Tesla Redesigned a Cybertruck Camera to Throw Rain Off the Lens — Here's the Wet-Weather Kit for the Rest of Us
Tesla changed a part almost nobody has ever looked at, on a truck most people don't own — and in doing it, said something genuinely useful about the next four months of driving.
On September 8, Cybertruck lead engineer Wes Morrill posted side-by-side photos of the truck's old and new side repeater camera housings. The new one has a sculpted ridge and a small vertical fin beside the lens. That's it. That's the whole change.
"The side repeater camera was updated — the version on the left is the newer part which uses passive geometry to create airflow disturbance that better keep water off the lens while driving. No cost penalty, just pure vision improvement." — Wes Morrill, Cybertruck lead engineer
Tesla's own account amplified the post the same day. No recall, no service bulletin, no defect — this is the ordinary Giga Texas habit of swapping in a better part the moment it's validated, and Morrill has been narrating a run of them publicly.
Here's why it's worth your attention even if you drive a Model 3: Tesla just spent engineering hours solving water on a lens at speed, for free, because road spray is a real problem that gets worse every autumn. Your car has the same cameras, the same glass and the same tyres flinging the same water. You don't get the new housing. You do get everything below.
What Tesla actually changed — and what it doesn't fix
The Cybertruck's front bumper camera has its own washer nozzle. The side repeaters don't, and on production trucks they still don't. Tesla's answer wasn't plumbing — it was plastic. The revised housing disturbs the air rushing down the fender so droplets get pushed off the glass instead of sheeting across it.
Two honest caveats before you scroll. First: this is a running production change, so it arrives on new trucks. There is no retrofit kit, from Tesla or from us. Second: nothing in this article replicates it. What follows is the rest of the wet-weather problem — the spray you throw, the glass you look through, and the water you let in — and every item is something we can actually verify is in stock today.
1. Mud Flaps Are the Only Thing Here That Stops Spray at the Source
Everything else on this list manages water after it has already hit your car. Mud flaps are the only category that reduces how much gets thrown in the first place — off the tyre, up the flank, across the lower doors, and straight past the side repeater camera housing Tesla just spent time redesigning.
The 2024-2025 Cybertruck Mud Flaps are ABS, no-drill, set of four, $89.99. Ten sets in stock.
Read the variant list on that listing carefully: it also carries Model X, Model S, Model 3 and Model 3 Highland cuts at $45.00 to $64.98. Same page, different vehicles, different prices. Pick your car, not the cheapest number.
2. The Same Fix for Everything That Isn't a Cybertruck
The Military-Grade No-Drill Splash Guards cover the rest of the lineup in one listing, set of four, no drilling:
- Model 3 Highland 2024 — $49.99, 7 sets
- Model Y 2020-2024 — $57.00, 9 sets
- Model S 2022-2024 — $64.98, 10 sets
- Model X 2022-2024 — $64.98, 10 sets
The flaps sit close to the arch and follow the wheel line, which matters more than it sounds: a flap that hangs proud of the bodywork costs you efficiency and looks like an afterthought. Owners in the 170,000-member Model Y group argue about a lot of things; the one thing nobody argues about is that untreated rear quarters get filthy by November.
3. Wiper Blades: Model 3 and Model Y, the OEM Part Number
Tesla's engineering answer to rain on a camera was geometry. Your answer to rain on a windshield is rubber, and most people leave it far too long. A blade that chatters or leaves a smear band directly in your sightline is the cheapest thing on this list to fix.
The Model 3 / Model Y Windshield Wiper set is $29.99 for two, quoting OEM part numbers 1456933-00-A and 1490250-00-A, fitment 2017-2026. Choose the Left-Hand Drive (Set of 2) option — 354 sets in stock. Ignore the unlabelled "Please select the option" row; it's a placeholder, not a product.
4. Wipers for Model S and Model X — Check the Year Before You Click
This one needs saying plainly rather than buried in a variant picker. On the Model S wiper listing, the cut most US owners would reach for — 2014-2022, left-hand drive — is genuinely out of stock. The cut that is available in left-hand drive is 2023-2024, at $31.99 for the pair, 62 sets on hand. If your Model S is older than 2023, this listing doesn't have you covered this week, and we'd rather tell you than take the order.
Model X owners fare better. The Model X Wiper Blade set is $48.99 for two. The 2016-2022 left-hand-drive cut has 19 sets. The listing title reads 2016-2022, but a 2023-on left-hand-drive cut is on the same page at the same price — that's a listing quirk on our end, not a fitment trap, and both cuts are real.
5. The $3.99 Part Under Your Wipers That Nobody Thinks About
The strip at the base of your windshield, under the wiper arms, is where every leaf, pine needle and bit of grit ends up. Blocked, it backs water up onto the glass and pushes debris into the drain channels. The Rain Scraper Filter for Model 3 Highland and Model Y is $3.99, takes about a minute, and is the single highest return-per-dollar item we sell in this category.
6. Rain Guards, If You Want the Window Cracked in a Downpour
These are the acquired taste on this list. Window Visor Rain Guards let you run the glass down an inch in rain without soaking the door card — useful if you park outside, useful if the cabin fogs, and genuinely useful with a dog in the back. Four-piece set, 3M adhesive, $99.99.
Stock, stated honestly: the 2020-on Model Y and 2017-on Model 3 cuts are both in stock and ship normally. The 2026+ Model Y L cut is orderable but currently on backorder — you can place the order, it just won't ship this week. The unlabelled "Please Select" row is a placeholder.
7. What a Carbon-Fibre Camera Cover Will and Won't Do
Now the part we'd rather say out loud than let you work out after the box arrives.
We sell carbon-fibre covers that sit around the side camera and turn signal housing. They look sharp, they take stone chips instead of your paint, and on a truck that lives on gravel that's worth real money. They do not do what Tesla's new housing does. The revised part works because of a specific fin geometry beside the lens, developed and validated in-house. An aftermarket appliqué is a trim piece. Buy one because you want the look and the chip protection. Don't buy one expecting a clearer camera in the rain — that's not what it is, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling.
- Cybertruck Front Fender Camera Applique Overlays — real carbon fibre, one pair, $69.99, in glossy or matte (both finishes available).
- Side Camera Protection Cover for Model Y Juniper 2026 and Model 3 Highland 2024-2026+ — carbon fibre, 2-pack, $59.99, 10 sets in stock.
- Side Camera Turn Signal Cover for Model 3, S, Y and X — $59.00. The Highland / Juniper / Model Y Standard / Model Y L cut comes in four finishes: matte carbon (30), glossy carbon (65), red carbon (95) and forged carbon (93).
8. The Cybertruck Wiper Cowl, Since We're Here
The Cybertruck's single enormous wiper arm and its parking cowl live in the direct path of everything the road throws up. The Wiper Protection Trim Cover is $54.90, 10 in stock, and takes the UV and the grit instead of the painted surface underneath.
Be clear on what you're buying: this is carbon-fibre-pattern ABS, not woven carbon. It's a protective and cosmetic trim. It will not make the wiper sweep better.
9. Buy This One Before You Need It
Rain is the September problem. Six weeks from now it's ice, and a frozen windshield on an EV is a range problem as well as a scraping problem — clearing it with the defroster draws from the same battery that's supposed to get you to work.
The Frost Guard Windshield Cover for Model 3, Model Y and Model S is $52.99 and includes the side mirror covers. Five left. This is the item that sells out the week of the first freeze, every single year.
One Thing We Don't Stock — and Won't Pretend To
There's an obvious gap in this list. A proper hydrophobic glass treatment — the kind that makes rain bead and roll off the windshield at speed — is one of the most effective wet-weather upgrades there is, and we don't currently carry one. Our anti-fog product is sold out too. We're not going to point you at something adjacent and call it the same thing. Go buy a reputable glass sealant from anyone who has it, and do it on a dry afternoon before the weather turns.
That's the whole honest answer. Tesla solved one small piece of the wet-weather problem with a plastic fin and no price increase. The rest of it is still tyres, rubber, drains and glass — and none of it is expensive.
Sources
Wes Morrill (@wmorrill3) on X, September 8, 2026 — original announcement and photos
Tesla (@Tesla) on X, September 8, 2026 — official amplification
TeslaNorth — "Tesla Cybertruck Side Camera Uses Airflow to Keep Water Off Lens," September 8, 2026
Not a Tesla App — "Tesla Debuts New Side Repeater Cameras for Cybertruck," September 9, 2026
Drive Tesla Canada — "Tesla Makes Clever Production Change to Cybertruck Camera"
Teslarati — "This tiny Tesla Cybertruck adjustment has big advantages"
All prices, fitment and stock verified against our live catalogue on 18 September 2026. Stock moves; check the product page before you order.