Yesterday, we told you about the Big News about Tesla’s cheaper cars, which are de-contented versions of the Model 3 and Model Y, called the Model 3 and Model Y Standard. Tesla cheapness engineers took out a number of things from the entry-model cars, including power mirror controls, audio system speakers, front and rear light bars, used fabric seat upholstery instead of leather, and, in the case of the Model Y Standard, eliminated the panoramic glass roof. Well, that’s not exactly right; they eliminated the ability of the people in the car to use the glass roof, which is not exactly the same thing as replacing the glass panel with a lighter and cheaper material, like steel or plastic. It’s much, much worse.
Let me be clear about something here right off the bat: I think that Tesla knows exactly what they’re doing, and the solution they arrived at was the one that met the goals of saving as much money as possible on the building of these cars. As counterintuitive as their roof solution may sound, I have no doubt that it is in fact the cheapest way to do this. I’m not here to cast doubt on Tesla’s competence when it comes to finding the optimal way to save money.
What I am here to do is complain, loudly, about how much this particular solution sucks, and how it feels like a cruel punch to the crotch for people who maybe don’t have as much money to spend on a car. Economically, sure, I’ll buy that it makes sense. But ethically and culturally and conceptually, this is just a miserable symptom of how twisted life has become.
Let’s just recap what is going on here with the Tesla Model Y Standard’s roof; the other trim levels of the Model Y incorporate a nice panoramic glass roof. This is a fairly common option on cars today – and has been for a while now – and it’s something that I think genuinely makes interiors more airy and open and pleasant. A large chunk of glass in a roof is also a lot heavier than a steel roof and there’s potential for leaks, as well as less thermal and sound insulation when compared to a conventional steel roof and headliner, so it’s not like that pleasing airy feeling is completely free.
The Model Y standard has such a glass roof, but, as you can see from those screengrabs above, the glass is blocked in the interior of the car by an opaque headliner. The video those screenshots are from shows all this, and the host of the video spoke with Tesla representatives who confirmed that, thanks to vendor arrangements and manufacturing processes, it’s actually cheaper to just build these with a glass roof and then block it off.
I don’t doubt that this is true, though I can think of examples in the past where a version of a car replaced glass panels for cheaper and lighter steel panels, like this Volkswagen Type 3 Panel Van:
I guess the manufacturing process was more human-oriented back then, and simpler overall? Again, I have no doubt Tesla picked the cheapest path, it’s just hard to wrap my head around it.
Here’s that video so you can see:
In the video, it’s also noted that blocking the big window in the roof allows for the HVAC system to work less hard, so there is an estimated 5% efficiency gain, so that’s nice.
Also, I don’t care, because conceptually I dislike the idea of this roof so very much.
Just think about what is going on here: they wanted a cheaper version of their car, and in their research, one of the “premium” elements of the car – the panoramic roof – turned out to not be cheaper to remove. In fact, it would have cost more to remove it. So, instead of thinking that’s great, people will get an even better, more enjoyable car for their money, they decided to design and engineer a new part – the Model Y standard headliner – that covers the panoramic roof, so you can’t get the benefits of it.
You still get many of the downsides – the increased weight, potential for leaks, higher repair costs compared to a steel roof – but zero of the enjoyment. All because you were callow and debased enough to want to pay a bit less for your car, like some sort of filthy animal.
Seriously, I would have preferred it if they offered a canvas roof instead of this; that at least would have some novelty and charm about it.
It’s only a punitive measure – it’s like if you got a cheap hotel room that faced a lovely view, but because the hotel didn’t think you paid enough, they painted over the window. Because fuck you, you poor sack of crap.
I also hate the oxymoronic and euphemistic way they describe the roof on their website:
“Closed glass roof?” The hell does that even mean? I guess the marketing team thought “useless glass roof” or “glass roof you don’t deserve, you impoverished loser” didn’t hit the tone they were going for?
I understand the thinking here: I understand that they want to differentiate the different trim levels, and being able to enjoy the panoramic roof may be one of those things that convinces a customer to pay the extra $5,000 or so to go up to the next trim level. I understand why they did something so seemingly inane. I get that it makes sense.
I also get that it sucks. I’m sure mosquitoes fill some important niche in the ecosystem, but I think they suck, too. This really isn’t any different from how companies like BMW tried to make heated seats and other features subscription-only, and we all hated that shit. It’s the same basic idea: you’re hauling around hardware in your car that the company is blocking you from using, and that a shitty thing. Though at least in the case of subscriptions, you could at least get the option to use the feature, like heated seats or whatever. In the Model Y standard, you can’t just pay something and be able to see out of your roof.
I’m sure you could tear out the headliner if you were really determined, and I wouldn’t blame you if you were.
I’m glad Tesla has a cheaper car available, but I can’t say I think it’s cheap enough, or that it’s cheap in the right ways. They still have those overcomplicated electrically-operated door handles, for example. They couldn’t have replaced those with some entirely functional and trouble-free mechanical handles?
Fundamentally, though, I just hate the whole thought process behind preventing a car buyer from having access to a feature built into the car just because the company doesn’t think you deserve it. It’s all avarice and cruelty, and as far as I’m concerned, this entire way of thinking can fuck right off. I don’t care if it makes sense for Tesla’s bottom line; it’s disrespectful for people who just want a cheaper car, and I don’t have to like it.
So there.
I recently bought a door opener for my chicken coop. I got the base model because I didn’t need the light sensor. When it came in, I was surprised to find a light sensor that was wired to the board. When I tried to program it, it told me “Locked!”. So the only difference between the cheap one and the premium one is that the light sensor programming is blocked.
Any chance that “lock” is just the presence or absence of one of those little jumper plugs that goes on two pins sticking up from the motherboard? Not that you want to take it down and pull the cover off to dig around to find out, but that might be all there is to it.
Tesla has a manufacturing engineering problem…among many others, but I digress…where it seems like even the Model S’s grille eliminated supposedly because it was offensive to Musk, though I imagine saving fitment time was a greater, unsung reason. The Cybertruck is slab-sided because making it out of thick stainless was cheaper than buying a press and robot seam welders, and designing the complex structures to weld them together into something resembling style. Now a metal roof. Well, that doesn’t exist, and we’d have to buy tooling, and why do that when plastic molding a new headliner is cheaper, and the glass supplier can just ship more glass. Not like there’s a cheap, easily available alternative to metals to be used in a generally nonstructural (at least I hope that glass isn’t structural) part of the car and could be engineered and attached just as easily as a headliner, not to mention used by Saturn to great effect…
Oh. Wait. Plastic.
Plastic tends to yellow and craze with time like headlight housings. The latter can be replaced, the roof, not so much.
A guy at my company got moved next to a c-suiter for a special project. The only open office was corner glass. His grade didn’t rate windows, so they moved in Herman Miller walls and offset them to the company square footage he rated. There was a small gap at the top so he would occasionally stand on his file cabinet and squeeze his head against the ceiling to let out a pathetic whimper as he caught a glimpse of the outside world.
I sent him a link to the article.
Who runs this company, 7 year-olds?
…as most Corporations are – Yes.
This kind of behavior is pretty much the norm at big corporations.
“graded” for windows and square footage? That’s the most dystopian thing I’ve read today. Just name the company or give us a hint
A gentleman never tells.
I have the perfect solution to this abomination.
A box cutter!
And as a bonus, slashing the headliner to smithereens will actually improve the build quality.
Yeah, pretty much.
Oh, you meant on the ROOF?
This is so emblematic of how Tesla has fallen off from it’s innovative and industry-changing ethos and ways of the original Model S. It used to be super lean design, rapid continuous model improvements, and making technology nobody else could. Now they’re focused on active enshitification of the entire pipeline, from maliciously designed base models, Insurance so actively terrible they’re about to lose their license to sell it in CA, “Full Self Driving” that isn’t any of those three words, and a board that is focused on funneling money to the CEO instead of selling cars. It’s astonishing how horrible Tesla has become at everything it does, yet has a Market Cap nearly 5x that of Toyota. Insanity.
Toyota does not have plans to sell shitty humanoid robots or sell its shitty, non-LIDAR “self driving” to other car companies, so I just gets to be valued as an automaker.
Tesla is approaching, or has already passed, the point where their shitty period is longer than their good period was. Kind of like Elton John and Iron Maiden.
As someone coming from a hot(ish) climate, the headliner would be an advantage to me. A friend lent me his pre-facelift Model Y last year for a couple of weeks while he was on a trip and I found it annoying how hot it got in there on sunny days. They should offer the headliner as an option on the higher trims – or, y’ know, a proper steel roof.
Hell, a roller shade for the roof that uses that quilted aluminized stuff that windshield sunscreens are made of.
Oh, the aftermarket is rife with roof shades for Teslas that fix in place. Can’t imagine why they’re so popular…
This headliner is black and exposed to direct sunlight – it’ll get hot
So it’s basically a modern day Landau top? Looks like it has a feature that it doesn’t have?
Even doubly so, in the malaise era awful body work was hidden under landau tops, so that consumers couldn’t see how horrendously their car was made, which seems like a big plus for Tesla’s QA department.
My ’90 Coupe DeVille has a padded vinyl top that actually made the rear window smaller.
Was the glass smaller? No.
They have a QA department? Must be an option for higher trim levels.
This whole exercise is pathetic. Hiding a definining feature of the car is not cool. Thankfully kits to remove this for the view will be quickly available. So will scrapers that catch the paint flecks being scraped off.
This bugs me about my Ford, too. When you walk up to it with the key fob, it clicks and makes noises, which tells me that the car has all the hardware for keyless entry (proximity sensor), etc. but because I didn’t pay for the package that includes it, it isn’t functional. They could have at least programmed it not to respond to the key’s proximity so I wouldn’t know it’s there, but apparently they think customers need to be reminded that they are worthless spendthrifts.
To quote a great man:
“as far as I’m concerned, this entire way of thinking can fuck right off.”
To them you are a worthless spendthrift. So what? Fuck ’em. To everyone else you’re a proud Cheap Bastard living your best life.
I agree that this would be aggravating and insulting every day.
However, the alternative mindset is to laugh at them every time. They paid more to put that hardware in there, but you didn’t play ball, reducing their profit margin.
I am 100% sure it doesn’t save money, it just can’t – they are adding stuff. So I will say my opinion with the strength of facts: it’s a deterrent feature, and clearly a punishment. A solid headliner makes a very visible statement as to which version you bought as opposed to more discreet cuts.
So sad to see a brand I loved end up like this.
Musk’s brief foray into government work taught him a lot about “punishment”.
Exactly. The headliner costs less than a completely different roof, but it costs more than not changing anything at all. So it’s not meant to shave costs, it’s meant to deter buyers from choosing it.
No kidding. If I wanted to look at tinted glass and feel a sense of guilt and regret, I’d have stayed Catholic.
This is hilarious.
I would assume the ‘sunroof for the rich people’ had controls, latches, etc that allowed the roof to extend, contract, whatever it is sunroofs do.
Just leave those off, and just leave the roof as is
Nope, it’s glued in like a windshield.
Elmo will come out with a upgrade “kit” to replace the headliner to restore the roof’s functionality – For $1195.
Just a comment the cost side and not the intent: If they replaced the glass with steel they would need to buy tooling for that and set up production at a non-trivial cost. Composite roof – same issue.
So a headliner is cheap money for what it does and no expensive tooling required.
Well, yeah, no shit
I think the real issue is that it still costs more than not putting in the headliner at all. It’s not an effort to cut costs, it’s a penalty for paying less.
Good thing Torch said those very same things in this very same article.
I’m a little surprised Tesla didn’t just attach some sort of big light up display saying “I’m Poor” or something like that which could be removed if you pay Tesla a few thousand dollars and make no other changes to the Model Y.
Real talk though, Tesla doesn’t actually want people to buy these cheaper models they just want the base price to be low enough to get people interested and to take a look, then up sell them into the more heavily contented vehicles.
How is Tesla’s base model any different from the base models of other brands?
They make you pay to cover up something that’s in the car.
Anyone who buys a Tesla in 2025 deserves what they get. And I don’t mean just the fact that the CEO is an obviously, cartoonishly evil person (although I definitely do mean it, at least partially). This is a company with a track record of underbaked products, bad warranty and repair work, and their most recently designed, flagship product, the CyberTruck, is a laughably overpriced hunk of junk.
Why would you buy a vehicle from this company?
the CEO is an out-and-out proud Not See. So are many others walking our streets.
The low talker finds their voice.
YOU BASTARDS!
this will be fun to explain to insurance when the roof cracks.
The Tesla insurance company will apparently just deny the claim anyway.
It sounds like they deny all claims.
It’s the most profitable division of Tesla, even more than the 13 dollar hot dogs at the GigaDiner.
This story gave me a solid LOL!
If it’s the same glass panel with the silver and they added extra headliner and the time on the line to install headliner it has to be a cost add. I get they got rid of the laminated glass on the cheap one because the headliner makes the it quieter but couldn’t you just say this one has more nvh because it’s cheap. The Chinese will have a kit in about a week with closures and templates to cut the liner.
This solution is cheaper than offering a steel roof and a glass roof. This solution allows Tesla to give the STD Range buyer a cheaper MSRP
It is more expensive than just living the glass roof but the same can be said for pretty much every optional trim. Adding variation adds cost to the manufacturer all along design / manufacturing process and supply chain. Often options that cost thousands more to the customer cost the manufacturer tens or hundreds of dollars – but that is where the small profits that automakers make are made – on the high trims. Some things you have to spend the money. Others it is cheaper to leave the feature there and software or hardware lock it for those that don’t choose to pay for it.
I work for an automaker. Plenty of our base trim options cost more than the mid trim option because they are such low volume. It would cost less to just give everyone the same thing – but then the product differentiation goes away and nobody would buy the mid and high trims – which pay for the base trims we sell to customers at a loss.
In short – the only people that would be hurt with the line of thinking that blocking access to high spec features is wrong are the people buying those base trims for less. The alternative is simply dropping the base trim.
That solid “industry standard” or “industry veteran” logic. I think most people understand that and that’s partly why it blew up like it did. If GM did the same thing and maybe went the extra step of paining the glass just because, people would laugh and go thats gm. But when you are supposed to be the innovators and not part of that circle it’s viewed differently.
They have a problem where not everyone wants a glass roof and the silver glass roof costs a lot. I don’t know if they are producing the glass onsite but let’s say they are then it probably becomes the cheapest option especially without the silver coating they went on and on about. They infact do not include the silver coating on the cheap glass. Solid start. But station time and material and a line for the headliner. Just don’t include it. They spent years arguing that touch screens are the best because you don’t have to make the blank spots for switches or change what’s printed on them. They even removed stocks because they cost to much and add complexity. The aftermarket came in and gave people what they wanted and now they have a similar solution that cost more.
I think the elegant solution to this would have been a dealer installed or accessory headliner like kit that can be put in the vehicle without taking the glass out. They don’t have the added cost and complexity people get to choose and they would probably sell them to people who want to close out the more expensive models too. They probably could have lowed the price of the vehicle and had an option that made money for all trims on top that that they could factor in increased range and nvh like they did with the original roof for a value add.
There is a reason traditional oems partner with the aftermarket Tesla could have done that here if they didn’t feel like engineering or producing an accessory but they seem content making accessories.
Zero chance a dealer installed headliner kit is cheaper than doing it in the factory.
The glass roof is a key differentiator between the standard trim and the next level. Tesla isn’t going to give people a $5,500 discount and a panoramic roof – it is that simple.
I think you misunderstood. No headliner is cheaper then a headliner. If you want a headliner then it becomes an option. Plus the glass doesn’t have the fancy silver tent they went on and on about during the initial release. The Chinese will have a kit out in no time for people to modify it anyway.
Yes, only having a panoramic roof glass roof is the cheapest option. That is not an option if the point is to remove the function of the glass roof for those that don’t pay for the glass roof.
Yes, the aftermarket will provided an option – just as the aftermarket has provided options for people to add other features hidden in base trim vehicles. The vast majority of people don’t go to the aftermarket for those solutions though. Most people drive their car as it is delivered.
It’s not the same roof. The silver coating was their big thing with it. There for the cabin will heat up more and range will take a hit with the cheaper tent or whatever they have done to the cheaper panel. So you reduce cost and then have an accessory you can sell at purchase for a profit that will remedy the problem to bring back range. The make something more expensive to sell it cheaper approach is dead in China. But all part of the same rigid thinking that is indictive of Detroit and why they loose to the new guy everytime before learning their lesson.
A budget buyer isn’t going to care about glass coatings – they care if they can see through the roof.
China already has a cheaper standard range Model 3 that we do not get. It is not the same as this one for the US market.
Foreign manufacturers are losing market share in China because the Chinese market is heavily subsidised and the brands there are miles ahead of EV and battery tech. (Due to massive subsidies from the Chinese government and a mandate to switch to EVs and PHEVs)
I’m not sure the Bev buyer and the regular car buyer are really the same in the west. If you are talking Altima buyers sure. I guess in California white Tesla drivers might have been former Altima buyers. But a $40k car isn’t exactly a budget car no matter how much people are gaslit by auto execs. Tesla also has made it clear they aren’t in the budget car business. All these things matter especially to brand image. Goodwill is expensive to buy and cheap to get rid of.
Western automakers were just there to teach the Chinese and run things until they could. They listened watched took notes and built better vehicles. What happens when the Chinese finally come in and there is no brand loyalty sinking of ships until they try harder and do what the Chinese are doing what they said could “never” be done.
I’m not sure how the Tesla Standard Range is doing anything to effect goodwill except build it. Tesla is giving buyers a $5,500 discount and not talking much away. Some of the changes improve the car vs the higher spec trims.
Yes, the US, EU, and Japanese automakers taught the Chinese how to make cars. Now it is coming back to bite us as they did stop learning and now make some segments better than we do. The best thing we could do is encourage Chinese companies to build factories in the USA to get that knowledge transfer heading the other way. Pride keeps us from doing that even though that is what we did with the Japanese 40 years ago.
Poors are not shopping for teslas.
Newsflash: Total Dick Makes Total Dickmove
Tesla has really lost their way in the last few years. I assume that’s because a lot of the talent that did impressive things has moved on to other companies.
An exacto-knife and some duct tape should “open the closure” though, right?
I read somewhere today (can’t remember) that the glass is opaque coated on the inside so you wouldn’t see much difference with the headliner removed.
Dear potential buyers of this:
If you pay me about tree-fiddy*, I’ll convert your fabric headliner back into a full glass roof!
*costs of travel and utility blades not included
Glassholes.
Isn’t it already a “Closed Glass Roof” on all of them? It doesn’t open like a normal sunroof. It’s just that on this model there’s a headliner extra- closing it. Which probably itself cost more than just leaving it alone and putting in AMC door handles instead.
This is the same thought I am having. They designed, manufactured, and installed a new part at extra cost to hide something already there by default.
Yeah, yeah, if you don’t see it, then it’s not there /s