Tesla releases expensive Model 3 turn signal stalk retrofit for all Highland refresh units

UPDATE: Tesla has released the Model 3 turn signal stalk retrofit in the US as well, where it is priced at $595 with free installation and shipping to a preferred Service Center included in the price. The original article follows below...

Tesla just upgraded the Model 3 with a larger battery, a front bumper camera, and a turn signal stalk that has become near mandatory in places like Europe. For owners of older Model 3 cars, Tesla is now offering a turn signal stalk retrofit that costs the equivalent of $770 there.

The lever was replaced with turn signal keys on the steering wheel for the Model 3 Highland refresh, when Tesla tried to save a few bucks with what it touted as a more minimalistic interior. Customers didn't like the loss of muscle memory that came with the turn buttons, though, and the stalk removal turned into a regulatory quagmire, too. In Europe, driving schools eschewed Teslas as learners' cars, while regulators warned that its safety ratings would suffer in the future because of the missing turn signal lever.

Similar backlash played out in China, where Tesla reintroduced the turn stalk into the Model 3 over the summer. For those who already bought the Model 3 refresh, however, Tesla launched a retrofit campaign. The turn signal stalk assembly costs the equivalent of $350 there, for both the part and the labor, making the retrofit now sold in Europe more than double the price.

In China, however, the signal lever retrofit is only compatible with the Model 3 units without steering stalks manufactured after February 7, 2025. In Europe, on the other hand, the new turn signal stalk retrofit is available for all 2023-2025 Model 3 cars that come without one, basically for all the Highland refresh units sold there.

The parts and installation are included in the Model 3 turn stalk retrofit pricing, too, with the buyer only required to call the nearest Tesla Service Center to schedule an appointment. The lever seems to be the same basic one that the 2026 Model Y Juniper refresh ships with. It can only be used to signal a left or right turn, and can't flash the high beams or switch the window washer, for instance.

Those remain a prerogative of the buttons located on the steering wheel, or of select multi-function Model 3 stalks that are available on Amazon at a much lower price than what Tesla charges for the official but rather basic retrofit.