Model Y Juniper refresh comes with adaptive high beam headlights as Tesla will also unlock them on old Model Y in the US

The new Tesla Model Y Juniper refresh comes with matrix headlights and will be released with adaptive high beams that turn off select pixel patterns automatically to avoid blinding other drivers.

European Teslas like the Model 3 Highland refresh that has matrix headlights have had the adaptive high beams feature for a while now, but the regulatory framework in the US is running a bit behind.

All Tesla Model Y in the US will get adaptive high beams

According to Lars Moravy, Tesla's chief engineer, the Model Y's adaptive headlights feature for the US will be unlocked "in a couple of months." The old Model Y versions that have matrix headlights will get it via a software update, while the 2026 Model Y Juniper refresh comes with the adaptive headlights software from the get-go.

It didn't become clear if the new Model Y facelift will get the adaptive high beam option upon its release date in March, though, or the "couple of months" comment is valid for it as well. Its headlights sit a few inches lower than on the old Model Y, and are not part of the front light bar.

At first, Tesla's adaptive headlights Model Y update for the US will simply allow automatic switching from the high beams when passing a vehicle, tips Lars Moravy, and then adjust their pixel pattern for the best tradeoff between visibility and courtesy to other drivers.

"When Adaptive Headlights is enabled," says Tesla, "the beam of the headlights adjusts automatically to improve your driving view." That goes both for dimming individual pixels of the high beams when traffic is approaching, and for going from low to high beams on the highway automatically, or adjusting the beams to road turns.

Tesla has been talking about bringing the adaptive high beam feature to the US for a good while now, and 2025 may finally witness the actual release of this highly desired option.

The reason for the delay is that the US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108 is more demanding than the vehicle headlight regulations in Europe. Its stipulations go from requirements that "the adaptive driving beams must be designed to conform to the photometry requirements of Table XXI when tested according to S14.9.3.12," to "the Table XVIII and Table XIX photometric intensity requirements do not apply in a transition zone, except that the maximum at H-V in Table XVIII as specified in Table II for the specific headlamp unit and aiming method may not be exceeded at any point in a transition zone..."

It is not an easy regulatory framework to navigate, but Tesla has evidently managed to work its way through the red tape in the US, too, and should be switching on the adaptive high beams of the Model Y here soon.

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