Tesla is now adding upgraded hardware to the Model Y vehicles it produces in China which it calls “hardware 4.0”. The new hardware consists of newer cameras in vehicles to allow the vehicle to see more for future self-driving capabilities.
Along with that, in a rare move, the Model Y is also set to receive a new colour in the locally manufactured EV, it’s the Quicksilver paint.
In a post on Tesla’s official Weibo page, the translated post covering the company’s announcement said: “The best-selling car on the planet, Model Y has been upgraded with:
- exclusive paint “Quick Silver”, your own “superhero”.
- The new generation of autonomous driving hardware HW4.0 can see farther, see clearer, and calculate faster. … Come and get in the car in the era of autonomous driving hardware 4.0”
The upgraded hardware was previously limited to the recently refreshed Model 3 that went on sale in Australia at the beginning of September 2023. In 2023, it had also been seen on Model S and Model X vehicles in the US.
The improvements for the car’s cameras will now include higher resolution video capture and recording along with allowing the car to see further which could improve the Autopilot and future self-driving functionality of the vehicle.
On top of that, the analysis of the camera video footage by the Model Y’s upgraded computer will be faster, helping improve vehicle and road-user safety on the road.
Pricing of the new paint is set at $A2,500 which is the same as the other multicoat Stealth Gray and Ultra Red paint options.
The Quicksilver paint was first introduced in 2022 as a multicoat paint for vehicles built in Tesla’s European GigaBerlin manufacturing facility.
Despite the availability of the new paint in Europe, Tesla has kept the midnight silver as the primary silver/grey option on the Model Ys it builds in China for local and international markets, including ours in Australia.
In 2023, Tesla sold 28,769 Model Y vehicles in Australia, making it by far the best-selling EV in the market. This trend is expected to continue in 2024 as this SUV is expected to hold onto the top spot this year as well.
Given the change to the upgraded hardware and new paint option that has started to roll out in China for Shanghai-built vehicles, it’s likely to carry over in the Australian-delivered cars in the coming months.
