- Tesla hacker finds cut-price Model Y secrets in firmware
- If correct, a number of creature comforts will be missing
- Screens, lights and seat controls are due for the cut
According to a well-known Tesla hacker, who goes by the name @greentheonly on X, the upcoming and hotly-tipped more “affordable” Model Y will be lacking a number of creature comfort and technological features.
Having dug through Tesla’s latest firmware, Green posted on X a series of features that are believed to be missing from the cheaper vehicle – codenamed internally “E41”.
Although the discovery is still very much open to interpretation, Green has often proven well ahead of the curve when it comes to uncovering hidden features or updates in code that Tesla is due to rollout.
After trawling through the latest firmware, the notorious hacker states that E41 will come with two audio systems, labelled internally as “essential” and “essential with commodity”, which suggests that some of Tesla’s famously powerful sound systems will be missing.
Similarly, the second row display, which allows rear passengers to binge YouTube and play video games, is also off the menu.
Thirdly, the backup camera will also seemingly lose a heater, which could see it prone to misting up and becoming inoperable in icy conditions, while power-folding mirrors appear to have been relegated to the scrap pile in order to cut costs.
Simplified model Y “E41” that was sighted live now appears in the firmware too.They will have two audio options: “essential” and “essential with commodity”Backup camera would lose a heaterno “airwave” in consoleE41 fascia (performance will also get a fascia update)September 20, 2025
Most of the money-saving efforts occur inside the cabin, where Green claims the panoramic glass roof has been replaced by a “fiberglass headliner”. Although we are unsure how it is possible to tell that from lines of code.
The cabin lighting is rumored to have been slimmed down to just footwell only, exterior puddle lamps have been removed and there are simplified electronic seat controls that only work on a single axis – which could either be forwards or backwards on the main runners, or seat-back angle adjustment. Clarity isn’t offered in the original X post.
Green also alludes to the fact that the suspension might be downgraded and the wheels “simplified” to 18-inch options.
There’s no concrete evidence of changes to the drivetrain, only that the cheapest Model Y could be offered in both all-wheel-drive and rear-wheel-drive configurations, with the potential for less powerful motors to be used.
Analysis: A step in the wrong direction
The recent updates to both the Tesla Model Y and Model 3 ushered in some monumental improvements to interior fit and finish, sound insulation and the quality of materials and components used.
As a result, both of these vehicles now feel like more serious propositions, veering away from the cheap finish and questionable build quality of the early Model S and Model Y. It has always been a criticism of Tesla, but now it feels like it is difficult to accuse the brand of cutting corners.
With the announcement of a more affordable Model Y, as well as a cheaper Model 3 that the company sells in Mexico, it feels like the company its undoing some of this hard work, stripping its cars of the features that customers gravitate towards.
Tesla attempted to do it with the Cybertruck, but found nobody wanted it and subsequently removed the ‘entry-level’ model from its online configurators after just five months.
While the Model Y isn’t the premium proposition that the Cybertruck wants to be, it remains a volume seller and one that comes with a certain level of customer expectation.
Cutting away features might help the company lower the asking price, but it also opens the door to rivals to offer a similar or better product for less, with the likes of Kia, Hyundai, XPeng, BYD and Leapmotor all duking it out to offer more bang for the buck.
