Engineer Activates Track Mode on Non-Performance Tesla Model Y

Engineer Activates Track Mode on Non-Performance Tesla Model Y

Track Mode has traditionally been limited to Tesla’s Performance trims, but one owner has demonstrated that it operates on a standard Model Y. Michał Gapiński, the software engineer behind the Tesla Android project that unofficially brings Apple CarPlay to Tesla screens while Tesla drags its feet on an official implementation, recently enabled Track Mode on his non-Performance refreshed Model Y.

“It’s not that it doesn’t work, it does!” Gapiński wrote in a post on X. “Not shipping it is [a] business decision.” He hasn’t explained how he unlocked it yet, and says he may begin a series on enabling hidden or model-locked software features he’d like to use.

Gapiński is known in the Tesla community for similar projects. He recently retrofitted an AI4 FSD computer into an older HW3 Model 3. Before that, he installed Tesla’s new fan-cooled wireless phone chargers — currently exclusive to the Model Y L and much better than what ships in the rest of Tesla’s catalog — in his own Model Y Premium. This was presumably the same Model Y in which he now has Track Mode working.

Gapiński’s Track Mode Jailbreak

On Gapiński’s Model Y, Track Mode appears under Settings > Dynamics, alongside Traction Control Mode and Steering Weight, similar to how it shows up on Performance variants. It includes a Customize button. Selecting it displays the same warning Performance owners see, noting that the mode was designed for vehicles with the Performance Upgrade Package and that “Performance and endurance is comparatively lower without performance tires and brakes.”

When activated, a “TRACK” indicator appears next to the gear selector. The display switches to an overhead view of the battery, motors, and tires, showing tire pressures and a G-meter, and prompts the driver to set a finish line on the map. Settings include saved profiles with Race and Drift presets, while custom profiles allow adjustments to Stability Assist and regenerative braking level.

What Track Mode Does and Why It’s Performance-Only

Tesla’s Track Mode lets you shift Handling Balance between the front and rear motors in 10% increments, adjust Stability Assist from -10 to 10, and fine-tune regenerative braking. It also adds Post-Drive Cooling to lower component temperatures after a session, plus a lap timer that saves dashcam footage and telemetry for each lap. Tesla says the feature is intended for experienced drivers on closed courses and shouldn’t be used on public roads.

Tesla limits Track Mode to Performance trims because they include larger brakes and performance tires that are better suited to repeated hard laps. Gapiński’s demonstration indicates the software itself isn’t the limiting factor, supporting his view that the restriction helps differentiate Performance models.

Elon Musk has previously suggested that Track Mode could come to non-Performance models. Gapiński has not yet shared the method he used to enable it.