Tesla Offering Seven New Colors, Factory Wraps
Tesla is adding seven new colors for Model 3 and Model Y vehicles sold in the United States. However, it’s not new paint you’ll be getting. The automaker has instead decided to utilize urethane-based wraps similar to vinyl wraps available on via aftermarket companies. While this is a convenient way for the automaker to offer new colors without having to upgrade factory paint booths, Tesla is asking quite a bit of money for these wraps.
Depending on the complexity of your vehicle’s body shape, its overall size, the skill of the installer, and what materials will be used, wraps can cost anywhere between $1,000 and $7,000. While exotic models typically incur even higher prices, it’s rare to see most normal jobs go beyond $4,000 because you’re now paying roughly the same price as you might for a custom paint job.
But Tesla’s wraps cost either $7,500 or $8,000, depending on the color, including installation at a participating Tesla service center. There’s also a clear wrap for $5,000 that’s just there to protect the vehicle’s natural paint finish. While available in gloss or satin, it does not include the door jambs like the full-color wrap does.
The wraps are definitely expensive when you consider the alternatives. However, they’re also supposed to be thicker and offer superior protection vs standard vinyl wraps. Tesla called the option a “self-healing urethane-based film [that] protects the paint beneath from chips, scratches and swirling.”
Considering the brand’s track record for paint quality, this probably isn’t the worst idea. We’ve already seen Tesla testing the Cybertruck in a slew of different wraps. Some of this was obligatory camouflage designed to mask exterior changes ahead of production. But the brand also seems keen to bestow the pickup with some wild styles and has hinted that there might be factory wrap options after its launch. For now, it’ll just be the Model 3 and Model Y getting the special treatment.
Available colors include Satin Ceramic White, Slip Grey, and Satin Stealth Black ($7,500) or Glacier Blue, Forest Green, Satin Rose Gold, and Crimson Red ($8,000).
Those interested in pursuing the new colors can utilize the Tesla app or simply head over to its online store and mess around with the new configurations. It also has a FAQ specifically for the wraps. The program presently includes just two centers located in West Covina and Carlsbad, California. But it seems highly likely that the company will begin expanding operations if there’s any interest from the public.
Based on how limited Tesla's paint options have been in the past, we’re expecting a healthy amount of business here. But it will ultimately depend on how much better Tesla’s wraps are than what’s available elsewhere and exactly how much customers are willing to give for a factory option that can probably be done more cheaply elsewhere.
[Image: Tesla]
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A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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I was actually just thinking about this the other day. Telsa basically made wraps "normal" by that I mean because Telsa's only came in black (then later white) at no extra charge. But even if you paid extra the only other colors were the most basic silver, blue or red. So a large percentage of customers wrapped Telsas in more interesting colors or finishes like the satin / matte craze started by BMW. In fact I'd say 50% of the Telsas I see in West Palm Beach (where there are a ton of them) have a wrap on them. However $8k for a wrap is insane, a good wrap shop will charge around $4k and some will do a decent job for $2k as this service is getting so popular that prices are coming down.
Wrap?
No glove. No love.