Tesla is rolling out its in-house immersive audio algorithm to more Model 3 and Model Y cars in China through an over-the-air update. Until now the feature was available only on the six-seat Model Y L.
The feature converts ordinary stereo music into what Tesla describes as a 360-degree surround effect. Owners do not need new speakers or multichannel audio files to use it.
The update covers Model 3 Long Range all-wheel-drive and Model 3 Performance cars built in or after September 2023, Tesla said.
On the Model Y side, it covers the Long Range all-wheel-drive, the Model Y L and the Performance all-wheel-drive, all built in or after February 2025.
Rear-wheel-drive versions of both models are not included.
The production-date cutoffs line up with the refreshed Model 3, which Tesla’s Shanghai plant began building in September 2023, and the refreshed Model Y, which reached customers in early 2025.
Tesla has not said why older cars and rear-wheel-drive versions are left out.
The dual-motor versions carry more speakers. The current Model 3 Long Range has 17 speakers, including two subwoofers, while the rear-wheel-drive version has nine and no subwoofer, according to a teardown by Australian outlet TotallyEV.
Tesla said the feature requires an over-the-air update to software version 2026.14.11 or later.
The feature is also listed in the Chinese release notes for version 2026.26.200.11, a later build that Tesla China began pushing to cars in batches on September 17.
That update’s Chinese release notes list an upgraded immersive sound mode that works “with all streaming sources,” according to IT Home and Phoenix.
Tesla did not say whether the upgrade carries a fee.
How It Works
Tesla said its algorithm gives the car a “music brain” that works “like the human brain parses sound,” picking out 360-degree surround information.
The software “extracts multichannel music elements from two-channel stereo and assigns position information to different elements,” turning “thin” sources into “three-dimensional” ones, the company said.
It keeps direct sound, such as vocals and lead instruments, at the front of the cabin, and spreads ambient sound to the side and rear speakers to widen the soundstage.
The feature works with standard stereo sources such as Spotify and Apple Music.
Drivers can adjust it under Settings, Audio, Tone, Immersive Sound. A slider sets how strong the effect is, and an automatic mode adjusts it to the type of content playing.
“From first principles, without piling up speaker count or power,” Tesla said in the post. “No need to change cars, it ‘sounds’ like driving a new car,” the company added.
Wider Lineup
The algorithm first appeared on the Model Y L, which went on sale in China on August 19, 2025, at a starting price of 339,000 yuan ($50,500). Deliveries began on September 2, 2025.
Tesla formally presented the audio system on October 9, 2025, according to IT Home as republished by Sina.
At that time, the company said the Model Y L carries 18 Tesla-designed speakers plus a subwoofer.
The Model Y L also has a centre speaker below the second-row screen, in the armrest where a refrigerator would otherwise sit.
“No fridge in the centre armrest, a speaker instead,” Tesla said in this week’s post, adding that the speaker “greatly enhances the rear-seat audio experience.”
The in-car menu describes Immersive Sound X as using “sound eXtraction to place the listener in front of a detailed soundstage within an Immersive space.”
The feature reached other markets in March 2026, as Model Y L deliveries began in Australia and New Zealand.
At that point it was limited to the Model Y L, which has three more speakers than the standard Model Y, according to Not a Tesla App.
Tesla has since launched the Model Y L in the US at $61,990.
No Word on Other Markets
Tesla has not said whether the wider rollout will reach Model 3 and Model Y owners outside China.
The company said its in-house audio system, Tesla Audio, can keep improving through over-the-air updates.
Tesla VP Grace Tao said in July 2025 that the company’s audio system is designed entirely in-house, from the algorithm and acoustic design to speaker placement and tuning.
The audio upgrade is part of a Chinese software update with 28 changes. The update also brought ByteDance’s Doubao voice assistant to more cars, along with a pet mode and blind-spot warning ambient lighting.
