Finding AP Hardware - what Model Year are the cars built in October-December 2014?

[atr2016]

It is often said that Tesla cars don't have "model years". But Tesla CPO and any used car site think otherwise.

So, when searching for a used Tesla with AP Hardware, should I be looking for cars advertised as "2014", since the AP Hardware started being delivered around October of that year? Or are those cars considered "2015"?

How do I find out from photos if the car has AP Hardware? Many people, especially non-Tesla dealers, have no clue.

 

[Todd Burch]

The model year for Tesla is the year the car was built. (I think specifically the year the VIN was assigned). I have autopilot hardware. My car was built in Oct 2014 and it is a 2014 model year vehicle.

 

[jaguar36]

AP started showing up in cars built around Sept 2014. Those are still Model Year 2014 cars. The corresponds with approximate VIN 60xxx. The VIN isn't an exact science though.

Easiest way to find out is to look at a picture of the car, the radar unit is very obvious:

You could also check for the camera, or the reversed stalks.

 

[Boourns]

This is generally helpful: Model S - Options by Year - Tesla Motors Club Wiki

 

[murphyS90D]

Reversed stalks are not an indicator. My S85 had reversed stalks but did not have AP.

 

[rscott0]

For AP, the VIN won't let you know. But it gives you a clue. Looking at a couple dozen VINs, 4946X does have it (per a 12/2014 build sticker), and 5161X does not (from the pictures of the front of the car). So anything after about 40000 is probably worth looking at pictures, with anything after 50000 having a very good chance of having AP.

 

[murphyS90D]

50316 does not have AP.

 

[ecarfan]

AP equipped cars were first delivered in either the second or third week of September 2014.

Tesla does not use the traditional "model year" concept used by all other car manufacturers. For TSLA, the year the car was built is...the year the car was built.

Of course the entire car sales industry talks about "model years" and applies that label to Tesla vehicles but for Tesla it means nothing when talking about when new features are introduced. Tesla introduces new features when they are read to roll them out to customers regardless of time of year.

 

[jaguar36]

For AP, the VIN won't let you know. But it gives you a clue. Looking at a couple dozen VINs, 4946X does have it (per a 12/2014 build sticker), and 5161X does not (from the pictures of the front of the car). So anything after about 40000 is probably worth looking at pictures, with anything after 50000 having a very good chance of having AP.

The VINs are generally assigned sequentially, however sometimes ones would fall through for whatever reason and then they would get reassigned later. That 49xxx is an anomaly, most of the cars in that VIN range are early-Summer 2014 builds and won't have AP. AP starts showing up around 60xxx.

 

[rscott0]

The VINs are generally assigned sequentially, however sometimes ones would fall through for whatever reason and then they would get reassigned later. That 49xxx is an anomaly, most of the cars in that VIN range are early-Summer 2014 builds and won't have AP. AP starts showing up around 60xxx.

It depends if you are looking to guarantee that a car has AP by VIN (you'd have to only do 2015 or later), or if you're trying to quickly weed through all the 2014s that don't specify if they have AP. For example, I've seen AP in 4946X, 5278X, and 5332X. And since I've only looked at perhaps 15-20 VINs, that suggests that anything 50000 or higher is definitely worth checking out to see if it has AP.

For me, I was trying to find a used MS with AP, but used car dealers may not know if the car has the AP hardware. So you have to look at the VIN to get an idea, then look at the pictures. If you look at 60000+, you'll miss a bunch. If you look at 50000+ you'll miss perhaps an occasional one. Look at 40000+, and you'll likely see them all.

 

[Saghost]

It depends if you are looking to guarantee that a car has AP by VIN (you'd have to only do 2015 or later), or if you're trying to quickly weed through all the 2014s that don't specify if they have AP. For example, I've seen AP in 4946X, 5278X, and 5332X. And since I've only looked at perhaps 15-20 VINs, that suggests that anything 50000 or higher is definitely worth checking out to see if it has AP.

For me, I was trying to find a used MS with AP, but used car dealers may not know if the car has the AP hardware. So you have to look at the VIN to get an idea, then look at the pictures. If you look at 60000+, you'll miss a bunch. If you look at 50000+ you'll miss perhaps an occasional one. Look at 40000+, and you'll likely see them all.

All four wheels have a ultrasonic sensor next to them in the fender on AP cars (and not on preAP, even with parking sensors,) and of course the radar is the most visible part. I found that most online ads showed enough in the pictures to be sure.

I also quickly found that most 14s on sale don't have AP - likely because they were sold/traded to make room for an AP car.

Then I test drove an X, and decided it'd be worth the wait and extra money, to me.

 

[mudfud]

54064 has the autopilot hardware. car was delivered sept 26th 2014, on the first or second day with the new stuff. I got lucky