DIY
Repairing a Flat Tire on a Tesla Model S
I noticed a message appear in my Tesla P85+ stating that the tire pressure was low and to pull over. Since I was already at home, I rolled up to the garage and began inspecting my tire pressure only to find that one of the rear tires was at a mere 20 psi. The recommended tire pressure for my set up is 38 psi up front and 40 psi in the rear.
I ran my hand around the flat tire and felt something metal but it was in a location not easily seen. I marked the spot on the side wall with a pencil and backed up to the garage until I could clearly see the problem – a screw had lodged itself into the tire. Luckily it was inside the first thread which from my experience means that you CAN plug it. I did this another time on my Porsche Cayenne after the dealer told me that if it’s inside the first thread, even in racing situations, they plug them. I plugged my Porsche about a year ago and ironically it’s the most stable tire pressure of all my tires on that car so I was confident that I can do the same with my Model S.
Of course before lifting the car up I put it into jack mode and raised the air suspension to the highest position to enable ease of access. I also chocked the three other wheels with a couple of wooden and one metal chock so it wouldn’t go anywhere.
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The Tesla doesn’t have a jack or spare tire so I went to my Porsche and got out the hand crank jack which fit perfectly in the jack point for that wheel. I raised the car until the flat tire was off the ground.
Jack from Porsche Cayenne (4,800 lbs vehicle) used in raising the Tesla Model S which shares a similar weight. Any 2 1/2 ton jack can be used.
After unscrewing the screw from the tire, I put some soapy water on the hole to make sure that this was in fact the culprit. Sure enough I saw bubbles and confirmed that this was the source of the tire leak.
The next step involved getting out my tire plug kit. I have a quality tire plugging kit by Safety Seal which contains the plugging tool and a separate tool designed for steel belted radials. I put the separating tool in the hole and pushed it in to separate the steel but to also make room for the plug itself.
Editor’s note: Tire plugs will seal larger punctures where as smaller holes can be repaired through a spray sealant similar to what Tesla Motors offers through their tire repair kit.
Driving around after the tire’s repaired will allow the steel bands to come back together and compress the plug into place. Here we see the separating tool in the tire.
The next step involved taking out a stick plug and inserting it in the plug tool.
Instructions come with the Safety Seal on how to do this. A little grease on the tip to help it slide in. When you remove the separating tool, do it carefully and note the angle that it goes in. If you follow that with the inserting tool, it will go in relatively easily.
Plug inserted in insertion tool with both sides approximately equal.
After you insert the plug into the tire, you press on a collar to old the plug from coming out and remove the insertion tool. The slit at the end of the insertion tool allows the plug to come out of the tool but remain in the tire. This is how it looks after you remove the insertion tool.
The kit comes with a single blade razor to cut off the excess. When you’re done it looks like so:
Final steps are to lower the car and remove the jack, then remove the blocks (might need to back up the car a few inches first to free them), and that’s it. So far so good with this tire. I don’t expect any problems.
Submitted by Norman Hirsch (P85+ owner)
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Tesla owners have long griped about the wireless phone charger in the Model Y and other vehicles. It often turns smartphones into miniature ovens rather than reliably topping them up.
Software engineer and Model Y owner Michał Gapiński tackled this issue head-on with a clever DIY upgrade, swapping the cooled wireless charger pad from the China-made Model YL in for the one that came standard in his vehicle.
There are several key differences between the U.S.-built Model Y’s wireless charging pad and the one that Tesla has been installing in the Model YL. The one installed in U.S.-built vehicles lacks active cooling and relies on basic heat dissipation, leading to rapid temperature buildup during charging. In contrast, the Model YL integrates a small fan for active cooling.
Will it fit? Fingers crossed, I want a first YL charger deployed in the regular juniper pic.twitter.com/wWDqSNFVkW
— Michał Gapiński (@mikegapinski) June 2, 2026
This design maintains lower temperatures even in warm ambient conditions, though it does not support faster Qi2 charging on iPhones. The connector matches exactly, making physical swaps feasible on compatible consoles, but coding is required to enable full functionality.
Owners in the U.S. have complained about the wireless charging pad, with many reporting that overheating is fairly common. Within 20 or 30 minutes of placing a phone on the wireless charging pad, many have reported overheating messages on their phones, which halt charging and essentially turn the pad into a fancy place to rest your phone.
Many owners have opted to simply plug their phones into a charging cord. Tesla has acknowledged the problem by releasing several solutions for owners, including a relatively new feature that allows you to simply turn off the charging and simply act as a holder for your phone while driving.
Gapiński said that he sourced the cooled pad affordably from China, and it cost under $200 for the part.
He removed the existing console charger, swapped in the new unit, confirming a perfect connector fit, and handled the trim differences. Since the parameter isn’t fully secured, he enabled it through custom coding outside official Toolbox.
Connector is identical, she fits, now time to code it. https://t.co/Y9idgDrpCq pic.twitter.com/uwwgq6blg7
— Michał Gapiński (@mikegapinski) June 2, 2026
The fan activates quietly, blending with AC and seat cooling. He reported the installation was effective and the wireless charging pad worked perfectly; it even kept the phone cool as it stayed at just 86 degrees Fahrenheit. Many times, the wireless charging pad will bring the phone’s temperature well above 100 degrees, sometimes even being relatively hot to the touch.
The retrofit worked, no issues. First Model Y with a cooled wireless charger! No QI2/faster charging on the iPhone but it does not boil the phone even when it is 30 degrees outside.
The fan kicks in, it is not audible especially with the air conditioning and seat cooling. The… https://t.co/JOyR8Tb1Yo pic.twitter.com/kJcYhQIlYq
— Michał Gapiński (@mikegapinski) June 2, 2026
This retrofit highlighted an elegant, owner-driven solution to a factory shortcoming. It is expected that Tesla will begin installing the cooled charging pads into new cars in the U.S. soon, and hopefully, it will offer some sort of retrofit service or kit to owners here who want to use the charging pad effectively.
For those who love to tinker, it’s an accessible upgrade, proving that innovation thrives beyond the production line.
Back in 2019, YouTuber Simone Giertz, the self-proclaimed “Queen of Sh*tty Robots,” created a one-off Tesla Model 3 build that took the automotive world by storm. Fondly dubbed as “Truckla,” Giertz noted that the vehicle was actually her dream car — as crazy as that may sound.
Now almost four years later, the YouTuber posted an update on Truckla. And just like every other big project that one probably started, Giertz stated that she actually stopped working on Truckla when the vehicle was about 80% complete. The car is driving though, but a lot of stuff was not really working very well.
Thus, for her Truckla update, Giertz shared how most of her Model 3 pickup truck conversion was essentially completed. Truckla got a lot of detailing done, she got a slight lift, and she now has a functional tailgate. One has to admit, Truckla’s tailgate is pretty darn cool.
The “Queen of Sh*tty Robots” also opted to give Truckla a friend in the form of an automatic robot charger. Unlike Tesla’s rather interesting snake charger from years past, Truckla’s charger would come in the form of a rover, thanks to her friends at robotics platform Viam. Giertz aptly named Truckla’s robot charger friend “Chargela,” which is an appropriate name for such an invention.
Also true to form for Giertz, Chargela’s first encounter with Truckla was just a tiny bit awkward. One could say that Chargela may have just been a little bit nervous on his first try without human hands helping him. Most importantly, the system did work, so Giertz would likely keep using Chargela for her Model 3 pickup.
Teslas are very tech-heavy vehicles, so projects like Giertz’s Truckla are always remarkable. The fact that the Model 3 works perfectly fine despite having a good chunk of it cut off and turned into a pickup truck bed is mighty impressive any way one looks at it. Overall, Truckla will always be one of the coolest Tesla DIY projects to date, so any updates about the vehicle are always appreciated.
Truckla’s nearly four-year update can be viewed below.
Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.
A Tesla owner is taking his hobby and love for electric vehicles to new levels by creating what could only be described as one of the coolest EV-related DIY projects to date. The idea for the project is simple: what happens when you cross a supercar with the Cybertruck? You end up with a two-seater CyberRoadster.
Tesla owner David Andreyev, who goes by the username @Cyber_Hooligan_ on Twitter, has spent the last few months creating a Cybertruck-inspired version of the next-generation Roadster made from a salvaged Model 3 Performance. Starting with a Model 3 Performance is an inspired choice, considering that it is Tesla’s first vehicle that has a dedicated Track Mode.
A look at Andreyev’s YouTube channel, which can be accessed here, shows the meticulous build that the Tesla owner has implemented on the project car. What’s particularly cool about the CyberRoadster is the fact that it’s being built with parts that are also from other Tesla vehicles, like its front bumper that came from a new Model S. Recent videos suggest that the project car’s rear bumper will be from a new Model S as well.
The journey is long for Andreyev, so the completion of the CyberRoadster will likely take some more time. Despite this, seeing the Tesla owner’s DIY journey on such an epic build is more than satisfying. And considering that the CyberRoadster is evidently a labor of love from the Tesla owner, the final results would likely be extremely worth it.
There’s a lot of crazy Tesla modifications that have been done as of late. But some, as it is with a lot of things on the internet these days, have become more silly gimmicks than serious automotive projects. Fortunately, car enthusiasts like Andreyev, who just happen to also love electric vehicles, are taking it upon themselves to create one-of-a-kind EVs that would surely capture the attention of anyone on the road.
Check out the latest video in the CyberRoadster’s creation below.
Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.
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