An owner of the new Tesla Model Y Juniper shared his recent experience where a police officer in Indiana pulled him over for doubts over the vehicle’s taillights.
According to the owner, the cop pulled him over because he thought the taillights of the Model Y were not turned on. By looking at the picture shared by Steven in a Facebook Tesla group that I am part of, this happened during a dark evening hour. The glowing rear light bar of the Model Y Juniper is pretty much visible.
However, the taillight’s extended light bar of this vehicle is different from the traditional design that we’re generally used to. Of course, Tesla (TSLA) fulfilled all the regulatory requirements before putting the new Model Y into production.
Steven posted the following details of the incident on Facebook:
Just got pulled over for my tail lights not being “on” i told the officer it’s brand new. It has a 1100 miles. I told him the red light bar is the tail light. The brake lights, both turn signals and red bar was on/worked. He told me the where the brake lights are it should be illuminated there also. He gave me a warning and told me to get it fixed. Had anyone else had this kind of issue?
The new Model Y Juniper’s taillight does not directly illuminate outward, but it reflects downward. Still, the light bar is visible to drivers following this vehicle.
The cop must have mistaken this light bar for a modification. Although the new Model Y vehicles have been sold in large quantities in the United States in 2025, in some states, this specific model isn’t frequently roaming the streets yet.
Most probably, the police officer had good intentions to remind a person having non-compliant lights on their vehicle. However, he was in doubt after talking to the Tesla Model Y driver and still issued a warning, but did not give him a ticket.
This is not the first time this has happened. An AI search reveals that similar incidents have been posted before on Tesla community forums across the web.
Generally, the rear red LED light strips span between the two main lights on each side. This illuminates the entire width of the vehicle. In the case of the Model Y Juniper, the taillight strip dissolves into brake lights, not spanning the entire width of the vehicle.
But as we can see in the image above, there is a small vertical illuminated strip on the sides of the taillights. This provides visibility and an idea of the width of the Tesla Model Y to other road users.
This Tesla owner had to explain to the cop that the vehicle does have separate brake lights and turn indicators located at each corner of the trunk.
Related: Tesla re-engineers the brake system in the new Model Y Juniper for Autopilot and human drivers
Model Y Juniper Taillight Design and Regulatory Compliance
In an episode of Jay Leno’s Garage last year, Tesla’s Chief Designer, Franz von Holzhausen and Lead Engineer, Lars Moravy, talked in detail about the design, engineering, and regulatory compliance of the Model Y Juniper’s rear lights.
Franz refers to the rear light strip of the Model Y Juniper as the indirect running light (IRL). This is suitable nomenclature for this newly-innovated taillight system, as it doesn’t directly reflect red light towards the rear, like the usual LED light strips we generally see in other vehicles.
“It really creates a unique, fresh look,” Franz said in the video. Jay Leno then asked about government regulations that might restrict the taillights from reflecting downwards. Lars Moravy responded by saying:
The regulation is how much lumens come off the surface, but it never defines what kind of surface that has to be.
The amount of light you see, actually meets the requirement.
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) Part 108 governs the regulations of vehicle lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment. According to Lars, they’ve remained in the regulatory framework when designing the new downward-glowing Tesla Model Y Juniper taillight.
Stay tuned for constant Tesla updates, follow us on:
Google News | Flipboard | X (Twitter) | WhatsApp Channel | RSS (Feedly).
Related Tesla News
- Cop pulls over a Tesla Model Y Juniper because of its taillight design
- Tesla Model Y falls off a cliff in China, occupants walk away safely
- Model Y Performance starts appearing in Tesla showrooms in the US
- Tesla Robotaxi spotted validation testing in Pennsylvania ahead of service expansion
- Tesla update 2025.38.9 goes wide release on HW3 cars and the Cybertruck (skipping FSD v14)
- Here’s how to get your free Tesla Ride (FSD Experience) in the United States
I’m sure that the engineers had the proper lights in the rear. I see aftermarket brighter optional lighting you can buy. Although I wouldn’t buy a Tesla I’ve seen the same thing on ICE cars. Seen worst. People putting blue or green lights up front without checking the law 1st.
This cop was not wise. Plain and simple.