First Look: USA Tesla Model Y Frunk with HEPA Filter

Tesla continues to deliver its Model Y compact crossover SUV in the United States with new Bioweapon Defense Mode and HEPA filter. The feature allows for a cabin to have clean, purified air that is on par with hospitals, as HEPA filters can capture and remove airborne particles, microorganisms and other contaminants.

For all Tesla Model Y builds from July 1 in the United States, they will contain Bioweapon Defense Mode and HEPA filter. For existing Model Y owners, a HEPA filter retrofit is apparently coming, according to @SawyerMerritt.

Now, we have another first look at a Model Y with HEPA filter, this time with images taken of a USA Model Y, and not from China.

Redditor u/Ruester1 located in Southern California shared some pictures of their new Model Y with Bioweapon Defense Mode and HEPA. This was a Model Y Long Range ordered on May 3, 2021 and delivered Tuesday, July 13, 2021.

The image above shows what the Model Y with HEPA frunk cover looks like. If you pop it off, you reveal where the two HEPA filters reside, below these plastic panels:

The corner part number sticker reads, “HEPA FILTER ASY, MY”:

As for the HEPA filters themselves, the Reddit user did not take the covers off to snap a picture.

But if we go by a previous picture seen from the Model Y in China from January, this is what it should look like:

It’s unclear if the Model 3 will ever get a HEPA filter, as CEO Elon Musk has hinted in the past these filters are too big to fit inside the sedan.

Model S & X also have an acid gas filter, an alkaline gas filter & a carbon monoxide detector that autoswitches car to recirc mode. We should prob tell people about this more. Filters are giant, so too big to fit in Model 3.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 1, 2018