Recommended Tesla Y accessories

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There are a million Reddit posts, YouTube videos and other articles on “recommended” Tesla Y accessories. The problem is that a lot of them are filled with affiliate links, sponsored products etc. In this article, I’m only going to talk about things that I have purchased and installed on my Tesla Mode Y. I paid for everything and there are no affiliate links.

Recommended accessories

USB SSD hard drive

All 2021 Tesla Model Y’s come with a 128 GB. This is used for sentry mode and dash cam videos. The problem with USB drives is that they are not really intended to be rewritten a lot (which is what sentry mode will do as it fills the drive) and that will cause it to fail. SSD hard drives, on the other hand, can take a lot of rewriting. I purchased a 500 GB Samsung T7 portable SSD from Amazon. Any quality SSD drive will work. The only real requirement is that it have a USB A plug, as that’s what’s in the glove compartment, where you’ll have to plug it in.

Mud Flaps

I highly recommend mud flaps as they help to reduce pain chips from rocks and other debris kicked up by the wheels. I also live in a climate where it snows (quite a bit) so they will definitely help in winter. Depending on where you live and the kinds of roads that you drive on, it may not be required in your area.

Personally, I have the ones from RPMTesla.com. I ordered from RPMTesla because they include 2-day shipping and I needed them quickly. You can find similar (or possibly the exact same ones) on Amazon.com and Aliexpress.com. Aliexpress.com will normally be the cheapest, but most are shipped directly from China, so they take a while and don’t expect any support. There are very helpful installation videos on the RPMTesla.com website.

Screen protector

I have the Spigen Matte and I purchased it from Amazon.com. The installation was brain-dead simple, and it’s perfectly aligned. I can’t tell you if this actually “protects” the screen, but it does cut down on glare and makes cleaning much easier. I installed mine as soon as I got home, and I’ve been very happy with it.

HomeLink garage opener

Assuming you have a HomeLink compatible garage door opener, you’ll want this one. The only ordering choice for HomeLink is directly from Tesla. When I ordered a few months back, it was $300, but the price has since been raised to $325. Tesla will ship you a box, and then you need to schedule a mobile service appointment to get it installed.

Nice to have accessories

Mobile Connector Adapters

I debated a lot if this was a recommended or nice to have. It’s really going to depend on your situation and how much you drive in a day. I have a short commute and most days normal 110 charging (your standard US outlet) will work fine for me. On the weekends, however, I tend to drive more and then it’s not so great. I have the NEMA 14-50 adapter on order. There is really not a lot to “recommend” on this one. Just pick the adapter that fits your needs. The NEMA 14-50 is the most common to have installed as it gives you the fastest charging rate.

Floor mats

As I said early, I live in a part of the US where we have snow for most of the winter, so the “factory” carpeted floor mats just don’t cut it. I have the TeslaShields mats on order, but they have not arrived, so I can’t make any brand recommendations. My only word of caution is to make sure that you get the appropriate ones for the “year” of your vehicle. On the 2021 Model Y’s Tesla changed the design of the seat riser. If you order mats designed for the 2020 models, you’ll more than likely have a gap between the mat and the front seats.

Update: After 4 months of waiting, I have cancelled my order with TeslaShields. I’ll update this article or write a new one when I finally get some floor mats.

License plate holder

This one is going to be completely optional for some people and required for others. I live in a state where front plates are required, so I got the Quick Bandit from 1975 Creations. It’s expensive ($139) for a license plate holder, but it has a number of things in its favor:

• It does not interfere with autopilot or the adaptive cruise control
• It keeps the license plate away from the front bumper, so there is little chance of scratching
• It’s very easy to put on / take off (if you do want to take it off)

Console tray organizer

There are two consoles on the Tesla Model Y. There is one in front of the cup holders and another under the arm rest. They are just big open areas with no organization at all. I got the Carwiner tray from Amazon for the console in front of the cup holders. The features I like best:

• It only has a couple of compartments, which is all I need. A place for a pen, the change I keep in the car etc.
• It’s “flocked” (has a felt like coating on the plastic) so the things in it don’t rattle while I’m driving.
• It slides forward so I can get to the rest of the console under it.

You can get organizes like this on Amazon, most of the Tesla 3rd party accessory sites as well as AliExpress. Again, AliExpress will be the cheapest if you don’t mind waiting a bit.

Cup holder insert

The Tesla Mode Y cup holders don’t have any kind of liner and are just hard plastic. I’ve found that soda cans and my water bottle were a bit loose and that made the move a bit and make a lot of noise. All the 3rd party Tesla accessory sites as well as Amazon have various cup holder inserts, but they were all in the $18 or more range and that was just more than I wanted to spend on this. I ordered this one from AliExpress. It was about $9.00 and arrived in about 2 weeks.

Washing accessories

I’m giving washing accessories it’s own section because some people will want to hand wash and others just want to take it to the car wash. How you do it is up to you, but here is what I use for my (beginner) washing.

Buckets and grit guards

I just use a couple of 5 gallon buckets from Lowes. They are inexpensive and you can get them at just about any store. Just make sure they have good handles so they last you more than one season. I have generic grit guards. These are just plastic grids that go in the bottom of the 5 gallon bucket. They keep the dirt at the bottom and away from the wash/rise water. I have two different colors so I can keep my wash bucket separate from my rise bucket.

Wash mitts

I have two different wash mitts. I have a pair of Chemical Guys chenille microfiber that I use for the wheels and plastic parts on the car. I use a Cyclone wash mitt from The Rag Company that I use on all the painted surfaces. It’s softer and less likely to scratch the pain vs the chenille mitts.

Microfiber towels

I have a bunch of these that I use for various things on the car. They are all from The Rag Company. I use the Spectrum 420 towels for various touch ups after washing (getting the inside of the door, door jams etc. as well as the interior. I have different colors so I always use the same color for the same purpose. I also have a couple of the premium glass and window towels. There is a lot of glass on the Tesla Model Y and these work great and don’t leave streaks.

Drying towel

I use The Gauntlet from The Rag Company. It’s expensive (paid about $18), but it’s all I need to dry the whole car.

Chemicals

I use P&S brake buster on the wheels, tires and wheel covers. It works very well at getting off all the dirt, grease and brake dust. As far as soap goes, any PH neutral soap will work fine. I’ve been using Chemical Guys Mr. Pink, and it works fine. I’m probably going to try Meguiars next. For glass, I’ve been using Stoner invisible glass. Stoner’s works very well and does not leave any streaks. I’m using Turtle Wax Ice Seal N Shine for an external wax/sealant. I’ve only had it on for a few weeks, but so far it’s working fine and makes the care very hydrophobic. Finally, I use Rags to Riches Microfiber detergent to clean my microfiber rags. I have a small investment in the microfibers, and I’d like them to last for a long time.

Just for fun accessories

Logo decal wrap

You absolutely don’t need these wraps, but they are fun (and pretty cheap). I got the 11-piece set from Custom Cut Graphics on Amazon in “Gloss Flip Psychedelic”. These wraps “shift” from a dark silver to various colors of the rainbow depending on the light. A lot of the time they just look dark gray (which looks fine on my MSM Tesla Model Y) but when the sun hits them, and they shift it just makes me smile.

The kit comes with decals for the Gemini wheels, the trunk, the frunk and the steering wheel. They also include an extra for each, so you get 5 for the wheels, and 2 for the trunk, frunk and steering wheel.

Their support is also great. I emailed them and got a reply back within a couple of hours. They are located in Minnesota and I like supporting US based businesses.

Conclusion

And there you have it! Those are all the accessories and supplies that I have purchased for my Tesla Model Y. While this is not at all an exhaustive list, it’s why I’ve purchased and used. I hope this helps you in the rabbit hole of Tesla accessories.