Tesla spotted with design and feature update for Model S and Model X

Tesla has been spotted working on what appears to be a mild design update for the Model S and Model X, two vehicle programs that have been in decline.

Model S and Model X have been Tesla’s flagship vehicles for years.

Not so long ago, Tesla aimed to sell 100,000 Model S/X per year. Now, Tesla is not even reporting Model S/X sales anymore, and they were estimated to be below 50,000 units globally in 2024.

In Q1 2025, Tesla reported 12,881 vehicle deliveries in its “other models” category, which includes Model S, Model X, Cybertruck, and Tesla Semi.

Advertisement – scroll for more content

In February, Tesla confirmed that it plans to release a refresh of Model S and Model X later this year.

A few months later, prototypes are starting to be spotted.

The Killowats, who often spot Tesla prototypes in the Bay Area, has shared pictures on X of a few new Model S and Model X prototypes:

The updates are relatively mild, to say the least. The biggest change is the addition of a camera in the front bumper.

Many industry watchers have been highlighting the need for a front bumper camera as a much-needed update to Tesla’s camera array. There are a few blind spots in Tesla’s current camera array, and some are particularly concerned about the ability to detect potholes and other smaller obstacles on the road.

A front bumper camera will help with that.

The blue tape in The Killowatts’ pictures also suggests that Tesla is adding light strips inside the Model S and Model X, similar to what it did with the Model 3 and Model Y over the past year.

There are also slight updates to the front-end and rear diffuser. A Model S Plaid prototype was also spotted on the Nurburgring race track last week with slight camouflage on the front and back bumpers, which would also point to slight updates to the front and rear ends.

Model S and Model X were last updated starting in 2021.

Electrek’s Take

Design-wise, this is as mild as an update gets. Tesla is adding RGB lighting strips to the interior of its vehicles and calling it an update.

The hope here is that there’s more to it under the hood.

Tesla may be working on a powertrain update for the Model S and Model X. I hope they are; otherwise, this is a non-event.

It would mean Tesla is basically giving up on these vehicle programs. They have gone down in sales and production quite a bit and instead of putting the effort of revitalizing the programs, Tesla might be making the decision not to significantly update them in order not to invest too much into what are now low volume programs.

What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below.