Tesla Quietly Improving Model 3 And Model Y Features During Q1-Q2 2022

It doesn't really matter if it is Fremont or Giga Shanghai production, although the models for the European market will continue to come from China until Giga Berlin is fully operational. One of the most relevant news is the integration of a new AMD processor, a modification that is not backward compatible at an official service level. Neither that update nor the ones that will follow soon.

BREAKING: Tesla's made several changes to the Model 3/Y that were highlighted in a new internal post. Some of these were previously reported. These changes apply to both Fremont & Shanghai built 3/Y models, & will be phased into new regions. Transition completed by Q2 2022.1/6— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) January 7, 2022

Another important novelty is the replacement of the 12-volt lead-acid low-voltage battery with a lithium-ion unit, which is easier to replace and way lighter, although it will cost more for obvious reasons. Because of this, the auxiliary trailer electrical connection (in tow hitch enabled vehicles) has been disabled until a power converter is available mid-year and can be retrofitted. This doesn't affect trailer lights or brakes, as per the info shared.
There are two notable changes inside: one feature is the heating of the windscreen wipers from the inside, which makes defrosting way easier in extreme cold weather (northern US, Canada, northern Europe and China). Activation can be requested through the mobile app or from inside the vehicle.

On the other hand, instead of having 14 speakers and a sub-woofer, there will be one less speaker as the one on the dashboard panel has been eliminated. According to Tesla, this way redundancy and complexity are eliminated in production, with sound quality not being affected at all. The new configuration is supposed to have more flexibility for improving the sound equipment through OTA upgrades, as Tesla usually does regarding these kinds of updates and upgrades.

Trailer Auxiliary (tow hitch enabled vehicles): It's been disabled. New 12 LV Li-ion battery requires a new power conversion adapter to be compatible with 12-volt trailer power. Adapter will be available in Mid-2022 & owners can retrofit then. Trailer lights/brakes not impacted.— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) January 7, 2022

As I said before in different articles, China, Giga-Shanghai is the factory that has given Tesla the best results throughout its history. During 2021 it managed to increase even more the annual production of the cars manufactured there, even getting to further increase the figures initially established for this plant as per productive capacity. In that regard, the manufacturing rate is currently around 650,000 vehicles per year, which means an outstanding ability to produce a car at the factory every 44 seconds.

These huge production figures from Giga-Shanghai are hoped to be reproduced at the factory located in Grunheide, Berlin, which would be apparently ready in the coming weeks to start producing at full capacity, establishing a regime of manufacturing one car every 45 seconds. The Model Y will be made at this plant, mainly for the European market, which will mean the possibility of delivering up to more than 600,000 of these models annually throughout the European region.

The transition to the feature upgrades and updates mentioned at the beginning will be completed before the end of the first semester 2022. Cars that have the proper hardware will have everything activated, again, through OTA updates. The Tesla stars - best sellers, Model 3 and Model Y, will have even more arguments to continue seducing new electric car drivers.

All images courtesy of Tesla Inc.

Nico Caballero is the VP of Finance of Cogency Power, specializing in solar energy. He also holds a Diploma in Electric Cars from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, and enjoys doing research about Tesla and EV batteries. He can be reached at @NicoTorqueNews on Twitter. Nico covers Tesla and electric vehicle latest happenings at Torque News.