Tesla Model 3 customers who are taking delivery of the newest builds of the all-electric sedan are reporting that their vehicle has a heated steering wheel, a feature Tesla included in some of the “refreshed” versions of its mass-market cars.
It has long been speculated whether the Model 3 would be receiving a heated steering wheel. In early December 2020, Tesla hacker green discovered some upcoming features that would be included with the refreshed Model 3, including the powered liftgate, new USB-C ports, and a heated steering wheel. In fact, some owners of newer Model 3 production models felt that their steering wheel had become noticeably thicker compared to previous iterations, setting off speculation within the community that Tesla would be adding the feature within its vehicles. Additionally, owners in other countries, like Switzerland, stated that their cars had been given heated steering wheels.
All the Model3 refresh stuff: new interior (including the top console that nobody noted somehow), heated steering wheel, efficiency package M3 2021 and M3 SR+ 2020Q4 Shanghai (this one is believed to be LiFe batteries?), heated radar, usb-c in glove box, powered liftgate
— green (@greentheonly) October 22, 2020
On New Years Day, Tesla launched a refresh to the Model Y crossover, including some new door panel designs and also adding the heated steering wheel. Speculation regarding U.S. Model 3s also grew when Tesla added the feature to sedans built in China at the company’s Giga Shanghai production facility.
Now, owners taking delivery of new Model 3 builds are showing their vehicles do include the heated steering wheel, a desirable feature for cold weather climates.
Tesla Motors Club member 808BOB took delivery of their Model 3 on Thursday, noticing that his new car did include the heated steering wheel feature. The car was built in February 2021, the original posting says. According to photographs uploaded by the user, the button to activate the heated steering wheel feature is within the “Seat Heaters” menu and can be turned on by pressing the button with a picture of a steering wheel.
Tesla Motors Club | 808BOB
808BOB said in their posting:
“Hi all, just had my M3 delivered on Thursday… Love the car!
BUT, just wanted to confirm that my M3 HAS a heated steering wheel. I’ve been wondering if/when the car would get it…
I was surprised to “find” this option (still finding stuff). Located in the butt warmer section.
RED means it is turned on (it gets pretty warm in the 3/9 locations… you cannot adjust the heat). It was about 67F today, so I didn’t have it on for more than a minute.
Hope this puts an END to all of the speculation? 
Oh, VIN 902xxx
Delivered in the Bay Area.”
The difference between the heated steering wheel and the heated seats is that the steering wheel only has one temperature option, while the seats have three settings. 808BOB stated in their posting that some parts of the steering wheel, especially the 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock locations, seem to be warmer than others.
Some users in the forum stated that new software updates could allow for variable temperatures like the seats. Currently, the vehicle is operating with Software v10.2 (2020.47.101.1).
808BOB stated that they had their car delivered in the Bay Area, so this is likely one of the first Model 3s outfitted with a heated steering wheel. Owners who live nearest to Tesla’s Fremont factory will usually be the first to experience new features because they live so close to the production facility. It is likely that owners outside of the area will soon begin taking delivery of Model 3 units with the heated steering wheel feature included.
Tesla is delaying its event for the Roadster, moving it from this Thursday, October 1, to Thursday, October 15, due to unfavorable weather.
The company has said it has been tracking the weather for this Thursday closely with local meteorologists, and because the event can only be held outside, Tesla is making the call to delay it:
“We’ve been tracking the weather closely with local meteorologists, but given the severe conditions predicted & because this event can only be held outdoors, we’ve made the difficult decision to reschedule. New date is October 15. Additional details to follow.”
Roadster event update
We’ve been tracking the weather closely with local meteorologists, but given the severe conditions predicted & because this event can only be held outdoors, we’ve made the difficult decision to reschedule.
New date is October 15. Additional details to…
— Tesla (@Tesla) September 28, 2026
We are sure that this is bringing back PTSD for some Tesla fans, and we know it is not ideal, but this also reveals some things about the event. Tesla said that this can only be held outdoors, meaning it bodes well for the rumors that the vehicle could potentially hover.
Some believe that this was essentially confirmed by the FAA airspace restriction they were granted, but this could have been for a drone show or to keep drones from spying on the event.
Tesla Roadster is available for order once again following brief hold
The Roadster event has been long-awaited, and it is unfortunate that the weather is going to keep us all waiting a little bit longer.
The Tesla Roadster will be unveiled in Waco, Texas.
Elon Musk
SpaceX turned a heralding moment for Starship into its greatest
Starship reached orbit despite losing an engine, deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites on Flight 14.
SpaceX’s Starship reached orbit for the first time on Monday, and for a few nail-biting minutes it looked like it wouldn’t. During ascent on Flight 14, one of Ship 41’s six Raptor engines shut down early, and SpaceX’s livestream host Dan Huot told viewers the team had decided not to commit to orbit. Minutes later, after what Huot described as a lot of conversation in the control room, the final poll came back in favor, and a roughly 19 second burn of a single Raptor pushed the ship into orbit about 170 miles up.
The reversal matters because SpaceX had written the exit ramp into the mission plan. The company said it would only fire the orbital insertion burn if flight controllers confirmed enough backup hardware remained for the deorbit burn, a condition Teslarati laid out ahead of the flight. Losing an engine was exactly the scenario that rule was built for.
Pressing forward fits Elon Musk’s history. Falcon 1 failed three straight times before its fourth launch reached orbit in 2008, with SpaceX nearly out of money, and Starship was developed by flying prototypes until they broke. What changed this year SpaceX going public, and with $SPCX sliding below its IPO price in July when Flight 13 slipped, the short interest climbed significantly, as Teslarati reported at the time. A Starship potentially lost today with revenue generating next-gen Starlink satellites aboard would have landed directly on shareholders.
Splashdown confirmed. Congratulations to the entire SpaceX team on the first orbital flight of Starship! pic.twitter.com/urjmiwnvNl
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 28, 2026
That pressure showed up after orbit. SpaceX cut a flight planned to last nearly 10 hours to about three, moving splashdown from west of Chile to the North Pacific near Hawaii. SpaceX gave no reason, though Musk said this month the company was being extremely cautious about debris risk. The single Raptor for deorbit worked, and Ship 41 completed its flip and landing burn before breaking apart in the water, an outcome SpaceX expected. Musk has structured SpaceX’s governance to shield long term bets from market pressure.
The payload is the bigger business story. Musk posted that all 26 Starlink V3 satellites deployed and are “operating nominally.” Each V3 is rated for about 1 Tbps of downlink and 160 Gbps of uplink, so this single launch adds roughly 26 Tbps, about 10 times what a Falcon 9 load of V2 Mini satellites adds. The V3 is too large for Falcon 9, making Starship the only vehicle that can build out the planned 100,000 satellite constellation, at up to 60 per flight once it reaches routine service. Unlike the 20 V3 units on Flight 13, which reentered on a suborbital path, these will raise their orbits and could begin serving customers within weeks and bring in hundreds of millions of additional dollars in projected Starlink revenue.
SpaceX has already begun winding down Falcon 9 Starlink launches from Florida in favor of Starship. Reported targets put Flight 15 as early as October 19, leaving about three weeks to diagnose Monday’s engine shutdown before the next orbital attempt.
Starship’s 14th flight is set to launch on Monday, Sept 28. The 75-minute launch window opens at 7:15 a.m. CT. Live coverage of the mission starts ~35 minutes before launch → https://t.co/uQKQvgaTmJ
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 27, 2026
Tesla quietly doubled the size of its Cybercab fleet within the Robotaxi program in Austin, Texas, over the weekend to well over 100 units.
The move not only establishes more of the steering-wheel-less and pedal-less vehicles within the ride-sharing fleet Tesla has been operating for a year, but it also solidifies a more robust Robotaxi fleet as a whole.
Riders started receiving notifications from the Robotaxi app that stated: “Cybercab fleet has doubled: more rides available.”
I got this notification on the robotaxi app. They are saying the Cybercab fleet has doubled. Glad that they are advertising this pic.twitter.com/FFrnw4FRCF
— Abhimanyu Yadav (@WorldlyReviewer) September 26, 2026
Tesla first launched rides in the Cybercab in early September, although the Robotaxi fleet has been active for over a year, as rides began last Summer. Cybercab is truly Tesla’s most crucial vehicle release yet, as it is the first car any company has built that is geared toward full-fledged and end-to-end autonomy, never needing human intervention for anything.
Only available in Austin at the current time, Cybercab has two seats and has been spotted testing around various U.S. states and regions; Tesla plans to deploy the Cybercab in various U.S. cities in the coming months as a best-case scenario.
Tesla Cybercab gets initial tie-in to localized, in-house cathode plant
The availability of the Cybercab has doubled from just 58 units last Monday to 125 the following Friday. Marking a substantial increase in Cybercab availability, the additional ride-sharing units are more than welcome, as wait times for Cybercabs, especially, were quite high.
The dramatic increase is a sign that demand for Robotaxi is growing and Tesla is feeling more confident that its driverless ride-hailing suite, especially its Full Self-Driving software, is able to handle any traffic situation without explicit direction or supervision from a human being.
Tesla Roadster event gets delayed due to unfavorable weather
SpaceX turned a heralding moment for Starship into its greatest
