Last week, the Ride the Lightning podcast interviewed Tesla’s VP of Vehicle Engineering, Lars Moravvy. We learned quite a bit from that episode, including the fact that Tesla is working on refreshing the Model S and X.
In this week’s episode, they interviewed Tesla’s Chief Vehicle Designer, Franz von Holzhausen, and there’s another treasure trove of information to enjoy here. This is also the 500th episode of Ride the Lightning, so if you haven’t heard of them, be sure to check them out (video below).
New Paint Colors
Tesla has replaced many of its original colors throughout the years, but it hasn’t really introduced new ones. Franz mentioned that the public weeds out the color choices - so when a color just isn’t ordered, Tesla drops it from its lineup. This includes the browns and the greens.
Meanwhile, black, white, and greys are the vast majority of what people order. The blue and the red are also equally popular. However, adding more colors increases complexity. Certain paints require multiple coats or different spray nozzles - it all adds up to additional complexity.
Colors take a while to develop, too - it takes time to establish the process, develop the color, and make sure the color will last and stay stunning. Each paint also needs to pass durability testing - and different pigments can withstand different things. This is actually why Tesla is going away from paint in the Robotaxi and they’ll instead infuse pigment into the plastic panels themselves.
Glacier Blue
Glacier Blue is the 3rd blue that Tesla has produced - and it’s the lightest color of all the choices. Tesla had been refining this color for some time, experimenting with pigmenting to add depth and character to the silver tones. The result was Glacier Blue, which ultimately found its way to the refreshed Model Y.
Franz avoided answering whether Glacier Blue is coming to North America, but Tesla’s engineering team previously hinted that new colors are coming to North America. It’s likely that Glacier Blue, or some variant of it, will be one of the new colors. Franz also declined to answer whether Midnight Cherry Red - the beautiful red variant in Europe - would be discontinued. He said it was a really beautiful color and that Tesla had spent a lot of time on that color - and that he had to “stay tuned.”
Roadster Sneak Peak
Tesla’s 2nd Gen Roadster has been a bit of a mystery. It was supposed to be a technology showcase - an EV to bring a smackdown to every other vehicle. It also served as a tech testbed - and the tech on the 2017 Roadster prototype eventually made its way down to other vehicles - like the Model S Plaid.
The Roadster should be exciting and capture everyone’s imagination. It should be a car that captures kids’ imaginations, one they have posters of and dream of owning one day. We last heard about the Roadster almost exactly a year ago, with Musk stating that Tesla radically increased the design goals for the vehicle. At the time, Musk said deliveries would be in 2025, but that seems like a pipedream right now, and maybe rightly so. Although the Roadster will undoubtedly be a marvel, it’ll be a very low-volume vehicle. If Tesla wants to continue to reach the masses, it will need to start production on its next-gen, lower-priced vehicle and roll out Robotaxi.
The Roadster serves as Tesla’s racing program, developing and testing what will eventually be integrated into other vehicles. How about cold-rocket boosters on a Cybertruck?
Challenges with Optimus
Optimus may not be a car, but Tesla’s chief designer, Franz von Holzhausen, and his team are deeply involved in shaping its design. Tesla’s designers are pushing creative boundaries to rethink what a humanoid robot can be.
The goal is to replicate the human form—a challenge that’s as much artistic as it is technical. The complexity of the human body makes this a difficult task, requiring precision in both mechanics and aesthetics.
To achieve this, Tesla has developed custom-designed actuators and joints, refining Optimus to better fit the humanoid form. Unlike traditional design and engineering teams that often work in silos, Tesla’s designers and engineers collaborate closely, allowing them to tackle and overcome challenges together.
The Affordable Model
Tesla’s mission with its products is simple: each one should feel like a premium purchase, offering more value than what you paid for it. Whether it’s an affordable model or a high-end one, Tesla is committed to creating products that are built to last, beautifully designed, and deliver exceptional performance.
This means exploring innovative materials that make their more affordable products still feel premium. Interestingly, Franz mentions the word “products” multiple times here - something he didn’t really do in other parts of the interview.
This was a fantastic interview with Franz that gave us a closer look at how Tesla works and what they have in the pipeline. Be sure to check it out below.
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date on the latest Tesla news, upcoming features and software updates.
Several months ago, Tesla infamously started turning off power to its 12V sockets in its vehicles when someone wasn’t in the vehicle. This affected all vehicles, including the ever-popular Model Y. The reason provided for the removal was inappropriate modification of vehicles to use high-power devices, which could potentially cause dangerous situations.
This left many accessories, such as vehicle fridges, inoperable since they relied on power staying with Sentry Mode.
In its current state, your vehicle disables the rear 110V outlet, as well as the 12V cigarette lighter-style socket inside the center console, when no one is detected inside the vehicle. The only current workaround is using Camp Mode, but this has disadvantages such as the climate system staying on and walk-away locks being turned off.
This change also impacted USB power provided over any of the vehicle’s USB ports. This made it difficult for users to run sub-trunk fridges or other accessories that would continuously draw power, as Camp Mode consumes quite a bit of energy to maintain the vehicle’s internal temperature.
New Accessory Power Feature
Now, in a surprise move, Tesla is restoring access to the 12V sockets when the vehicle is powered off if users enable a new option called “Accessory Power.”
Tesla states that power is available whenever the vehicle detects a user is available or when the Keep Accessory Power On is enabled.
Turning on this new option will enable power across the entire vehicle, including the 12V socket, 120v (max 16A) rear plug, and the vehicle’s USB ports. This will let users charge devices or use vehicle accessories, even when they’re not present.
This is actually an improvement over the original way to keep these plugs powered, which was to leave Sentry Mode on, which uses a significant portion of energy itself.
The new Accessory Power option will be able to be turned on in your vehicle under Controls > Charging > Keep Accessory Power On.
Similar to Sentry Mode and other features, accessory power is only enabled while the vehicle’s battery remains above 20%, at which point, it’ll be turned off. However, Tesla does warn that keeping the new option on will cause the vehicle to consume additional energy, even if devices are not plugged into any of the outlets, so this should be an option that should be used selectively, when needed.
We reported back in October that Tesla was looking for alternatives to keep accessories powered on without users present, so we’re super happy to hear this news, as it really shows that Tesla listens to its customers. It’s exciting to see Tesla restore a feature that had a lot of user support behind it, and we’re sure users will be thrilled to be able to use their fridges and accessories again.
Release Date
It looks like this feature should have been in the 2025.8 update, but to our knowledge, it hasn’t been enabled in any vehicles yet. Our best guess is that it’ll be enabled in a future 2025.8 update, or in the upcoming Spring Update, which will likely add other exciting features — at least if it’s anything like Tesla’s 2024 Spring Update.
If you’re a major user of accessory power, tell us what your primary use case is. Is it charging a laptop while you’re away from your vehicle, or is it running a sub-trunk fridge during your road trips?
We’d love to see some additional input on how Tesla can continue to improve this feature, so let us know in our forums or social media.
Three months after launching the Refreshed Model Y in North America, Tesla has finally ended the Launch Edition of the new vehicle. In addition, Tesla has also launched a new paint color for North America.
April has been the month of a lot of positive news, and it is great to see Tesla going beyond the Launch Edition of the Model Y and making it available to more customers immediately.
Launch Edition
The Launch Edition of the Model Y included the following extra features, bundled into the package cost.
Any paint choice (up to $1,500 USD value)
20” Helix 2.0 wheels ($2,000 USD)
Tow package ($1,000 USD)
Any interior color ($1,000 USD)
FSD ($8,000)
Acceleration Boost ($2,000)
The Launch Edition Model Y also included some other subtle changes like Launch Edition badging and trim, which you can read about here. Everything but the badging and Launch Edition trim can be bought for other Model Y trim levels.
Updated Pricing
The pricing has changed quite a bit from the Launch Edition, and it turns out the Launch Edition was also a pretty good deal if you were planning to buy most or all the extra features, which could save you almost $5,000 US. This is in sharp contrast to the Foundation-Series Cybertrucks, where there was very little to no difference in terms of price between a Foundation-Series truck and the AWD version with all the paid extras. Of course, not everyone may be interested in all features of the Launch Edition, so waiting for the AWD Model Y will save most people some cash.
Here’s a chart with the launch pricing and the updated pricing. Of note, the Refreshed Model Y Long Range AWD is $1,000 USD ($1,000 CAD as well) more expensive than the first-gen Model Y.
Model Y LR AWD
Price (USD)
Price (CAD)
Launch Edition
$59,990
$84,990
AWD Model Y
$48,990
$69,990
AWD Model Y With Paid Options
$64,490
$90,790
Interestingly, at least for now, Tesla is still including the Mobile Connector with the Model Y. We’re not sure how long that will last, but that’s a pretty nice little boost since Tesla stopped including the Mobile Connector with vehicles back in 2022.
New Paint Color
Last, but not least, Tesla has brought a brand new paint color into the fold. Last month, we heard Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla’s Chief Vehicle Designer, discuss paint colors - and the possibility of a new paint color on the horizon.
This has materialized with the launch of the brand new Diamond Black color option, which is replacing the old standard Black that Tesla used to offer. Diamond Black is a premium paint option and will cost $1,500 USD.
Diamond Black is a multicoat black paint with embedded sparkles and flakes, giving it a very fresh and unique look. We’re excited to see it in person, as it looks like a big step up from the solid black paint that Tesla was previously using. Several years ago, black was the standard color included in most new Teslas, so it’s also fairly common.
Paints like the new Diamond Black tend to glimmer and slightly shift colors based on the angle, so this one will be an eyecatcher, just like Quicksilver.
For now, Diamond Black is only available in the United States - it isn’t available in Canada or Mexico just yet. Since both countries receive vehicles from Giga Texas and Fremont, we expect this color to be made available in the coming days.
![Tesla's Hidden 'Elon Mode' Unveiled: A Sneak Peek into the Future of FSD [Video]](https://www.notateslaapp.com/images/news/2022/fsd-beta-inside_300w.jpg)
![Elon talks about Twitter and job cuts at Bloomberg forum [video]](https://www.notateslaapp.com/images/news/2022/elon-musk-qatar-forum_300w.jpg)
