<figure><img src="https://i.insider.com/6af32b6ceaa5e46dca228a9b?format=jpeg" height="2250" width="4000" alt="The interior of a Tesla Model Y L."><figcaption>Tesla's cars all have a fixed glass roof option. Data told engineers they didn't need the window to open.<p class="copyright">Tesla</p></figcaption></figure><ul class="summary-list"><li>Tesla hasn't built a car with a movable sunroof for years.</li><li>During a walkaround of the Model Y L with Jay Leno, the EV maker's top designer explained why.</li><li>Leno compared sunroofs to hot tubs.</li></ul><p>Do you love a little highway wind blasting through the top of your car and ruffling your hair?</p><p>Then a Tesla may not be for you. The EV maker's current consumer models — the Model 3, Model Y, and the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-wind-down-cybertruck-production-elon-musk-cybercab-texas-2026-11">soon-to-be-discontinued Cybertruck</a> — offer glass roofs that are fixed in place.</p><p>During an episode of "Jay Leno's Garage" released on Monday, Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla's chief designer, explained why the movable glass roof panels once offered on the Model S are no longer available.</p><p>First, Tesla thinks the novelty wears off on drivers.</p><p>"I mean, we're a very data-driven company," he said. "We looked at the data and realized that people use the sunroof when they maybe first get the car."</p><p>Second, nixing the sunroof makes cars easier to build.</p><p>Von Holzhausen said Tesla's old motorized sunroofs were "really complicated" and that Tesla saw the features "in service quite a bit." It was heavy, he added, and required a lot of parts to build.</p><p>Manufacturing simplicity is one of Tesla's core strengths. Its cars require <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ford-new-ev-truck-coming-ranchero-2026-7">fewer parts and fasteners</a> to build than its competitors.</p><p>This year, Tesla has taken some striking steps to make vehicle assembly lines even more efficient: In April, the company stopped making the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tesla-model-s-x-orders-discontinued-2026-4">Model S and Model X</a> (the latter of which CEO Elon Musk once called a "Fabergé egg," because of its complicated design, including its signature falcon-wing rear doors).</p><p>Last week, Musk posted on X that it was winding down production of the Cybertruck. On Monday, Musk said part of that rationale was the "opportunity cost of the complexity of Cybertruck."</p><p>Leno, while walking around a 2027 Model Y L with a fixed glass roof, compared tilting and opening sunroofs to a home hot tub: an exciting feature owners might use at first, but one that quickly loses its appeal.</p><p>"It's just, you know, a lot of parts to build it," von Holzhausen added. "If people aren't using it, why go through the hustle?"</p><div id="1794319918332" data-styles="default-width" data-embed-type="custom" data-script="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" class="insider-raw-embed" data-type="embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">In the latest Jay Leno’s Garage episode, Lars Moravy and Franz von Holzhausen explain why Tesla removed the opening sunroof from the Model Y L.
Jay specifically asks: “There’s no sunroof anymore, right?”
Lars/Franz confirm it has been omitted.
Why they dropped it (per Lars):
✅ Tesla is data-driven: people tend to open the sunroof a lot in the first week or so after buying the car, then almost never use it again.
✅ It’s a complex, heavy assembly with many parts that shows up frequently in service.
✅ Not worth the cost and complexity if owners stop using it.
What they did instead:
✅ Kept (and improved) the fixed panoramic glass roof.
✅ Added triple silver coating on the roof to better reflect heat and keep the cabin cooler.
✅ Major upgrades to the laminated glass layers so it rejects heat/sunlight and blocks UVB + UVA “like the best sunscreen in the world.”
✅ Brought the rear glass all the way to the spoiler (more square rear glass) for better visibility.
✅ Used thicker/insulated glass overall to cut cabin noise.
✅ Antennas are embedded in the glass so there’s no external roof antenna.</p>— The Tesla Newswire (@TeslaNewswire) <a href="https://x.com/TeslaNewswire/status/2119877810227732666?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2026</a></blockquote>
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