Tesla Model 5 seater to 7 upgrade

[mayurkumar]

Hello

I am really excited about model Y and have already pre-booked even knowing I need a 7 seater car to for my family now (two kids + Mom and my wife)

My Question

I hope I will be able to upgrade seats in (current) 5 seater Tesla model to 7 Seater (Future) as soon as Tesla release 7 seaters?


Thanks
Kumar

 

[MattUNI]

Is that currently possible with the Model X, which has been out for 4 years? (This isn't rhetorical, I don't know the answer) That would be a good litmus test if this will be a likely option anywhere in the near term for the Y.

 

[McManX]

Not a chance

no on the X too

 

[wraithnot]

Hello

I am really excited about model Y and have already pre-booked even knowing I need a 7 seater car to for my family now (two kids + Mom and my wife)

My Question

I hope I will be able to upgrade seats in (current) 5 seater Tesla model to 7 Seater (Future) as soon as Tesla release 7 seaters?


Thanks
Kumar

At least based on past Tesla vehicles, it is very unlikely you can add additional seats after you purchase the car. The original model S had optional rear-facing kids seats in the back. But you couldn't add these after the purchase because Tesla strengthened the rear bumper to protect occupants of the rear-facing seats if you chose this option and this bumper strengthening had to be done at the factory.

If you want the 7-seater option in the future, but want the 5-seater as soon as possible then you best option is probably to reserve both, buy the 5-seater as soon as you can, keep it in really good shape with low mileage, and then sell it to an online car broker as soon as the 7-seater is available. We did this with my wife's model 3. We bought an early Model 3 (VIN 2942) in January 2018, bought an all-wheel drive Model 3 (VIN 877XX) in September 2018, and sold the original Model 3 to Vroom.com for $44,000. No guarantee the resale value for the Y will be this good when the 7-seater comes out. And the $7,500 tax credit is gone. But if demand is as high as I suspect it will be for the model Y, then the resale value should be pretty decent. You'll still be out any sales tax you paid on the first car. But if you don't want to wait for the 7-seater and can pay cash for both cars then buying the 5-seater and selling it as soon as the 7-seater is available will work.

 

[tpoltron]

Do as wraithnot suggests a bunch more of the car than you think changes from 5 to 7 seats. Think of different seat belt anchors, wall panels and wiring harnesses.

 

[testarossa]

Hello

I am really excited about model Y and have already pre-booked even knowing I need a 7 seater car to for my family now (two kids + Mom and my wife)

My Question

I hope I will be able to upgrade seats in (current) 5 seater Tesla model to 7 Seater (Future) as soon as Tesla release 7 seaters?


Thanks
Kumar

Try explaining that to your insurance company if there ever is an accident.

 

[TonyT]

The S was able to retrofit after leaving factory. Tesla actually did it for a while, the re-enforcement could be added. The X 7 seater has additional HVAC for the 3rd row and vents, so there was never an option to add, and the 2nd row is different for 5 seaters currently.

If you "need" 7 seats the Y might not be for you. Even the X 3rd row is pretty tight. I prefer the 6 seater X much more.

I would imagine the 3rd row on the Y to be really tight.

 

[Electric Steve]

I asked this question when I took a test drive (in a Model 3) a few weeks ago. The answer is that you can't upgrade afterwards.

 

[wraithnot]

The S was able to retrofit after leaving factory. Tesla actually did it for a while, the re-enforcement could be added. The X 7 seater has additional HVAC for the 3rd row and vents, so there was never an option to add, and the 2nd row is different for 5 seaters currently.

I didn't realize Tesla eventually allowed the bumper reinforcement to be added later. At least when the car first came out, they didn't offer this and I remember it caused a bit of a stir . . .


There is talk of an announcement on 8/1