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New front and rear styling on Premium 2026 Tesla Model Y. Tesla Service and Sales Center Pleasant Grove, Utah. January 12, 2025. Fritz Hasler photo.
I have a Tesla Model 3 that is more than 6 years old, so I will discuss what upgrades to a new Tesla could do for me. However, note that you could now trade a used Tesla in for over 75 different EV models from Rivian, Ford, Chevrolet, Hummer, Cadillac, Toyota, Honda, Jeep, Subaru, KIA, Hyundai, VW, Volvo, Mercedes, BMW, etc. You need to do your own research to see if this makes sense for you.
An upgrade to any Model Y would gain me a larger trunk opening, an automatic trunk lid opening (also on new Model 3s), more head room, and an optional factory receiver for towing, bike racks, and luggage platforms. I had a receiver installed on my Model 3, but unless I am very careful, it drags on the pavement going in and out of angled driveways. Don’t even think about purchasing a chair and putting it in the Model 3 trunk.
Even though I have the long-range, dual-motor 2019 Model 3, my EPA range when new was only 315 miles. After 6+ years and 169,151 miles, my computed range with 100% charge is reduced to 250 miles. The EPA ranges for a new Premium rear-wheel-drive Model Y is 357 miles, and for a new Premium rear-wheel-drive Model 3 is 363 miles. If you really want more range, you can buy a Model S all-wheel drive, which has an EPA range of 410 miles. Note: For the first time in years, Tesla is giving permanent free Supercharging again for all new Model S, Model X, and Cyber Beast.
My October 13, 2019 Model 3 has a Hardware 3 computer with incredible processing capability (36 TOPS or 36 trillion operations per second). It also has dual neural network processors and cameras with 1280×960 resolution. It captures images at 36 fps. However, Model 3 cars built before Spring of 2019 only have a Hardware 2 computer. My Model 3 doesn’t allow me to charge at CCS fast chargers — although, I am eligible to purchase the hardware upgrade for ~$350 to make this possible.
For context, my first job out of college in 1970 was a “postdoc” at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. NCAR soon purchased a Cray supercomputer to do modeling of the entire atmosphere. Those early Cray supercomputers had processing speeds of 160 Megaflops. So, millions of floating-point operations per second compared to trillions of operations per second for Tesla HW3.
I purchased “Full Self Driving” software for $6,000 when I purchased my 2019 Model 3. It allows me to use Full Self Driving Supervised V12 to drive automatically, hands free to any location I put in my navigation with only interventions needed for occasional wrong lane choices at stop signs and stoplights, failure to slow down for school zones, and a few other situations.
Model 3 and Model Y Teslas purchased after July of 2023 have HW4 computers which have a speed of 50 TOPS and 3 neural network processors as well as superior cameras:
Front camera (behind the windshield top) — resolution 2896 x 1876. Typical file size 52 MB.
Rear facing cameras (on the front fenders) — resolution 1448 x 938. Typical file size 29 MB.
Side (front facing) cameras (in the door pillars) — resolution 1448 x 938. Sample file size 25 MB.
However, the frame rate for all cameras is slower: 24 FPS.
A rear facing camera above the rear license plate
A camera above the rearview mirror in the cabin to observe the driver’s face.
The HW4 computer and advanced camera system allow the installation of Full Self Driving Supervised V14. Reports from my brother who owns a Tesla Model Y with a HW4 computer and superior cameras, as well as reports from the internet, indicate that FSD 14 is a huge improvement over FSD Supervised 12 that runs on my 2019 Model 3. There is talk about FSD 14 Lite for those millions of us with HW3 sometime this year. I don’t think most of us care if we get buildings rendered in 3D, but correcting the faults of V12 and automatic parking in a parking lot and your home garage would certainly be welcome. There is also talk about a possible free upgrade from HW3 to HW4 for those who have purchased FSD. A HW2 to HW3 upgrade was done for some owners. However, a conversation with my local Tesla Service Center revealed that the voltage for the new cameras is different and the only upgrade path at present is to buy a new car.
I think the styling on my 2019 Tesla Model 3 as well as Model Y vehicles built before March 2025 is outstanding. Apparently, many people agree with me, since these were the largest selling EV models in the world and the Model Y was the best selling model of any kind for two years. However, many people think that styling that hasn’t changed for 7+ years has gotten stale. I think that the styling changes starting with the 2024 Model 3s are so subtle that they are hardly get noticed by anyone. However, the new styling on the Tesla Model Y with the solid horizontal light bar in front and back beginning with Premium Model Y vehicles purchased after March 2025 in the US is significant, and I find it to be quite pleasing. See photos below.
New front styling on 2026 Tesla Premium Model Y. Tesla Service and Sales Center. Pleasant Grove, Utah. January 12, 2025. Fritz Hasler photo.
New rear styling on 2026 Tesla Premium Model Y. Tesla Service and Sales Center. Pleasant Grove, Utah. January 12, 2025. Fritz Hasler photo.
Of course, the light bars are most spectacular at night.
Light bar styling on 2026 Tesla Premium Model Y. Night. Tesla Service and Sales Center. Pleasant Grove, Utah. January 12, 2025. Fritz Hasler photo.
Bottom line: If you are upgrading from Model 3 to Model Y, you get significant functionality improvement. If you find Tesla’s Full Self driving to be worth the money, you will get significant functionality improvement with a Model 3 or Model Y purchased after July of 2023. A biggie: For a limited time, if you purchased Full Self Driving (permanent not monthly) on your current Tesla, it will transfer at no charge to your new Tesla. If you want upgraded styling, you need to purchase a Model Y built after March of 2025.
Also, it turns out that the Model Y Standard has significantly different styling from the Premium. It is very pleasing, but does not have the horizontal light bar in front or rear, as shown below. The Standard was reported to not have the Full Self Driving option. However, that is not true, it has the upgraded HW4 computer and camera system, so it supports FSD V14 for those who select that option. It does not have the option of Tesla’s spectacular white seats as show below. Also, even though it has a glass roof, strangely, it is covered inside by a cloth headliner. Personally, I don’t regard this as a big downgrade since with the tinted glass I can’t see much through the glass roof on my 2019 Model 3.
White seats on 2026 Tesla Model Y. Tesla Service and Sales Center. Pleasant Grove, Utah. January 12, 2025. Fritz Hasler photo.
New rear and front styling on 2026 Tesla Model Y Standard. Tesla Service and Sales Center. Pleasant Grove, Utah. January 12, 2025. Fritz Hasler photo.
Having a Model Y or Model 3 purchased after January 2020 that is compatible with CCS charging has previously allowed CCS charging, but only with an adapter. However, numerous CCS chargers now include plugs that are NACS (Tesla) compatible, so you don’t even need to use an adapter to use these chargers.
If you are buying a used Tesla, you need to consider whether it has HW2, HW3, or HW4 (computers and cameras) and whether it can be charged at a CCS charger as well as nearly ubiquitous Tesla Superchargers.
What about trading in your second gas car for a used Tesla?
I believe that EVs are superior technology to gas cars. They have much smoother and in most cases much better acceleration than gas cars. It may surprise gas car owners, but they are more convenient for local driving for people who can charge in their own garage because you don’t need to go to a gas station to fill up. Plus, you never need to change the oil. The only case where people might prefer a gas car is for cross country driving where a 5-minute gas fill up is better than a 20- to 30-minute charge and range is more in some cases. Most people will not be using their second cars for cross country driving. Therefore, it makes sense for people to trade in their second cars for the superior performance and increased convenience of an EV. My son recently purchased a 2018 dual motor performance Tesla Model 3 for about $10,000 including the $4000 Biden used EV subsidy. Today that car would be $14,000. That is still an amazing price for an amazing EV. There are numerous Teslas sitting on used car lots around the country where you can get a deal like that on a car which has plenty of range for local driving.
Referral Program: If you find any of my articles helpful to you and you are buying a new Tesla, please use my referral link: https://ts.la/arthur73734 (be sure to use it when you make your order). If you are buying a new Tesla and use my link, you’ll currently receive $1,000 off the purchase price of a Model S or X or Cybertruck, or 3 months of complimentary FSD with a Model 3 or Y.
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