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.
“We can’t afford to let people have a practical option that respects our customers, we have a billionaire Twitter-brained ketamine-abusing manbaby to heap billions onto!”
-Tesla
Honest question:
Would people that paid for the roof be upset if they were suddenly giving it to people that aren’t paying the premium?
Or, prior to the cheaper option, was this roof considered standard equipment?
I can see a situation where they are trying to keep people from complaining if the roof was listed as a premium feature or add-on. I don’t agree with the solution but in some scenarios this would make sense.
it was standard on all models, there was no version that didn’t have it. the other “cheap” model still keeps the roof open.
Would you forgo buying a car altogether just because the lower trim levels have something? You’d have to know that they have it, and care enough that they shouldn’t have that specific feature (as opposed to any other feature that all trim levels get). I think at worst it may move some people to buy the lower trim instead of the higher trim, but would they just walk or stay away from the dealership out of pique?
Fuundamentally, 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”
And so began “The Hackopian”, a dark website dedicated to moving fast and jailbreaking everything.
I’m never considering a Tesla even more now.
I’m thinking that they’d also need to recertify the car with the steel roof. That costs time and money. Covering the glass roof probably leaves it under the crash testing umbrella of the existing models.
This is actually the bigger long term cost than the roof itself.
They should have called it the “Panoramic Roof Appearance Package”.
This kind of thing is common in car model trim lines.
More like a Covered Roof Appearance Package IMO.
In my experience “Appearance Package” implies no functionality. It appears to have a panoramic roof, but it does not.
I’ve been shopping for a new car. “Sport Design” is a trim that looks sporty, but doesn’t bring any mechanical improvements over the base model.
Check the initial letters of that package name :p
Right! Now I see it.
If you have $44,000 to spend on a new car, you’re doing better than about 90% of the world’s population. Boohoo.
Yeah, Torch was being drippingly ironic with “poors”.
More like doing better than 90% of the American population at this point.
I don’t understand. One of the first things people will do is to tint or buy some kind of shade for those glass roofs. Be honest, how many drivers of the Model Y look up? If that cloth covering keeps heat out but light in, then they’ve got a winning combo.
In fact, buyers should be happier with this solution since now they can “upgrade” if they’re so inclined for the compromise of heat gain for upward visibility.
Looking up from their iPhone is not something they do
The question one should be asking is how much would it really cost to get it up to parity with the “premium” trim.
The problem with this is that the light is still coming in… that headliner is going to rapidly degrade from the outside in (even if they put super heavy coatings on it first). And the model y headroom is only ‘quite good’ because the glass roof is so far inset. I would be legitimately concerned about losing 2 inches or anything close to that due to a headliner.
But no, as an ’20 MY owner, I would have willingly took a normal roof at the start. Same with fabric seats. But fuck those manual mirrors.
Do you have FSD? Have you used FSD v14.1?
No, and no. Every experience ive had with FSD made me more and more convinced I wouldn’t use it for free. Maybe somewhere flat with nice wide roads. Not where I live.
Elon made a second class car for second class people, because that’s how he sees the world in his fantasies. Very on-brand for an apartheid supporting South African.
I think the fancy door handles are necessitated by the frame-less windows though.
I have frameless windows that roll down when I pull on my 100% mechanical door handles. Tesla uses electric handles because, in the presence of central locking, it’s cheaper to add a pair of switches to each door that actuate the already-there locking motor than to engineer mechanical assemblies to work in tandem with the motor.
That said, that’s some good insight into Elon’s worldview.
Im pretty sure that when you pull your mechanical door handle, it signals the window motor to wind down slightly, so not 100% mechanical.
That’s pretty much how Tesla does it, except that the handle sits flush. Im not sure if the handle actually actuates the latch or if that’s done electronically, but there is a mechanical latch release mechanism in the door for a back up.
That’s what I mean, my windows roll down despite having a mechanical handle. When my battery dies or my regulator/microswitch goes out (only one of those has happened to me, but both would have the same symptoms) the door still unlocks with a pull of the handle, the window just has to push through the seal, which is certainly not good for the seal, but would be good for my health if my car was on fire.
My working theory is that a lot of people are impressed with Teslas because they are the first nice car they have had, after getting a good job, that was not a beat to hell used car from an entry-level brand.
My 2012 base Mustang has the frameless windows that press to the seal, and I believe BMW introduced it in the e36 coupe in the early ’90s.
But Tesla buyers see that and believe it is some kind of magic from “The Man Who Fell To Earth”, if Elon looked like Bowie instead of disfigured, and they were even aware of that movie/novel.
Honestly, I think that’s the core of a lot of new car advertising. Remember those Chevy real people ads where they proudly bragged about “premium” features that were standard on almost every new car at the time? There’s an astounding section of the market for whom “new” is the most valuable adjective.
Pure evil
I saw Munro or one of the other benchmarking companies claim pano glass is cheaper than painted metal even clean sheet, much less from the standpoint of a car already in production, so this is certainly saving money.
The durability and leak resistance of metal are what is missing here, and I have to think it weighs more. If something hits your roof you are fucked. I had a pano roof destroyed by hail. But that assumes a person is willing to live with the damage to the metal. Glass is probably much easier and reliable to replace than a metal roof.
Fuck Elon but this does not seem like the craziest thing. If anything GRP or some other composite may have made more sense than glass, or been better for the buyer, but I can see the issues with going back to metal.
The bigger question is why someone is stretching to buy an overrated new car from this asshole in 2025. Especially given the depreciation cliff on even one year old ones or any other very lightly used electric car.
Depending on where the damage occurs, you can “fix” a metal roof by lying on the folded seats and kicking the dent out from behind. A formative childhood experience for me was watching my dad do that with my Aunt Betty’s 1983 Ford Escort wagon.
OTOH new car steel may be a little harder to kick a dent out of. I had a ’83 Lynx wagon (same car as your aunt) and it wasn’t particularly well made.
In some way I can’t really articulate, this feels like the opposite of a Landau roof, whilst still being as useless.
It’s the Martin Landau roof.
From crimes and misdemeanors.
I am sure Alfa-Romeo did the same thing with the 2006-2011 Brera, except some versions could be had with the headliner removed as an extra-cost option (about £500 in the UK).
They should call these the Tesla PD series for “Platform Decay.” (I’d say Series E for “Enshittification,” but there’s probably some rule against that.)
Iirc the model 3 was supposed to be the model E (for S E X Y, the models in order, because Musk is a 12-year-old), but they weren’t allowed to use that (by Ford?)
You had me at “Tesla … is such a … groin.”
I’m going to add “groin” to my list of personal insults. “Stop being such a groin, Brad.”
I’ll take a slick top metal roof over any kind of glass panel, sunroof, moon roof, etc. I find it hard to drive when I’m looking at the sky.
I have a Model Y, and the first modification I made was installing an aftermarket shade to give the car a “closed glass roof.”
the only thing that makes sense to me is these feature cuts were to meet government fleet mandates. Uncle sam is about to buy hundreds of thousands of teslas.
They pulled out all the chargers at government facilities woke, remember.
probably so tesla can sell them new chargers!
Personally, I dislike glass roofs and take joy and comfort in a nice piece of lightweight steel above my head. Sespite that, this is just dickish in the way large corporations have mastered these days and I truly hate it. Hot garbage from my extremely least favorite car company
It sure seems like they spent extra money to keep the poors in their place. I personally think glass roofs are dumb so I wouldn’t miss it but the optics here are all bad, even if there is some convoluted explanation.
A couple of points I haven’t seen in the comments, tho I may have missed them.
“…and so part of their brand image requires keeping the glass roof. Do they sell any model or trim level that doesn’t have one?”
The original Model S was available with a steel roof.
No kidding, I didn’t know that.
– I wonder if adding an opaque headliner is actually cheaper than just applying the coatings. Maybe they’re the defective yields from the coating process, but are there really that many saved up?
– I wonder if the black headliner will have glue adhesion issues from all that heat. Another extra cost of adding a headliner with extra thermal resistant
– The rollover crash protection is probably mainly done by the pillars/rails, so I doubt it. The IIHS stopped testing for it because of a law introduced that mandated roofs should be able to withstand 3-4 times the vehicle’s body weight, making every car pass the test easily
Think of it this way; even with a glass roof, the car needs a headliner. At its most basic, headliner for a glass roof needs eight edges; four exterior edges and four interior edges, all which need to be cut precisely and lined up precisely for installation. A headliner with no glass roof needs four edges – and depending on how the headliners are made, they might just be skipping a cutting step on the blanks. Materials are cheap; manufacturing is expensive.
I mentioned this before in the prior article, you need more coatings now, not less. Otherwise you will melt and/or UV degrade the shit out of that headliner. You can probably get away with less sophisticated coatings that are more aggressive in reducing visible light as well, but you **HAVE** to dramatically reduce all of the incoming IR and UV light far far beyond what the normal car had otherwise that headliner will tear itself to pieces. The three ways to manage radiation damage are time, distance, and shielding. This headliner removes the best tool anything in the car had at preventing damage, distance. It also will have more exposed time than any person would in the car, and because of occlusion angles, more time exposure than any part inside the car as well.
I think it’s fine. It saves me the step of wrapping the roof to avoid the light getting in. These pano roofs make the car way too hot.
Just need to get it wrapped in white to reflect as much sunlight as possible.
Makes sense! I drove a Turo car recently with a glass roof and the roof was wrapped in black. White would absorb less heat, but it was still a big improvement over having a giant window for a roof.
Chrome! Blind the air planes!
Subscription glass roofs, anyone? Not fit me, thanks.
This really sucks. Us poors are always getting kicked in the teeth with this kind of con. Why didn’t they just leave it as is and say: “look, the HVAC in this model is shit so it’s going to get a bit toasty but if you’re running a little cold even in a heat wave, this is the car for you. Otherwise, might I suggest upgrading or perhaps just go buy a Rivian?”
Fuck Elon. Fuck Tesla too.
Agree
There’s going to be a lot of people with a normal Y that would swap their trim that exposes the glass with someone with the cheap model that covers the glass
Yup
“I’m sure mosquitoes fill some important niche in the ecosystem”
It turns out we can eradicate the few mosquitoes that bite humans and are disease vectors with little to no wider ecosystem issues.
Only a tiny proportion of them bite and localized trials have shown no real adverse impacts to their extermination.
As someone who seems to attract mosquitoes if they’re within a 1 mile radius, I’m in huge favor of this. The hundreds of thousands of lives saved from eliminating malaria, dengue and zika deaths is a nice bonus too.
Mosquitos really are the apex predator, aren’t they?
As a hungry bat, I reject the studies’ conclusions.