Lights

Controlling Lights

Touch Controls > Lights to control the lights.
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Note
You can also access an abbreviated lights menu while driving by touching the High Beam button on the steering wheel. A lights menu displays on the touchscreen, providing quick access to headlight controls.

In addition to the lights that you can control from the touchscreen, Model 3 has convenience lights that turn on and off automatically based on what you are doing. For example, interior lights, marker lights, tail lights, and puddle lights turn on when you unlock Model 3, when you open a door, and when you shift into Park. They turn off automatically after a minute or two or when you shift or lock Model 3.

Exterior Lights

Exterior lights (headlights, tail lights, side marker lights, parking lights, and license plate lights) are set to Auto each time you start Model 3. If you change to a different setting, lights always revert to Auto on your next drive.

Touch one of these options to change and retain the exterior light setting until adjusted again or the next time you drive:

OFF
Exterior lights turn off. When driving, daytime running lights may remain on based on regulations in various market regions.
Two light icons
Parking lights, side marker lights, tail lights and license plate lights turn on.
A black headlight icon with beams of light angling down
Low beam headlights, side marker lights, parking lights, tail lights, and license plate lights turn on.

If equipped, the headlights automatically adjust to improve your view based on your driving speed and steering angle. When driving at lower speeds with low beam headlights on, the headlights increase lateral illumination to make pedestrians and curbs more visible and to improve visibility when turning at a dark intersection, into a driveway, or when making a u-turn.

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CAUTION
Ensure the headlights and rear lights are on during low visibility conditions (for example, when it is dark, foggy, snowy, or the road is wet, etc.). The rear tail lights are off while daytime running lights are on. Failure to do so can cause damage or serious injury.

Dome Lights

Turn the interior dome (map) lights on or off. If set to Auto, all interior dome lights turn on when you unlock Model 3, open a door upon exiting, or shift into Park.

You can also manually turn an individual dome light on or off by touching its lens. If you turn a dome light on, it turns off when Model 3 powers off. If Model 3 was already powered off when you manually turned the light on, it turns off after 60 minutes.

Accent Lights

Enable or disable the accent lights that line the cabin of your vehicle and customize the accent light color to your preferences. When enabled and Model 3 shifts out of Park, the accent lights dim depending on the setting selected (for example, during the day Auto dims the accents lights all the way down while On dims according to the display setting). You can also turn the footwell lights on or off.

Headlights after Exit

When you stop driving and park Model 3 in low lighting conditions, exterior lights temporarily remain illuminated. They automatically turn off after one minute or when you lock Model 3 whichever comes first.

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Note
If you lock Model 3 using the Tesla mobile app, the headlights immediately turn off. However, if the vehicle locks because Walk-Away Door Lock is enabled (see Walk-Away Door Lock), the headlights automatically turn off after one minute.

To turn this feature on and off, touch Controls > Lights > Headlights After Exit. When Headlights After Exit is off, the headlights turn off immediately when you engage Park and open a door.

High Beam Headlights

Use the high beam headlight button on the left side of the steering wheel to control the headlights:

  • Press and quickly release to flash high beam headlights.
  • Press and hold to turn on high beam headlights - touchscreen displays a brief timer and you must hold for the duration of the timer to latch the high beam headlights to the on position. When headlights are on, press the button a second time to turn them off.
Closeup of high beam button on steering yoke.

The following indicator lights are visible on the touchscreen to show the status of the headlights:

A green circular shape with five horizontal, slanted lines coming out of it
Low beam headlights are on.
A blue circular shape with five horizontal lines coming out of it
Illuminates when high beams are on but the Adaptive Headlights setting is turned off or if the Adaptive Headlights setting is turned on but is temporarily unavailable.
A blue circular shape with an A in the middle and five horizontal lines coming out of it
High beams are currently turned on, and Adaptive Headlights is ready to turn off the high beams if light is detected in front of Model 3.
A gray circular shape with an A in the middle and five horizontal lines coming out of it
High beams are temporarily turned off because Adaptive Headlights are enabled, but ambient light or other road conditions needed to activate the high beams are not met.

Adaptive Headlights

When Adaptive Headlights is enabled, the beam of the headlights adjusts automatically to improve your driving view. For example, when traffic is approaching Model 3 and the high beam headlights are on, individual pixels of the high beam headlights dim to reduce glare.

Likewise, when the low beam headlights are on and you are driving on a highway, the headlights adjust to illuminate more of the road.

The headlights also adjust to curves on the road ahead to provide greater visibility at night.

To control this feature, touch Controls > Lights > Adaptive Headlights, or by using the lights popup that displays on the touchscreen when you press the high beam headlight button on the left side of the steering wheel.

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Note
Adaptive Headlights is automatically enabled when Autosteer is engaged. To switch to low beam headlights, press the high beam headlight button on the steering wheel. Adaptive Headlights is re-enabled every time Autosteer is activated.
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Warning
Adaptive Headlights is a convenience feature only and is subject to limitations. It is the driver's responsibility to make sure that headlights are always appropriately adjusted for weather conditions and driving circumstances.

Headlight Adjustments

To adjust the angle of the headlights, touch Controls > Service > Adjust Headlights, then follow the onscreen instructions. You can choose which headlight you would like to adjust by selecting it on the touchscreen.

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Note
Headlights do not require adjustments when temporarily driving into a region where the traffic direction is different (for example, driving in right-hand traffic region, and then driving into a region with left-hand traffic).
Warning IconA warning icon, calling your attention to a possibly risky situation
Warning
Proceed with caution when adjusting headlights. Tesla has carefully calibrated the position of the headlights to be in an optimum position for most driving scenarios. Tesla recommends that you do not adjust headlights unless you are familiar with how headlights should be adjusted. Once adjusted, you will be unable to automatically restore them to their originally calibrated position. Contact Tesla for assistance when adjusting headlights.

Turn Signals

To engage a turn signal, press the corresponding arrow button on the left side of the steering wheel. A turn signal cancels based on the angle of the steering wheel (for example, you finish making a turn). You can also cancel a turn signal by pressing the turn signal button a second time.

If Controls > Lights > Automatic Turn Signals is set to Auto Cancel, turn signals cancel automatically when Model 3 detects completion of a maneuver such as a merge, lane change, or a fork in the roadway. You can override automatic cancellation at any time (for example, you want the turn signal to remain on because you are making more than one lane change). To override, engage the turn signal by pressing and momentarily holding the turn signal button (instead of just pressing). Then, when the first maneuver is complete, the turn signal remains on. If Automatic Turn Signals is set to Off, you must cancel the turn signal manually by pressing the turn signal button after maneuvers such as a merge, lane change, or fork in the roadway.

Closeup of left and right turn signals on steering yoke.
Green arrow pointing left
When a turn signal is operating, the corresponding indicator lights up on the touchscreen and you can hear a clicking sound.

Hazard Warning Flashers

To turn on the hazard warning flashers, press the button on the drive mode selector located on the overhead center. All turn signals flash. Press again to turn off.

Overhead console drive mode selector with arrow pointing to hazard warning light button in the middle.
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Note
Hazard warning flashers operate even without a key nearby.

Condensation in Head or Tail Lights

Due to weather changes, humidity levels, or recent exposure to water (such as a car wash), condensation may occasionally accumulate in your vehicle’s head or tail lights. This is normal— as the weather gets warmer and humidity decreases, condensation often disappears on its own. If you notice water buildup within the exterior lenses, or if the condensation affects the visibility of the exterior lights, contact Tesla Service.