I Finally Couldn't Stand the 'Bare Shell' Interior of My Tesla, So I Spent a Few Bucks to DIY It Myself

I've had the Model Y for three months now, put over 4,000 km on it. Driving-wise, no complaints. Step on the pedal and it goes, overtaking feels confident, charging is easy. But the interior? Well, people online call it a "bare shell" apartment. I thought they were just joking at first, but after driving it for a while, I realized — that's actually pretty accurate.

Let me start with the dashboard area. The big piece right under the windshield. Factory uses this glossy plastic. Maybe the designer thought it looked techy? I don't know. The more I look at it, the more it bugs me. In the summer, when the sun hits it, that glossy surface reflects light right onto the windshield. It's really annoying to look at. One time I was driving west in the afternoon, the sun angle was just right, and I could barely see the road ahead. I had to lean to one side to get out of the glare. And fingerprints? Ugh. You just rest your hand on the dash for a second, and there's a print. A friend sat in my car once and leaned on the dash as he got out. After he left, there were five clear fingerprints right there. I wiped at it with a tissue for a long time.

Storage is another thing. Tesla carved out this big open space under the center console. Looks like it can hold a lot. But in reality, once you throw stuff in there, it's like a black hole. Tissues, phone, charging cable, parking card — all gets mixed up together. One time I was at a highway toll booth and needed to grab my parking card. I reached into that hole and fumbled around for ten seconds, couldn't find it. The car behind me honked. I was panicking, hands all messy. The door pockets are also deep and narrow. Fine for two water bottles, but if you want to put in a folded umbrella or a towel, getting it in is easy, but getting it out? You gotta dig around forever.

The new car smell was also pretty strong. The first week I got it, that smell hit you right in the face — a mix of plastic and glue. I looked it up online. Some people said it's the seat foam, others said you need to air it out in the sun for days. Anyway, it took me about a month for the smell to fade. But on a hot summer day after sitting in the sun for a few hours, that smell comes back when you open the door. You have to roll down the windows for a few minutes.

Then I started seeing other Tesla owners post online about how they mod their interiors. Turns out I'm not the only one annoyed by the "bare shell." Someone joked, "The signature black-and-grey bare shell interior style of the Model Y is still as striking as ever." The comments were all laughing emojis. Another person said, "The massive use of hard plastic makes the interior gap in quality compared to other cars at the same price point way too obvious." Tesla put all the money into the battery and self-driving tech, and cut corners everywhere they could on the interior. I get it. But I'm the one sitting inside every day. Uncomfortable is uncomfortable.

So I bought a few things myself. Nothing that requires taking apart the original car or damaging anything. All simple DIY.

Dashboard Cover: The Best Bang-for-Buck Upgrade

The thing I'm happiest with is the dashboard cover piece. I got a matte carbon-fiber texture one. Not the shiny kind — matte. Feels good to the touch, not slippery but not rough either. It just covers that original glossy plastic. The cover snaps on, no glue, no cutting. Just align it and press down. After installing it, the first thing I noticed — no more glare! Driving at noon, no more blinding white reflection. And it doesn't feel cold to the touch. Probably good for winter too.

The dashboard glare issue is actually a safety concern, not just an aesthetic one. When sunlight reflects off glossy surfaces onto the windshield at certain angles, it creates a veiling glare that reduces contrast sensitivity — your eyes have to work harder to distinguish the road from the reflected light. Multiple studies on automotive human factors have shown that dashboard reflections can increase driver reaction time in certain lighting conditions. A matte cover eliminates this entirely for about $20-30.

Center Console Organizer: Fixing the Black Hole

That black hole under the center console — I bought an organizer tray for it. It splits it into two layers. Bottom layer for stuff I rarely use, like the manual and a charging brick. Top layer for phone, keys, parking card — I can see everything at a glance. No more blind fumbling. This one is super practical. A few dozen bucks solved something that bugged me every single day.

The Model Y's open console design maximizes storage volume but sacrifices organization. Unlike traditional cars with dedicated slots for specific items, the open cavity requires owners to create their own organizational system. The two-tier tray approach is so common in the Tesla aftermarket that it's practically become the default owner configuration.

Door Pocket Silicone Pads and Floor Mats

I added silicone pads to the door pockets. Originally it's just hard plastic on the bottom. Putting stuff in there made a "clank clank" noise. With the pads, it's much quieter. And when they get dirty, just take them out and rinse them under water. Easy.

I also swapped out the floor mats. The factory ones are carpet-like felt. They look decent, but they get dirty way too easily. Step in with wet muddy shoes and there's a dark stain. After it dries, you can't just wipe it off. You need a vacuum. I bought TPE mats — it's that slightly soft plastic material. Waterproof and mud-proof. When they're dirty, just hose them down and let them dry. I got the semi-enclosed kind that doesn't block the pedals. Works fine.

Door Sill Protectors, Screen Protector, and Other Small Touches

I added door sill protectors too. The original door sills are just exposed felt. Your shoes scrape against them every time you get in and out. They get nasty real fast. I stuck on some stainless steel strips. Much easier to clean, and looks more complete.

And a screen protector — do I even need to say it? That big screen gets poked by your fingers all day. Forget fingerprints. If it gets scratched accidentally, it'll hurt just to look at. Put on a good tempered glass protector, anti-fingerprint and anti-scratch, and you can clean it without worry.

What More Experienced Owners Told Me

Before I did all this, I asked some veteran owners. One guy told me I could get a dashboard cover mat — it reduces heat buildup on the dash, helps with aging, and also cuts down glare. Someone else recommended a sunshade for the glass roof. The factory panoramic roof has heat-insulating glass, but in the summer you still feel the heat on top of your head after a while. Adding a mesh shade does help keep things cooler.

But they also warned me not to buy everything I see. Like those illuminated door logo lights — you have to take the door panel off to install them. If a plastic clip breaks, or if you get weird rattles later, it's a pain. So I didn't go that far. The general rule: if installation requires removing factory panels, think twice. If it's stick-on or snap-on, go ahead.

The Honest Reality Check

Let me be real for a second. Don't spend a few hundred bucks expecting to turn this car into some luxury limousine. That's not happening. The underlying material quality is what it is. But if you just tidy up the places you touch and see every day, it really does feel better.

Before, the dashboard would show every fingerprint. Now it's clean, and that alone makes me happier. Before, that black hole under the center console meant blind fishing for whatever I needed. Now with the organizer, everything is right there. The floor mats don't stress me out on rainy days anymore. None of these changes are big, none of them are expensive, but every time I get in the car, I feel like this space is a little more mine. Not just the cold, factory-default thing.

Tesla has its own philosophy — minimalism and efficiency, fine. But this is a car I drive every day. Making it a bit more comfortable for myself isn't something to be ashamed of. If you also can't stand that fingerprint-magnet dashboard, or if the original felt materials drive you nuts, take some time to browse those little accessories. A lot of them cost less than a nice dinner. Can't really go wrong.

The afternoon I finished installing everything, I sat in the car. The sunlight came through the glass roof, hit that matte carbon dashboard cover. No glare, no fingerprints. Just clean. You know that feeling when you've finally unpacked the last cardboard box after moving into a new place, and you just collapse on the sofa? Yeah. It finally feels like somewhere you can actually live.

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*This article is based on the author's personal experience with a Tesla Model Y. Prices mentioned are approximate and may vary by region and product brand. All modifications described are non-invasive, reversible DIY installations that do not require disassembly of factory components.*