News
Tesla Model Y’s quiet cabin is a subtle, critical selling point for all EV buyers
When Tesla unveiled the Model 3 in the summer of 2017, the company had released its first affordable vehicle. The Model 3 had numerous selling points, though some first production vehicles were reported to exhibit a lot of road noise inside the cabin, especially at high speeds.
Model 3 owners looked for any number of ways to reduce the noise. These included aftermarket door seals, tire foam insulation, and other modifications. Later builds of the vehicle displayed an improved noise reduction system, as CEO Elon Musk had noted in October 2019 that cabin noise had been “significantly improved in current production” of the Model 3.
In a recent episode of Sandy Munro’s extensive Model Y teardown series, the automotive veteran took a look at the numerous improvements Tesla made to its electric crossover. While the Model Y is not a sedan like the Model 3, the two vehicles are effectively siblings as they share 75% of the same parts.
Tesla adopted several new strategies to keep the Model Y’s cabin quiet. According to Munro, the outer portion of the vehicle’s firewall was covered by a mat made of “lofted fiberglass.” Fiberglass is an excellent insulating material that is used within residential buildings and houses to maintain temperature. However, it is also useful for reducing sound due to its thick and dense nature.
The inside of the firewall, which faces inward toward the vehicle’s cabin is quite different. Tesla used polyurethane (PUR) and Thermoplastic Polyolefin (TPO). PUR is a material commonly used when soundproofing rooms and is usually shaped like an egg carton to deaden sound waves. TPO is traditionally utilized for roofing and uses a mixture of rubber, talc, glass, carbon fiber, and other materials to insulate heat and sound. It is also used to reduce cabin noise in cars, as its flexible nature allows it to be conformed to the twists and turns of a vehicle’s body.
Additionally, Tesla opted to use a series of pumpable and mastic sound deadener strips throughout the floorboard of the Model Y. These two materials can remove vibrations from the vehicle by stiffening the areas in the Model Y’s frame that are prone to excessive vibration. Both the pumpable and mastic sound deadeners were more frequently placed in the rear portion of the vehicle, where noise and vibrations are especially potent.
-
- Tesla Model Y Mastic Strip (Credit: MunroLive on YouTube)
-
- Tesla Model Y Pumpable Sound Deadener (Credit: MunroLive on YouTube)
Tesla’s installation of these elements provided a much quieter ride for passengers and drivers. Long drives on highways at speeds of 55 MPH or more can prove to be some of the noisiest driving conditions, regardless of whether one is driving an EV or a petrol-powered car. This is due to wind, tire friction with the road, and outdoor weather conditions. These noises are easier to notice in an electric car, since the lack of a working internal combustion engine pretty much amplifies other noises in the cabin.
Tesla seems to have set out to make the Model Y its quietest car yet, and it seems to have succeeded. This is reflected in the feedback of some Model 3 owners, such as YouTube host Brian Jenkins, who recently posted a video documenting his favorite features of the Model Y after 1,200 miles of driving. Jenkins notes the Model Y’s quiet ride is one of his favorite features. He added that he expected more cabin noise, but the Model Y’s cabin remained quiet. Prior to getting a Model Y, Jenkins drove a Model 3 that he fitted with noise reduction seals.
Interestingly enough, Tesla has released Joe Mode last year, a feature that reduces the audible alerts in the vehicle’s rear to prevent kids from waking up during nighttime trips. Coupled with the Model Y’s already-quiet cabin, features like Joe Mode will be extra effective. It can even be an additional selling point for the vehicle. Every parent out there who has attempted long road trips with kids would attest to the importance of a quiet cabin when the kids are asleep, after all.
Watch Sandy Munro’s breakdown of the Model Y’s cabin noise reduction below.
News
Tesla rolls out xAI’s Grok to vehicles across Europe
The initial rollout includes the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, France, Portugal, and Spain.
Tesla is rolling out Grok to vehicles in Europe. The feature will initially launch in nine European territories.
In a post on X, the official Tesla Europe, Middle East & Africa account confirmed that Grok is coming to Teslas in Europe. The initial rollout includes the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, France, Portugal, and Spain, and additional markets are expected to be added later.
Grok allows drivers to ask questions using real-time information and interact hands-free while driving. According to Tesla’s support documentation, Grok can also initiate navigation commands, enabling users to search for destinations, discover points of interest, and adjust routes without touching the touchscreen, as per the feature’s official webpage.
The system offers selectable personalities, ranging from “Storyteller” to “Unhinged,” and is activated either through the App Launcher or by pressing and holding the steering wheel’s microphone button.
Grok is currently available only on Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, and Cybertruck vehicles equipped with an AMD infotainment processor. Vehicles must be running software version 2025.26 or later, with navigation command support requiring version 2025.44.25 or newer.
Drivers must also have Premium Connectivity or a stable Wi-Fi connection to use the feature. Tesla notes that Grok does not currently replace standard voice commands for vehicle controls such as climate or media adjustments.
The company has stated that Grok interactions are processed securely by xAI and are not linked to individual drivers or vehicles. Users do not need a Grok account or subscription to enable the feature at this time as well.
News
Tesla ends Full Self-Driving purchase option in the U.S.
In January, Musk announced that Tesla would remove the ability to purchase the suite outright for $8,000. This would give the vehicle Full Self-Driving for its entire lifespan, but Tesla intended to move away from it, for several reasons, one being that a tranche in the CEO’s pay package requires 10 million active subscriptions of FSD.
Tesla has officially ended the option to purchase the Full Self-Driving suite outright, a move that was announced for the United States market in January by CEO Elon Musk.
The driver assistance suite is now exclusively available in the U.S. as a subscription, which is currently priced at $99 per month.
Tesla moved away from the outright purchase option in an effort to move more people to the subscription program, but there are concerns over its current price and the potential for it to rise.
In January, Musk announced that Tesla would remove the ability to purchase the suite outright for $8,000. This would give the vehicle Full Self-Driving for its entire lifespan, but Tesla intended to move away from it, for several reasons, one being that a tranche in the CEO’s pay package requires 10 million active subscriptions of FSD.
Although Tesla moved back the deadline in other countries, it has now taken effect in the U.S. on Sunday morning. Tesla updated its website to reflect this:
🚨 Tesla has officially moved the outright purchase option for FSD on its website pic.twitter.com/RZt1oIevB3
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) February 15, 2026
There are still some concerns regarding its price, as $99 per month is not where many consumers are hoping to see the subscription price stay.
Musk has said that as capabilities improve, the price will go up, but it seems unlikely that 10 million drivers will want to pay an extra $100 every month for the capability, even if it is extremely useful.
Instead, many owners and fans of the company are calling for Tesla to offer a different type of pricing platform. This includes a tiered-system that would let owners pick and choose the features they would want for varying prices, or even a daily, weekly, monthly, and annual pricing option, which would incentivize longer-term purchasing.
Although Musk and other Tesla are aware of FSD’s capabilities and state is is worth much more than its current price, there could be some merit in the idea of offering a price for Supervised FSD and another price for Unsupervised FSD when it becomes available.
Elon Musk
Musk bankers looking to trim xAI debt after SpaceX merger: report
xAI has built up $18 billion in debt over the past few years, with some of this being attributed to the purchase of social media platform Twitter (now X) and the creation of the AI development company. A new financing deal would help trim some of the financial burden that is currently present ahead of the plan to take SpaceX public sometime this year.
Elon Musk’s bankers are looking to trim the debt that xAI has taken on over the past few years, following the company’s merger with SpaceX, a new report from Bloomberg says.
xAI has built up $18 billion in debt over the past few years, with some of this being attributed to the purchase of social media platform Twitter (now X) and the creation of the AI development company. Bankers are trying to create some kind of financing plan that would trim “some of the heavy interest costs” that come with the debt.
The financing deal would help trim some of the financial burden that is currently present ahead of the plan to take SpaceX public sometime this year. Musk has essentially confirmed that SpaceX would be heading toward an IPO last month.
The report indicates that Morgan Stanley is expected to take the leading role in any financing plan, citing people familiar with the matter. Morgan Stanley, along with Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and JPMorgan Chase & Co., are all expected to be in the lineup of banks leading SpaceX’s potential IPO.
Since Musk acquired X, he has also had what Bloomberg says is a “mixed track record with debt markets.” Since purchasing X a few years ago with a $12.5 billion financing package, X pays “tens of millions in interest payments every month.”
That debt is held by Bank of America, Barclays, Mitsubishi, UFJ Financial, BNP Paribas SA, Mizuho, and Société Générale SA.
X merged with xAI last March, which brought the valuation to $45 billion, including the debt.
SpaceX announced the merger with xAI earlier this month, a major move in Musk’s plan to alleviate Earth of necessary data centers and replace them with orbital options that will be lower cost:
“In the long term, space-based AI is obviously the only way to scale. To harness even a millionth of our Sun’s energy would require over a million times more energy than our civilization currently uses! The only logical solution, therefore, is to transport these resource-intensive efforts to a location with vast power and space. I mean, space is called “space” for a reason.”
The merger has many advantages, but one of the most crucial is that it positions the now-merged companies to fund broader goals, fueled by revenue from the Starlink expansion, potential IPO, and AI-driven applications that could accelerate the development of lunar bases.
Tesla rolls out xAI’s Grok to vehicles across Europe
Tesla ends Full Self-Driving purchase option in the U.S.
