Tesla Model S
Tesla Model S Parking Sensors, Rear View Camera and Folding Mirrors
At 196″ long and 77.3″ wide, the Tesla Model S is larger than some 7-seater SUVs so it comes as no surprise that maneuvering it into a parking space may require a bit of finesse. Luckily the vehicle is equipped with some technological advancements that just may provide some relief to the parking challenged.
Parking Sensors
The latest version of the Model S is eligible for a $500 parking sensor upgrade during the time of configuring your car. However older versions of the Model S will require a $5000 – $6000 retrofit.
The parking sensor package includes front and rear proximity sensors that warn the driver of nearby objects via audible (mutable) and visual indicators. The sensors are intelligent enough to only trigger during low speeds.
The visual indicators appear on both the left side of the dash as well as on the 17″ touchscreen . It’s especially useful on the center touchscreen when combined with the rear view camera.
I’ve found the sensors to be incredibly accurate in terms of reporting distance from objects, although it was a bit slow to activate. Approach objects slowly and carefully to account for this activation delay.
For a mere $500, a small price to pay relative to the overall price of the car, upgrading the Model S with parking sensors is really a no-brainer. Rumors suggest that Tesla may leverage these sensors in the future, hopefully in conjunction with the adaptive cruise control, for an auto pilot feature, but who knows – maybe it’s just wishful thinking.
Rear View Camera
The Tesla Model S is equipped with a high definition backup camera that has a really wide viewing angle. This camera can be activated at any time (even while driving) and will occupy 1/2 of your 17″ display. The quality is amazing and, while there are some benefits to using it while driving or sitting in traffic (like watching the person behind you shave), the main purpose of the camera is for backing up.
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The rear view camera will automatically engage along with the parking sensors when the Model S is put into reverse. I can’t see any reason why an owner would accidentally damage the rear of the Model S while reversing with the combination of these two features.
The front is a different story all together. There’s no front view camera for parking. The parking sensors can take time to activate and sometimes don’t activate depending on curb height. The Tesla front is long and fairly low and it’s pretty easy to scrape the underside of the body on curb stops. This unfortunately happened to me on my very first day of driving the Model S.
That was enough to scare me into parking far away from obstacles now. The back of my Model S usually sticks out quite a bit when I park. So far that hasn’t been an issue but it is something I’ve been worried about. I’d love to see Tesla offer a front camera on the Model S, although I know there’s been ways to hack a Tesla Model S front camera together.
Folding Mirrors
The side mirrors have two features (bundled with the technology package) that aid in parking.
The first option auto-tilts the side mirrors when you the Model S is placed into reverse. Setting the mirror angles for reverse can be achieved by putting your foot on the brake, putting the car in reverse, and then setting your mirrors to the desired position. The Model S will then prompt you to save these mirror settings to your profile. The mirrors will automatically adjust to this position the next time you go into reverse.
The second option is to fold your mirrors in when squeezing into tight space. There’s a button in the middle of the mirror adjustment controls that will fold or unfold your mirrors whenever you want. If your garage is narrow or you’re off-center within your parking space, fold the mirrors down for more clearance.
You can also configure the mirrors to auto-fold when you walk away from the car. This isn’t a useful feature to me since the mirrors don’t stick out all that much and it’s really unlikely someone will smash your mirrors while not damaging the rest of the car. I had this feature enabled for the first week before deciding that I liked the look of the car parked with the mirrors in the normal position, better.
Summary
The Model S is a wide and long car but it has some great features that make parking easier. The parking sensors are a very useful and inexpensive option which I think is a must buy. That combined with the built-in rear view camera will help your Model S remain as dent and ding free as possible.
Cybertruck
Tesla Mobile App gets a new feature that wrap fans are going to love
Tesla’s Summer Update removes the USB drive step from customizing your car’s digital wrap design.
Tesla’s latest 2026 Summer Update quietly closes out one of the more tedious steps in personalizing a Tesla’s digital appearance. Uploading a custom wrap design used to require a USB drive. Now it doesn’t.
The feature is listed in Tesla’s release notes as “Send Custom Wraps from Mobile App.” The company described it plainly: “Skip the USB drive and upload a custom wrap of your car from the mobile app. Instructions for creating a custom wrap here: github.com/teslamotors/custom-wraps.”
The digital wrap tool has been around since Tesla’s 2024 Holiday Update, when it launched for Cybertruck owners first, as Teslarati reported at the time. Getting a design onto the car meant formatting a USB drive, creating a folder named exactly “Wraps,” dropping in PNG files sized between 512×512 and 1024×1024 pixels and under 1 MB each, then plugging the drive in and applying the wrap through Toybox. Tesla expanded the tool to other models and renamed it from “Colorizer” to “Paint Shop” with the 2025 Holiday Update, while also adding license plate and window tint customization alongside the wraps.
Custom wraps via mobile app https://t.co/5OydZ26g9p pic.twitter.com/uexU0ZePxu
— Tesla (@Tesla) July 22, 2026
The latest Summer Update removes the USB step from that process. Owners will be able to pull a design from wherever they saved it, whether that’s a download from social media or something built from Tesla’s own GitHub templates, and push it to the car directly through the app.
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It’s a small fix relative to the rest of this latest release, which also included expanded Grok voice commands, automatic navigation that learns regular routes, and self-driving stats inside the mobile app, all detailed in our rundown of the full Summer Update. The USB requirement was one of the more common complaints about Paint Shop since it launched. Tesla did not say when the wrap upload change would reach individual vehicles, only that the broader update is rolling out now in waves.
A Tesla owner who purchased a Model S Signature Edition, one of the final 250 units of the all-electric flagship vehicle that the company discontinued earlier this year, is attempting to sell the car despite a no-resale clause that prohibits reselling for the first year.
The car is being sold by J&S Autohaus in Ewing, New Jersey, and is priced at $260,490, well above the $159,420 that Tesla sold it for earlier this year.
🚨 The first Tesla Model S Signature Edition is up for sale for $260,490
Tesla placed a no-resale clause on the Model S and X Signature, so it will be interesting to see if the company takes any action. https://t.co/N9rKGHnbD6 pic.twitter.com/6FZhDL1KNR
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 14, 2026
To those who do not know, the Model S Signature was a highly exclusive, limited-run farewell variant of the Model S Plaid that was produced this year to mark the end of production of both the Model S and Model X, Tesla’s two flagship vehicles.
Limited to just 250 units with invite-only sales, it serves as a collector’s item celebrating the legacy of the Model S, which helped pioneer Tesla’s electric vehicle success since its 2012 launch.
It bundles top-tier performance with bespoke cosmetic and luxury upgrades, plus Tesla’s Luxe Package. Here’s what the Model S Signature has over the typical Model S Plaid:
- Exclusive Exterior – Unique Garnet Red Paint, matching door handles, gold Tesla “T” badges upfront, gold Plaid and Signature badging at the rear.
- Premium Interior – White Alcantara upholstery with gold piping/accents, gold Plaid seat badges, Signature-marked door sills, individually numbered dashboard plaque, gold puddle lights, special interior lighting sequence, and a custom Signature key fob.
- Performance Upgrades – Carbon-ceramic brakes with gold calipers
- Bundled Luxe Package – Full Self-Driving (Supervised), four years of Premium Connectivity, free lifetime Supercharging
- Performance Metrics – ~1,020 horsepower, sub-2-second 0-60 MPH, ~390-mile range
Tesla quickly introduced a No Resale Agreement for the Signature Editions of the Model S and Model X, which would penalize the seller for “the amount of $50,000 or the value received as consideration for the sale or transfer, whichever is greater.”
The company continues:
“If you sell or otherwise transfer the ownership of your Model S or Model X, the remainder of the Recommended Maintenance, Wheel and Tire Protection Plan, and Windshield Protection Plan will transfer automatically to the buyer. The Full Self-Driving (Supervised), Free Supercharging and Premium Connectivity will not transfer with the vehicle and will terminate once the ownership of the Model S or Model X is transferred.”
Tesla will likely come after the seller, especially as it has been about two months since Tesla launched deliveries.
Lifestyle
Tesla makes the cut on California’s newest EV Rebate program
California just signed a $270 million EV rebate into law and it starts this summer.
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 168 into law on Monday, July 13, 2026, creating a $270 million EV rebate program that delivers money directly at the dealership rather than as a tax credit applied months later. The program, called MyFirstEV, is funded equally by California’s state budget and participating automakers, with each contributing $135.5 million to make the math work.
The timing is directly tied to the loss of federal support when the $7,500 federal EV tax credit ended, removing the most significant consumer incentive that had driven EV adoption in the U.S. California, which accounts for roughly one-third of all EVs sold nationally, moved to fill that gap with a state-level replacement.
The rebate structure is straightforward. First-time EV buyers can receive $3,500 off any new battery-electric vehicle with an MSRP up to $50,000. Used EVs priced at $25,000 or below qualify for a $1,750 rebate. The credit is applied at the point of sale, which removes the friction of the old federal system where buyers had to wait for tax season to see the benefit. The program goes live later this summer, with the California Air Resources Board expected to release full participation details next month.
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For Tesla buyers, the implications are mixed. The Tesla Model 3 RWD at $42,490 and the Model 3 Long Range at $47,490 both fall under the $50,000 cap and would qualify for the full $3,500 rebate for first-time buyers. The Model Y, which starts at $44,990 after Tesla’s recent price adjustment, also qualifies. The Model X, Model S, and Cybertruck all exceed the cap and receive no benefit. As Teslarati has reported, the program also includes a carve-out exempting California-based automakers like Rivian and Lucid from the price cap entirely, a provision that puts Tesla at a disadvantage since it relocated its headquarters to Texas in 2021.
Other qualifying vehicles include the Chevrolet Equinox EV, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6, and Volkswagen ID.4.
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