in the headlight assembly there is a lot of chrome that doesn't do anything really and its safe to paint black, i did it to the very first car ive own, and the next several cars already had blacked out lights from the factory. - - - Updated - - - here is another example off the internet
You put the headlights in the oven to soften up the adhesive, then pry them open. Did this on my old Subaru, had no problems.
Or you can just install vinyl tint to see how it looks first. No need to take the headlights off or apart. And if you don't like it, it'll peel right off. I'm curious to see how it would look. Haven't seen a Model S with smoked headlights.
i was actually thinking about getting this done (and kind of being the experimental goat). i had the headlights painted black on our GTR and it looks much better in my opinion. trying to imagine how it would look on the tesla. maybe i'll talk to some of my photoshop guru friends to get an idea....
Actually, a Model S tuning company has already done this. They're called Unplugged Performance. A few pictures of their upgrades were posted in the next gen headlight thread. Next Generation Headlights? - Page 7
You aren't painting the glass, you are painting the surrounds/chrome pieces. This does not change the light output. Vinyl tint would decrease the light output and isn't safe, and in some places not legal
Blacked out headlights are amazing. Did that a few years ago on a previous ride (1999 Honda Accord). It was a bit messy with oven thing and all.. not sure I want to go through that with my Model S headlights.