While Tesla has been filmed testing the 2026 Model Y Performance and new Model S at Nürburgring, the Model X facelift has also gotten the spy shot treatment.
Tesla's lead engineer Lars Moravy mentioned that the Model X and Model S will receive refreshed versions later this year, just like the Model Y and the Model 3 before it, for a full Tesla portfolio update.
Judging from the leaked pictures of the alleged 2026 Model X refresh, no grand redesign is to be expected. Tesla does finally install a front bumper camera like on the new Model Y or the Cybertruck, though, indicating that most of the changes will be to the specifications and hardware, rather than the looks.
Unlike the Model Y, the Model X and Model S have been coming with Tesla's latest HW4 FSD kits for a good while now, so the only real upgrade here would be the front bumper cam, as the Model S that got caught running laps at Nürburgring racetrack also has one.
Tesla initially used the front bumper camera as a parking and off-road tool, but there are indications that it is also incorporating its feed into the FSD algorithms. The Cybercab also has one, and Tesla will likely start shipping the Model 3 with a front bumper camera later this year if it wants to have it on all the refreshed vehicles in its portfolio.
It is not yet clear if the bumper cam will be a must for unsupervised FSD and the robotaxi service, but Tesla is usually stingy with extra components, so it may plan to add more features to this camera than just parking duties.
The interior of the 2026 Model S and Model X refresh is also visible in the pictures, with the expected sports seats on the Model S and the somewhat uninspiring seats on the Model X that look as if they've been lifted from the Cybertruck.
The blue protection tape inside the new Model X/S is par for the course for units coming out of the factory, but here it seems to cover those ambient lighting strips that Tesla started adding to every new vehicle now.
Other than that, the 2026 Model X doesn't seem like a big interior or design refresh, but Tesla will at least add a new blue color for it, as can be seen in the leaked video below.
The 2026 Model S has been restyled to look a bit more aggressive than its predecessor with a new front and rear diffuser but, overall, the bulk of changes seem to have been kept for under the proverbial hood.
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