2022 "Refreshed" "Refresh" Model S Headlights, Taillights Charge Port, Plaid Badge in the Flesh

[nilesborg]

Was at the Tesla dealership the other day - saw a few Model S refresh refreshes sporting the new headlight and taillight designs, in case anyone hasn't seen them IRL yet and wants to take a closer look! Photo dump below... 2021 refresh owners, whatcha all think; are we jealous or like whatevs?!

Front End / Headlights:

Back End / Taillights:

 

[ughani]

nice pics!
not sure if i like it more then prev lights in back, they remind me of model 3 lines
wonder how much better the front lights are at night

 

[byeLT4]

Plaid badges are back?!

 

[Ostrichsak]

I'll be impressed once I see how the nighttime performance is compared to the outgoing LED housings. I loved the aesthetic styling of the leaner & meaner LED housings that replaced the HID housings but the actual light uniformity and intensity was abysmal by comparison to the older HID version. (source: I've owned 3 or 4 cars with each type w/frequent overlaps of both enabling me to drive the two types back-to-back extensively and repeatedly on dark highways & mountainous roads)

That aside, and since we are only looking at the aesthetic styling in the daylight in these photos, my favorite part is the lack of a spear bisecting the taillights. I always thought that looked cheap even after they did away with the chrome version. This is much cleaner but I would have preferred them getting rid of that applique entirely as it still just looks out of place.

Overall, I'd say the appearance is a very nice upgrade over the outgoing style since that's what we're discussing in this thread. I still don't understand why they couldn't have had this design ready to deploy 6-8 months earlier to give us a better Palladium update rather than carrying over one of the chief complaints in an all-new Model S only to update it again months later. *shrugs* I guess that's how Tesla rolls. I get they're not as caught up in model generations like legacy manufacturers but there's some psychology to that that sales would probably benefit from as well.

 

[glide]

Meh. Not a fan of the new tail lights or charge port.

New headlights sound great on paper but I have not seen any real-wold benefit yet.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Meh. Not a fan of the new tail lights or charge port.

New headlights sound great on paper but I have not seen any real-wold benefit yet.

The charge port door flap does look a little bit odd when opened. I don't understand the functional reason for this pivot (pun intended) in design.

Speaking to functionality improvements, if they could move that port down ever-so-slightly within it's inset, they could hinge that cover from the top so that it opened straight up. This would allow it to act like a bit of a make-shift umbrella in some situations. I realize this wouldn't be super useful nor something anyone would benefit from frequently but it would probably offer more frequent benefit than summon.

 

[Krash]

…I don't understand the functional reason for this pivot (pun intended) in design..,

The larger area accommodates countries with physically larger charging standards and secondary charging needs.

 

[Ostrichsak]

The larger area accommodates countries with physically larger charging standards and secondary charging needs.

No, I meant the port cover itself. It used to hinge backwards and was less goofy looking when open. It's not a deal breaker either way I'm just curious why that particular solution was selected. I'm sure there was a reason.

 

[aerodyne]

Meh. Not a fan of the new tail lights or charge port.

New headlights sound great on paper but I have not seen any real-wold benefit yet.

I saw a recent YT Vid at night and they look amazing. Sorry I can find the link, but it was in the delivery to thread, the one with 86k posts....

 

[glide]

I saw a recent YT Vid at night and they look amazing. Sorry I can find the link, but it was in the delivery to thread, the one with 86k posts....

I saw that video as well. Where the lights were on in a dark environment with no comparison to the old lights.

Not sure how anyone could draw a conclusion from that.

 

[aerodyne]

I saw that video as well. Where the lights were on in a dark environment with no comparison to the old lights.

Not sure how anyone could draw a conclusion from that.

Far better than my '15 MS or wife's '19 S560. But I know that is not very useful unless you have that frame of reference.

I've not heard anyone complain the new refresh refresh headlights perform worse than the refresh.

A fair amount of complaints on the lights on other end of the car, but seem to be a matter of taste, not function.

 

[Rikster]

Meh for me on the new tail lights and charge port. I honestly prefer the look of the older style lights and the smaller charge port with the lighted ring. I can see why Tesla wanted to standardize the rear lights with the Model 3 and Y, but to me it takes away some of the uniqueness of the MS, and will make it harder to tell a MS from a M3 from behind on the road. The headlights are interesting, but I honestly seldom drive at night and have never had a problem with the older style lights in my 2020 MSLR or my new 2022 version (produced right before the changeover to the updated lights).

I had the chance to pass on my car and wait for a refreshed-refresh version, but decided to take "the bird in the hand" rather than letting the Tesla monkey f**k with me for 3 more months... No regrets...

 

[phaphaphooey]

I would like the new headlights whenever the matrix functionality is enabled but I am much happier with my radar.

 

[aerodyne]

As someone with AP1, that vision stuff better be as good as the old Mobile eye system.

 

[glide]

As someone with AP1, that vision stuff better be as good as the old Mobile eye system.

Ha! It’s nowhere close.

AP1 > AP2. In my opinion, the mobile eye solution is the best one they ever implemented. Everything since then has been playing catch up.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Ha! It’s nowhere close.

AP1 > AP2. In my opinion, the mobile eye solution is the best one they ever implemented. Everything since then has been playing catch up.

Agreed. AP1 cars may not be able to do a few of the things AP2 cars can (kinda) do but what it can do is a far better version of the AP2 system attempting the same thing. AP1 does the most important aspects of Autopilot better than AP2 and offers a more enjoyable & better overall experience.

 

[Daniel454]

Aesthetically, I MUCH prefer the old version. And I REALLY hated to give up the radar, but when I do drive at night, I really want the best possible light output so even though I could have went either direction (was offered an old and a new vin) and was REALLY tempted to take the older one, I believe long term I will be happy I got the re-refresh.

(If I thought the programmers would continue to support the radar long term, that would have swayed me but I expect within a year, physical radar or not, everything will be using Tesla Vision)

 

[aerodyne]

Agreed. AP1 cars may not be able to do a few of the things AP2 cars can (kinda) do but what it can do is a far better version of the AP2 system attempting the same thing. AP1 does the most important aspects of Autopilot better than AP2 and offers a more enjoyable & better overall experience.

So I have to pay 12k more, to get the same features I have now, like summon (dumb but reliable) and auto lane change, and not have them work as well as a 7 year system?

 

[glide]

So I have to pay 12k more, to get the same features I have now, like summon (dumb but reliable) and auto lane change, and not have them work as well as a 7 year system?

That is correct.

Imagine a world where Tesla didn’t ditch MobileEye and, instead, just focused on their build quality (software and hardware).

It was a bonehead move to bring AP/FSD development in-house.

 

[aerodyne]

That is correct.

Imagine a world where Tesla didn’t ditch MobileEye and, instead, just focused on their build quality (software and hardware).

It was a bonehead move to bring AP/FSD development in-house.

It's surprising to me, that in the 5 plus years, there has not been a revolt of AP2 and FSD owners over phantom braking and broken promises, and a large number still believe FSD is coming soon and is worth 12k...