Elon Musk: Tesla is not going to ‘refresh’ Model S and Model X, only ‘minor changes’ coming

Tesla CEO Elon Musk claims that the automaker is not going to ‘refresh’ the Model S and Model X and only ‘minor ongoing changes’ are coming.

What does he mean by that?

Earlier this year, Tesla upgraded its Model S and Model X lineup with a new motor and suspension, but a bigger upgrade, sometimes referred to as a “refresh”, has been anticipated by the end of the year.

Now Musk, who has often claimed that Tesla doesn’t do “refreshes”, stated that “no ‘refreshed’ Model X or Model S” is coming.

However, he confirmed that a series of “minor ongoing changes” are in the work.

Here’s what the CEO tweeted after being asked about an upcoming Model S or Model X refresh:

There is no “refreshed” Model X or Model S coming, only a series of minor ongoing changes. Most significant change in past few years was to use high efficiency Model 3 rear drive unit as S/X front drive unit. That went into production 3 months ago.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 9, 2019

When asked about an upcoming “revamped interior” for Tesla’s flagship sedan and SUV, Musk again answered in the negative.

Electrek’s Take

I think it’s important to take this comment within the context that Elon insists Tesla “doesn’t do refreshes” – something I don’t exactly agree with even though I certainly agree Tesla doesn’t do model refreshes like any other automaker.

Elon wouldn’t even call Tesla’s 2016 Model S exterior design changes and new front-end a “refresh”.

Within that context, I wouldn’t lose hope of some significant changes to the Model S and Model X lineup by the end of the year.

In July of last year, we reported that Tesla is planning a significant interior refresh for Model S and Model X and we even posted some of the first design drawings:

This was coming from a consistently reliable source within Tesla. However, it was a year ahead of the planned release and plans may have changed.

I still think that Tesla plans to incorporate this interior design into the Model S and Model X, but it may be gradual, which would match Elon’s comments about not making “design refreshes”.

Furthermore, we also confirmed that Tesla has been testing Model S and Model X vehicles with the same battery architecture based on the 2170 battery cells found in Model 3.

It would result in more efficient battery packs that would charge at the same 250 kW max charge rate as the Model 3.

I can’t imagine that this is not coming either.

Tesla’s Model S and Model X sales have suffered since Model 3 has been surpassing the more expensive vehicles in some key metrics.

Introduced individually, I wouldn’t call all these changes a “refresh”, but I also wouldn’t call them “minor changes”. I think some of those represents significant changes to the Model S and Model X lineup.

So what’s up? What do you think is going to happen? Let us know in the comment section below.