Tesla has been noticed engaged on what seems to be a gentle design replace for the Mannequin S and Mannequin X, two automobile packages which have been in decline.
Mannequin S and Mannequin X have been Tesla’s flagship autos for years.
Not so way back, Tesla aimed to promote 100,000 Mannequin S/X per yr. Now, Tesla isn’t even reporting Mannequin S/X gross sales anymore, they usually had been estimated to be under 50,000 items globally in 2024.
In Q1 2025, Tesla reported 12,881 automobile deliveries in its “different fashions” class, which incorporates Mannequin S, Mannequin X, Cybertruck, and Tesla Semi.
In February, Tesla confirmed that it plans to launch a refresh of Mannequin S and Mannequin X later this yr.
A couple of months later, prototypes are beginning to be noticed.
The Killowats, who typically spot Tesla prototypes within the Bay Space, has shared footage on X of some new Mannequin S and Mannequin X prototypes:
The updates are comparatively gentle, to say the least. The most important change is the addition of a digital camera within the entrance bumper.
Many trade watchers have been highlighting the necessity for a entrance bumper digital camera as a much-needed replace to Tesla’s digital camera array. There are just a few blind spots in Tesla’s present digital camera array, and a few are notably involved concerning the means to detect potholes and different smaller obstacles on the street.
A entrance bumper digital camera will assist with that.
The blue tape in The Killowatts’ footage additionally means that Tesla is including mild strips contained in the Mannequin S and Mannequin X, much like what it did with the Mannequin 3 and Mannequin Y over the previous yr.
There are additionally slight updates to the front-end and rear diffuser. A Mannequin S Plaid prototype was additionally noticed on the Nurburgring race monitor final week with slight camouflage on the back and front bumpers, which might additionally level to slight updates to the entrance and rear ends.
Mannequin S and Mannequin X had been final up to date beginning in 2021.
Electrek’s Take
Design-wise, that is as gentle as an replace will get. Tesla is including RGB lighting strips to the inside of its autos and calling it an replace.
The hope right here is that there’s extra to it underneath the hood.
Tesla could also be engaged on a powertrain replace for the Mannequin S and Mannequin X. I hope they’re; in any other case, this can be a non-event.
It might imply Tesla is principally giving up on these automobile packages. They’ve gone down in gross sales and manufacturing fairly a bit and as an alternative of placing the trouble of revitalizing the packages, Tesla is likely to be making the choice to not considerably replace them so as to not make investments an excessive amount of into what at the moment are low quantity packages.
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