Tesla is now promoting retrofit flip sign stalks for sure Mannequin 3 autos, after having deleted the stalks in its replace of the Mannequin 3. However thus far, they’re solely obtainable in China, and just for some vehicles. Will they arrive to the US?
Tesla up to date its China web site with a brand new accent in the present day: flip sign stalks.
That sounds just like the setup for a joke (ha ha, these Tesla drivers by no means utilizing their sign, am I proper?!?! (…. I’m a Tesla driver and I at all times use my indicators, get off it everybody)), however for many who are out of the loop, it’s really an answer to a self-inflicted drawback by Tesla a couple of years in the past.
You see, the Tesla Mannequin 3 Highland refresh, launched in 2023, got here with numerous adjustments. The mannequin had been out for six years with out main adjustments, and acquired fairly a slew of them together with higher sound dampening, a brand new entrance finish, a slower steering ratio (not a fan of this variation), ventilated seats, rear touchscreen, and so forth.
However one of many extra controversial adjustments, inside the numerous cost-cutting that Tesla did to supply these enhancements, was the deletion of the flip sign stalk.
Tesla had already been shifting on this path, with the introduction of a “yoke” wheel on the Mannequin S, which didn’t have stalks and used buttons on the wheel for flip indicators and the car touchscreen to alter gears.
However the deletion of the flip sign stalk, even on a automotive with a standard steering wheel, was fairly controversial. Regardless that some drivers have gotten used to utilizing the buttons on the steering wheel, or letting FSD sign for you when it decides to alter lanes, the comfort and familiarity of a flip sign stalk was nonetheless laborious to surrender.
This all occurred in 2023, and Tesla acquired numerous flack for it, however didn’t relent for a while. Then, in January of this 12 months, Tesla launched the Mannequin Y Juniper refresh, with lots of the similar adjustments that the Mannequin 3 had seen.
In that refresh, Tesla did change the steering wheel, together with eradicating the gear choice lever… but in addition introduced again the flip sign stalk. Purpose lastly dominated the day.
Quickly after that, an interview got here in February of 2025, the place Tesla’s head engineer Lars Moravy admitted “perhaps we deleted an excessive amount of.”
And now, we’re lastly seeing the issue get rectified… however just for China thus far, and just for sure vehicles, and costing 2,499 yuan, or about $350.
The stalks aren’t fairly obtainable but, however are supposed to start out transport in “mid-September.” And whereas they’re meant to be for Mannequin 3s, they may not apply to all Mannequin 3s – at present they’re solely obtainable to Mannequin 3s produced after February 7, 2025. By the way, this date is just some days earlier than the interview was posted during which Moravy admitted to “deleting an excessive amount of” from the Mannequin 3.
Tesla says that vehicles with earlier construct dates will finally acquire a flip sign stalk retrofit, however doesn’t specify a timeline for when which may occur.
In keeping with Tesla’s China web site, listed here are the small print (machine-translated):
Modify your Mannequin 3 and replace the steering sign button on the steering wheel to the steering sign lever. The acquisition worth contains the modification charge, and the set up service is offered by the Tesla Service Heart.
Consideration:
- This product is relevant to steering leverless Mannequin 3 autos produced after February 7, 2025, and autos produced earlier than this service will likely be launched later.
- The set up of this product must be operated by technicians with skilled upkeep data and expertise utilizing skilled instruments. It is strongly recommended that you just set up it by way of the Tesla App appointment service middle as quickly as potential after inserting an order. If the client installs it by himself, Tesla shall not be chargeable for any harm attributable to this, and should have an effect on the scope of the Restricted High quality Assurance of New Automobiles.
- Because the Tesla Service Heart wants to organize supplies after the order is established, please make an appointment for the service time at the very least 3 days later. After the appointment is profitable, you possibly can view or modify the appointment by way of Tesla App-service reservation. If it’s good to cancel the service, please contact the workers.
- This buy worth is just for the equipment and labor prices concerned within the modification service. The unique steering wheel and associated equipment needs to be delivered to Tesla to offset the price of putting in the brand new steering wheel accordingly.
- This service will change the unique steering wheel and associated equipment. After the unique steering wheel and associated equipment are disassembled, they are going to be recycled by the service middle.
- After the set up service is accomplished, the order can’t be canceled or refunded.
So, it’s solely obtainable from Tesla, to be put in a Tesla service middle. And it sounds prefer it includes buying and putting in a whole new steering wheel meeting, after which Tesla will take again the previous one.
At the moment, that is solely obtainable in China. The truth is, despite the fact that a number of of Tesla’s current releases have come out in different nations within the Asia area concurrently they have been launched in China, this one appears to solely be in China – we didn’t see it on Tesla’s Singapore and even Hong Kong website.
However, just lately, Tesla has been releasing numerous gadgets in China first, earlier than they made their option to the remainder of the globe. This has largely utilized to new automotive refreshes, however it’s completely potential that this flip sign stalk would possibly make its manner all over the world quickly.
We wouldn’t be shocked to see to restricted to vehicles produced after a sure date, and that date altering based mostly on the manufacturing facility they have been in-built. Tesla’s China manufacturing facility does have considerably totally different processes than its factories elsewhere on this planet, so we are able to’t predict which vehicles would possibly get entry to this modification over right here in the remainder of the world.
However we do suppose it’s more likely to come, in some unspecified time in the future, to different territories. Simply don’t get your hopes up for any 2023 refresh vehicles to get it instantly. And undoubtedly get able to pay for it, as $350 definitely appears a bit steep for one thing that ought to have been there within the first place…
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