxi network, Tesla has now been listed as a “Known AV Operator” on the City of Austin’s website. The listing appeared yesterday and lists Tesla among other autonomous vehicle operators such as Waymo (Google), Zoox (Amazon), and others.
This also echoes Musk’s recent comments that the Robotaxi program is running ahead of schedule.
Green Light
This is the first indication that Tesla is moving beyond its internal phases, as Musk has stated that Tesla has already been running vehicles in Austin without anyone in the driver's seat. However, there was a driver in the passenger seat to intervene if needed.
The status on Austin’s site lists Tesla as “Testing,” the same status used for most of the other operators. The only other operators not listed as testing are Motional, which is listed as Mapping, and Waymo, which is listed as ‘Deployment.’ We’ll be sure to keep a close eye on this to see when Tesla’s status changes to deployed.
This addition to Austin’s website is the bureaucratic green light many have been waiting for, confirming that Tesla has been working with local transportation authorities to meet the necessary requirements to be recognized as a permitted AV operator.
Reporting Incidents
The City of Austin’s website also has autonomous vehicles report incidents if a vehicle blocks traffic, has a collision, or even a near miss. The website features a dynamic map, with each incident marked, and it even allows you to filter incidents by year or company. This will be another piece of information to keep an eye on to see how Tesla does in their initial phase.
What to Expect from the Initial Launch
With the official acknowledgment from the city, the focus now shifts to what the initial Robotaxi service will look like. Based on details shared by Elon, the initial rollout is expected to be a measured, deliberate deployment rather than a city-wide free-for-all. That means a small fleet of 10 Model Ys in the first week, which will slowly expand on a week-by-week basis.
Tesla will have human teleoperators on standby at its Giga Texas operations hub to help out if a vehicle gets stuck or has an incident. For the most part, these operators are expected to simply watch and observe, rather than actually taking the reins.
With the launch potentially days away, the addition of Tesla to the official list of AV Operators in Austin is a check in the box that all systems are a ‘go’ for Robotaxi.
The included changes affect the Camera app, the Dashcam Viewer and Tesla’s blind spot monitoring feature.
Rear Camera
For owners of a refreshed Model Y or original Model Y equipped with AI4, this update brings two improvements to the camera views when reversing.
The backup camera now includes a new toggle button in the top-left corner of the rear camera feed, allowing drivers to switch between the original, narrower view and the newer, wider perspective. When Tesla introduced the wider rear camera in update 2025.14, many users were upset that the view was now further away. Users will now be able to choose their preferred view.
In addition to the new rear camera option, the side camera feeds have also been enlarged to provide a larger field of view.
What’s happening with these changes is that Tesla has uncropped camera views, but they often choose to adjust or crop the camera feed to focus on the most useful areas, making sure that the vehicle’s bumpers and other items don’t occupy unnecessary space. With the changes in this update, Tesla is adjusting the areas of the video that are being cropped.
If you’re interested in what the camera views look like uncropped, you can check out the Camera Previews section in your vehicle that lets you view every raw camera feed.
Another camera improvement is available on update 2025.20.3 for all vehicles that received the updated Dashcam App with AMD Ryzen processors (how to tell if you have Intel or AMD). This includes all Model 3 and Model Y vehicles with AMD Ryzen, as well all 2021+ Model S and Model X vehicles.
When reviewing footage in the Dashcam Viewer app, you can now tap the "expand" button, which looks like two diagonal arrows, to slightly zoom out on the video as it plays. This is a useful feature when trying to get a clearer look at specific details in a Sentry Mode or Dashcam event, such as a license plate, without the hassle of having to export the video file to a computer.
Blind Spot Camera
@max_bracco
Tesla is really focusing on camera improvements with this release. The Blind Spot Camera feature was previously only available whenever the rearview camera was on screen. Turning on the rear camera while your blind spot camera view was enabled would cause the blind spot view to disappear. Likewise, if you turned on your turn signal while the Camera app was open, then the blind spot camera feature would not appear.
With this update, Tesla now allows the Camera app and the blind spot camera feature to be used simultaneously.
Dashcam Viewer Multi-Delete
We recently covered another change to the updated Dashcam App in update 2025.20. This undocumented change allows users to delete multiple videos at once for the first time. This is especially useful if you’re trying to clear up room on your Dashcam USB drive. Previously, you had to delete each video individually, whether you were doing it in the vehicle or through the Tesla app.
Update 2025.20 Rolling Out Now
These camera improvements are rolling out as part of software update 2025.20.3. As with all Tesla software updates, it may take several weeks for this to roll out to your particular vehicle.
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