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Tesla Model S Plaid photos shows clearest look at new interior to date
Recent photos of a Model S Plaid spotted parked in San Francisco streets reveal Tesla’s progress with its new flagship sedan.
Tesla owner @BlakeM in San Francisco shared a few Model S Plaid photos with Teslarati. The pictures give a clear image of the now-infamous Yoke steering wheel and the rear display at the back. He believes the Plaid Model S is a test mule because of the interior’s condition.
Some parts of the Model S were missing, supporting the idea that it was a test mule. There was a missing trim on the passenger side of the center console and a missing trim at the base of the “T” in the yoke steering wheel.
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- Credit: Teslarati via @BlakeM in San Francisco
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- Credit: Teslarati via @BlakeM in San Francisco
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- Credit: Teslarati via @BlakeM in San Francisco
He noticed that a few diagnostic cables were hanging out of the center console of the Model S, where the phone would usually sit. The Tesla owner also observed that the pillar panel on the passenger’s side was partially removed, exposing cables. He believes the pillar panel was removed to gain access to the cables, or simply because the car might be a test mule.
BlakeM noted that the Model S had a “May” sticker next to the VIN at the back of the car, which might signify how recent the car was updated. According to the Model 3 Performance owner, a Model S Plaid has been spotted around his neighborhood for the past two months, so it might have been produced earlier this year. He observed no physical changes to the car over the past few months and believes any significant updates Tesla has made were with the car’s hardware or software.
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- Credit: Teslarati via @BlakeM in San Francisco
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- Credit: Teslarati via @BlakeM in San Francisco
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- Credit: Teslarati via @BlakeM in San Francisco
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- Credit: Teslarati via @BlakeM in San Francisco
The side cameras of the vehicle were covered with black gaffers tape, but the Tesla owner wasn’t certain if it was to cover the cameras or just camo. A tow hook can be seen at the front of the Model S Plaid as well.
Despite the missing trim pieces on the interior, the photos still provide a pretty good idea of what the new Model S’ interior would look like. The rear seats seem spacious enough, and the 8″ rear screen looks large enough to display media content adequately. The trim around the rear display may also help keep the screen from the occasional kick from kids sitting at the back.
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- Credit: Teslarati via @BlakeM in San Francisco
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- Credit: Teslarati via @BlakeM in San Francisco
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- Credit: Teslarati via @BlakeM in San Francisco
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- Credit: Teslarati via @BlakeM in San Francisco
A look at the front seats also hints at the ventilated seats of the new Model S. Coupled with Tesla’s already well-received seat design, the ventilated seats of the Model S Plaid would likely prove to be among the best seats in the market yet.
During the TSLA Q1 2021 earnings call, Elon Musk talked about the challenges Tesla faced when developing the new versions of the Model S and Model X. Tesla hopes to start Model S Plaid and Refresh deliveries soon. Musk clarified that deliveries depended on Tesla’s ability to ramp supply chain and internal production processes.
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Tesla Robotaxi Safety Monitor seems to doze off during Bay Area ride
We won’t try to blame the camera person for the incident, because it clearly is not their fault. But it seems somewhat interesting that they did not try to wake the driver up and potentially contact Tesla immediately to alert them of the situation.
A Tesla Robotaxi Safety Monitor appeared to doze off during a ride in the California Bay Area, almost ironically proving the need for autonomous vehicles.
The instance was captured on camera and posted to Reddit in the r/sanfrancisco subreddit by u/ohmichael. They wrote that they have used Tesla’s ride-hailing service in the Bay Area in the past and had pleasant experiences.
However, this one was slightly different. They wrote:
“I took a Tesla Robotaxi in SF just over a week ago. I have used the service a few times before and it has always been great. I actually felt safer than in a regular rideshare.
This time was different. The safety driver literally fell asleep at least three times during the ride. Each time the car’s pay attention safety alert went off and the beeping is what woke him back up.
I reported it through the app to the Robotaxi support team and told them I had videos, but I never got a response.
I held off on posting anything because I wanted to give Tesla a chance to respond privately. It has been more than a week now and this feels like a serious issue for other riders too.
Has anyone else seen this happen?”
My Tesla Robotaxi “safety” driver fell asleep
byu/ohmichael insanfrancisco
The driver eventually woke up after prompts from the vehicle, but it is pretty alarming to see someone like this while they’re ultimately responsible for what happens with the ride.
We won’t try to blame the camera person for the incident, because it clearly is not their fault. But it seems somewhat interesting that they did not try to wake the driver up and potentially contact Tesla immediately to alert them of the situation.
They should have probably left the vehicle immediately.
Tesla’s ride-hailing service in the Bay Area differs from the one that is currently active in Austin, Texas, due to local regulations. In Austin, there is no Safety Monitor in the driver’s seat unless the route requires the highway.
Tesla plans to remove the Safety Monitors in Austin by the end of the year.
Tesla has officially opened Robotaxi access to everyone and everyone, but there is one catch: you have to have an iPhone.
Tesla’s Robotaxi service in Austin and its ride-hailing service in the Bay Area were both officially launched to the public today, giving anyone using the iOS platform the ability to simply download the app and utilize it for a ride in either of those locations.
It has been in operation for several months: it launched in Austin in late June and in the Bay Area about a month later. In Austin, there is nobody in the driver’s seat unless the route takes you on the freeway.
In the Bay Area, there is someone in the driver’s seat at all times.
The platform was initially launched to those who were specifically invited to Austin to try it out.
Tesla confirms Robotaxi is heading to five new cities in the U.S.
Slowly, Tesla launched the platform to more people, hoping to expand the number of rides and get more valuable data on its performance in both regions to help local regulatory agencies relax some of the constraints that were placed on it.
Additionally, Tesla had its own in-house restrictions, like the presence of Safety Monitors in the vehicles. However, CEO Elon Musk has maintained that these monitors were present for safety reasons specifically, but revealed the plan was to remove them by the end of the year.
Now, Tesla is opening up Robotaxi to anyone who wants to try it, as many people reported today that they were able to access the app and immediately fetch a ride if they were in the area.
We also confirmed it ourselves, as it was shown that we could grab a ride in the Bay Area if we wanted to:
🚨 Tesla Robotaxi ride-hailing Service in Austin and the Bay Area has opened up for anyone on iOS
Go download the app and, if you’re in the area, hail a ride from Robotaxi pic.twitter.com/1CgzG0xk1J
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 18, 2025
The launch of a more public Robotaxi network that allows anyone to access it seems to be a serious move of confidence by Tesla, as it is no longer confining the service to influencers who are handpicked by the company.
In the coming weeks, we expect Tesla to then rid these vehicles of the Safety Monitors as Musk predicted. If it can come through on that by the end of the year, the six-month period where Tesla went from launching Robotaxi to enabling driverless rides is incredibly impressive.
News
Tesla analyst sees Full Self-Driving adoption rates skyrocketing: here’s why
“You’ll see increased adoption as people are exposed to it. I’ve been behind the wheel of several of these and the different iterations of FSD, and it is getting better and better. It’s something when people experience it, they will be much more comfortable utilizing FSD and paying for it.”
Tesla analyst Stephen Gengaro of Stifel sees Full Self-Driving adoption rates skyrocketing, and he believes more and more people will commit to paying for the full suite or the subscription service after they try it.
Full Self-Driving is Tesla’s Level 2 advanced driver assistance suite (ADAS), and is one of the most robust on the market. Over time, the suite gets better as the company accumulates data from every mile driven by its fleet of vehicles, which has swelled to over five million cars sold.
The suite features a variety of advanced driving techniques that many others cannot do. It is not your typical Traffic-Aware Cruise Control (TACC) and Lane Keeping ADAS system. Instead, it can handle nearly every possible driving scenario out there.
It still requires the driver to pay attention and ultimately assume responsibility for the vehicle, but their hands are not required to be on the steering wheel.
It is overwhelmingly impressive, and as a personal user of the FSD suite on a daily basis, I have my complaints, but overall, there are very few things it does incorrectly.
Tesla Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14.1.7 real-world drive and review
Gengaro, who increased his Tesla price target to $508 yesterday, said in an interview with CNBC that adoption rates of FSD will increase over the coming years as more people try it for themselves.
At first, it is tough to feel comfortable with your car literally driving you around. Then, it becomes second nature.
Gengaro said:
“You’ll see increased adoption as people are exposed to it. I’ve been behind the wheel of several of these and the different iterations of FSD, and it is getting better and better. It’s something when people experience it, they will be much more comfortable utilizing FSD and paying for it.”
Tesla Full Self-Driving take rates also have to increase as part of CEO Elon Musk’s recently approved compensation package, as one tranche requires ten million active subscriptions in order to win that portion of the package.
The company also said in the Q3 2025 Earnings Call in October that only 12 percent of the current ownership fleet are paid customers of Full Self-Driving, something the company wants to increase considerably moving forward.
Tesla Robotaxi Safety Monitor seems to doze off during Bay Area ride
Tesla opens Robotaxi access to everyone — but there’s one catch
