Photo: Tesla
A new finding seems to indicate that the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y might get a secondary infotainment display soon. That's because the AMD Ryzen-based MCU 3 already features the necessary connection, and we’ve already seen it used on the Model S and Model X featuring the same hardware for the infotainment system.
Tesla hacker Green (@greentheonly) performed a teardown of the new MCU 3 in the Tesla Model 3/Y and he discovered an interesting piece of information. Based on the PCB layout, the most popular Tesla models on the market might get a secondary display, most probably for the rear entertainment system. The board already has a place marked “2nd display”, while the display logic IC connectors are also there, although not populated.
Some people might argue that this assumption might be a little far-fetched and the connectors are there just because they’re needed on the Model S. The thing is, the PCB is quite different on the Model S, so there’s no need to share this feature with the Model Y and let the second display port unused. According to Green, a similar situation appeared in the past, when the Model Y PCB had unused USB3 ports, but they got populated in later revisions.
A rear entertainment system makes a lot of sense in the Model 3 and Model Y, especially when the Full Self-Driving would become usable. The secondary screen would allow adjusting the cabin temperature and the rear seat heaters. It would also enhance the entertainment experience with movie streaming and even games. This would be useful to the rear passengers even while driving.
A second option would be for Tesla to introduce a digital instrument panel behind the steering wheel, like in the Model S/X case. This is unlikely, though, as we’ve seen Tesla moving away from this classic approach. Elon Musk has expressed confidence that Full Self-Driving would become available this year, so there’s no need to invest in a feature that will soon become obsolete.
Some people might argue that this assumption might be a little far-fetched and the connectors are there just because they’re needed on the Model S. The thing is, the PCB is quite different on the Model S, so there’s no need to share this feature with the Model Y and let the second display port unused. According to Green, a similar situation appeared in the past, when the Model Y PCB had unused USB3 ports, but they got populated in later revisions.
A rear entertainment system makes a lot of sense in the Model 3 and Model Y, especially when the Full Self-Driving would become usable. The secondary screen would allow adjusting the cabin temperature and the rear seat heaters. It would also enhance the entertainment experience with movie streaming and even games. This would be useful to the rear passengers even while driving.
A second option would be for Tesla to introduce a digital instrument panel behind the steering wheel, like in the Model S/X case. This is unlikely, though, as we’ve seen Tesla moving away from this classic approach. Elon Musk has expressed confidence that Full Self-Driving would become available this year, so there’s no need to invest in a feature that will soon become obsolete.
Looks like model 3/Y is getting a second display soon?
— green (@greentheonly) April 16, 2022
I just took a closer look at an AMD based model 3/y car thanks to some enterprising people
And there are two unpopulated connectors near display, one of them is marked "2nd display".
EPC has it populated - looks like s/x pic.twitter.com/99ESydFShV
Google News