An update to the China-made Model Y’s manual suggests that Tesla’s Bioweapon Defense Mode may be coming to the increasingly popular electric crossover. Tesla owner @greentheonly found clues in the Model Y’s local manual in China that may confirm the installation of HEPA filters in locally sold Model Y vehicles.
The Tesla hacker revealed that references to the Model Y’s HEPA filter and Bioweapon Defense Mode were retrieved from a number of HTML pages. The updated page in the owner’s manual also included references to the Model 3, through Green noted that the block he observed has a wrapper to only display the Model Y.
“Big manual update that I am still sifting through. What immediately jumped at me is the confirmation of HEPA filter/biohazard mode for model Y and 3. For whatever strange reason, this is only outlined in the Chinese locale manual, others and old cars have the old page,” he wrote in a Twitter post.
This is not the first time that references to the Model Y’s HEPA filter and Bioweapon Defense Mode were spotted by the noted Tesla owner-hacker. Back in October, clues about the features were spotted in the electric car maker’s software. During the time, it was also mentioned that the HEPA filter and Bioweapon Defense Mode were only referenced for the Model Y, not the Model 3.
Elon Musk has noted in the past that a hospital-grade HEPA filter like those found in the Model S and Model X would not fit in the Model 3. Musk did state on Twitter last year that the Model Y has similar issues as its sedan sibling. However, references to the feature, at least for the Model Y, have appeared more than once in Tesla’s software.
Considering Tesla’s improvements and optimizations over the past year, as well as the Model Y’s rather hefty size, perhaps a HEPA filter and Bioweapon Defense Mode could be feasible for the vehicle. Although, neither Tesla nor Elon Musk have officially announced, commented, or confirmed a HEPA filter or Bioweapon Defense Mode for the Model Y.
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