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After buying a lot of Tesla Model 3 Highland accessories for my Tesla Model 3 Highland (2025), I did three more minor modifications to my Tesla Model 3 Highland.

Dashcam
Tesla Model 3 Highland comes with six cameras that record exterior footage. They are meant for self-driving use. While helpful, they might not capture car number plates as clearly as a dashcam.

In Park Mode, Tesla Sentry mode is fantastic, but it drains the battery like no other business. For example, if you park at home or work, you usually will be at that place for 8 to 10 hours, and it will drain about 7% of the battery. The battery drain is so much because all six cameras are recording simultaneously.

To mitigate this, I decided to get a dashcam. After narrowing down between iRoad and BlackVue, I decided to go with BlackVue as my car workshop recommended because of its design and cloud functionality.

Like most Tesla owners, I also went to Dats Auto at Kaki Bukit to get it installed as they specialized in Tesla.

I chose BlackVue DR770X-2CH LTE Dashcam (S$768) with Cellink NEO 8+S Battery (S$398). The battery is charged using the car cigarette lighter socket. The charging cable cost S$48.

There is no warranty to be voided, as nothing is being modified. The battery is hidden in the center console.

I decided on the LTE variant of the BlackVue DR770X-2CH Dashcam because I want it always to be connected to the cloud, and I value remote connectivity. The LTE variant has a hotspot function, so your Tesla can connect to the hotspot and download software updates. Weirdly, Tesla’s Premium Connectivity subscription doesn’t allow you to download software updates through it.

For the hotspot function, there is a disclaimer on the BlackVue DR770X-2CH LTE Dashcam page. SIM cards from StarHub or any Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MNVO) under StarHub will not work. I have no idea why, and it seems StarHub doesn’t want to work with BlackVue on this.

So, I ported my secondary line from Giga!, which is an MNVO under StarHub, to Zym. Zym is cheap. I am on their Roam Saver plan which gives me 100GB of local data for S$7.77 per month. Best of all, Zym is an MNVO operating under Singtel’s network.

The BlackVue DR770X-2CH LTE and Cellink NEO 8+S Battery have an 18-month warranty.

Auto Frunk
Li Xiang is a strong advocate of using Tesla’s Frunk. She said that putting stuff in the frunk instead of on the car seat will reduce scratches on the car seat.

So we found ourselves using the frunk almost before every drive.

Opening and closing the frunk requires more effort than the boot because it is not automatic.

So, while installing the dashcam at Dats Auto, I decided also to install the Auto Frunk. It cost S$528. Dats Auto is using Yuxi Space Power Frunk 2.0. They are the sole distributor for it and hence they have a 2-year warranty.

Do note that powering the Auto Frunk requires you to tap on the 16V battery inside your car. This will void the warranty on the battery. In the unlikely event that your 16V battery is spoiled, it will cost about S$300 to replace.

The Auto Frunk is the best quality-of-life improvement modification you will have. I highly recommend it.

Paint Protection Film (PPF)
I was contemplating between ceramic coating and PPF. I ended up with PPF because the ceramic coating doesn’t protect your paint from rock chips or deeper scratches.

Think of PPF as a screen protector for your car.

Ceramic coating is cheaper, costing between S$500 to S$700 for the whole car, while PPF costs at least S$2,000 and above.

PPF will turn yellow eventually and needs to be removed after 3 to 5 years. The years vary because it depends on where you park most of the time, whether it is indoor or outdoor. With the extreme heat in Singapore, if you park outdoors most of the time, the sun will bake your PPF with your paint, and you probably need to remove it after 3 years.

I did my PPF at BlackNano located at WCEGA Plaza in Bukit Batok.

I went with their BlackNano Ultima Protect 7.8 PPF, full car PPF package for S$2,990. It comes with a full PPF using their in-house 7.8mm film and Gyeon coating for the rims, glass surfaces, and leather seats.

If I opt for a better film like the Gyeon PPF film, it will cost close to S$5k. Since it cost almost two times more, I felt the difference was not worth it as regardless of the brand of film, I still needed to change it every 3 to 5 years.

The downtime is about four full days. I left my car at BlackNano on Monday at 8:30 am and collected it back on Thursday at 6 pm.

For the Tesla Model 3 Highland, when doing the PPF, the “T E S L A” logo on the boot needs to be removed. You can buy a replacement logo from Tesla Singapore itself for S$45. It is often out of stock, and the wait can be a few weeks. I just decided to get mine from Shopee for just S$9 and took this chance to change the logo to glossy Black.

When collecting the car, bubbles are expected to be underneath the film. It will take about three weeks for it to disappear. That is why they will arrange another session three weeks later to do the touch-up. Mine took about two weeks for it to completely disappear.

During these three weeks, if you notice anything wrong with the film, you can take a photo and send it to them. They will rectify it during the touch-up session.

In total, I have only four minor issues and no significant issues. Here are the before photos:

The touch-up session is the whole day, so you must leave the car there at 8:30 am and collect it back at 6 pm. The touch-up is the best effort, and it will not be perfect. Here are the after photos:

BlackNano will also help you paste your new “T E S L A” logo if you have bought a new one.

After installing the PPF, I have less anxiety when parking beside other cars because you cannot control how other idiots open their car doors. So, installing PPF is kinda good for my mental well-being.