So far, the launch of the new 2025 Tesla Model Y Juniper has been a success story for the electric vehicle automaker in the US and abroad.
A ton of interesting new information has surfaced in the most recent episode of Jay Leno’s Garage which featured the new Model Y Juniper.
Tesla’s Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen and VP of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy came to Jay Leno’s famous car show to explain the design, engineering, and features of the newly-introduced Tesla Model Y codenamed Juniper.
In the first few minutes of the show, these Tesla executives discussed the new lighting system of the Model Y Juniper. The exciting news that Lars shared is that Tesla (TSLA) will be launching the new Matrix Headlights for Model Y in the US in the next couple of months.
“We’re gonna launch in a couple of months — right after we start delivering Automatic Adaptive Driving Beams,” Lars Moravy said.
Tesla first introduced the Matrix LED Adaptive Headlights in 2021 Model Y. Tesla engineers demonstrated the capabilities of these upgraded headlights by writing TESLA on the wall by programming each individual LED.
However, these new matrix lights remained static until last year when Tesla finally rolled out a couple of free over-the-air (OTA) software updates to enable some of the features. At first, Tesla only enabled Adaptive High Beams in May 2024. Later in July, another OTA update version 2024.20 unlocked the feature for curves as well (adaptive matrix for curves is currently only available in Europe).
In the United States, Tesla is working on to comply with the regulatory requirements by NHTS for adaptive headlights for curves and other features like customization, etc.
As we can see in the image above, Tesla has changed the location of the headlights in the new Model Y Juniper. The change of form factor and location of the new headlights might require Tesla to roll out a separate point-release update for Juniper Model Ys.
Jay Leno pointed out that the lower position of the Model Y Juniper headlights might hinder regulatory requirements. Lars explained that the height requirement for headlights does not change with the type of vehicle. Tesla raised the front fender (bumper) of the new Model Y to keep the unconventional headlights within the bounds of the regulatory requirements.
The legacy Model Y headlights are in a conventional location of the vehicle. Tesla might be able to release a single OTA software update in the future for both generations that enables new features and brings improvements to the Matrix headlights.
Benefits and Effectiveness of Matrix LED Headlights
Both Franz and Lars Moravy explained the benefits of having LED Matrix Headlights in your vehicle, especially a Tesla. Because a Tesla gets regular free OTA software updates, the features can be constantly updated and fine-tuned whenever needed.
“Cool thing about the headlights — you know they’re matrix-style headlights, so they have the ability to change their beam pattern,” Lars Moravy said.
Jay Leno raised his concern that LED headlights are so bright that they blind the oncoming traffic. But Tesla Matrix headlights with their dynamic beam patterns allow the oncoming drivers to maintain their vision. This creates a safer environment on public roads, especially at night.
“With this Matrix technology — now you know we’ll be able to not blind you but you’ll be able to see everything else on the road,” Franz von Holzhausen explained further.
Matrix Headlights in Other Tesla Models
In 2021, the Tesla Model S and Model X refresh also received the Matrix LED headlights. The new Model 3 Highland and the Cybertruck also have the Matrix LEDs.
However, due to NHTSA regulatory hurdles in the US, Tesla hasn’t been able to unlock the full potential of LED Matrix headlights in its country of origin.
The statements by Lars and Franz are encouraging and it seems that Tesla is close to getting the regulatory approval by the NHTSA and the entire Tesla lineup will get the Matrix LED headlight features in the coming months.
In a previous post, with the help of information and visuals I explained how to identify if your Tesla vehicle has Matrix Headlights or just plain old LEDs. If you have these new lights, the unlocking of new features is just a couple of months away.
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 executives give exciting news of Matrix LED Headlight features coming to the US in the next few months on Model Y Juniper and also explain its benefits on Jay Leno's Garage.){kind=link}
You know which EV is on the rise? BYD. Actually delivering on cost, quality, and innovation. Musk is driving Tesla into the ground like he did with Twitter. It’s over.