With the ability to activate “Dog Mode”, Tesla’s are one of the most pet-friendly vehicles available today. Making it easy to always bring them along for the ride. Especially when they give you the guilt eyes as you’re trying to walk out the door. It also creates the need to protect your Tesla from dirt/mud, pet hair, scratches, stains and drooling.
Protecting Interior Panels
There are several options when it comes to protecting the interior panels of the vehicle. Some of the top three are paint protection film, vinyl wrap, and press-on coverings. And all options come with the ability to somewhat customize the interior in addition to offering protection.
There is a wealth of coverage options available for all Tesla Models. You can cover everything from the air vents, cup-holder surround, hard plastic door trims, and the wooden dash panel. They come in various colors and finishes. The most popular and widely available options are white, black, red, and carbon-fiber patterns.
Usually, they are made of synthetic leather or ABS plastic material. And while not entirely scratch or tear-resistant, they do offer protection in the form of damaging the covering and not your car’s manufacturer finish. Some are even more durable than the factory finish. And your furry friend’s nails are highly unlikely to go through these materials to damage the panel underneath.
They can also offer an easier-to-clean surface. Typically the ones designed of hard ABS plastic are attached via double-sided tape, so it is recommended that if you want or have to remove these that it be done carefully so as not to damage the panel underneath.
With vinyl wraps you get a wealth of additional color and finish options, however, you also run the risk of sharp pet nails still damaging your interior. While vinyl wrap will still protect the interior panels somewhat, it will scratch and tear easily, and the damage can go through to the panel since vinyl wrap is relatively thin at about 3.2mils thick. You are also limited in what you can wrap, in that vinyl wrap cannot be applied to the vegan leather material of Teslas.
Vinyl does offer a far wider range of customization options and some additional protection to plastic or metal interior surfaces. But does come with some downsides as well. Though it probably won’t hold up well to pet nails, it can make wiping off drool and dirt easier.
Paint protection film has two options when it comes to protecting the interior surfaces, gloss or stealth (aka Satin ppf). Similar to a vinyl wrap paint protection film cannot be applied to all surfaces, such as the vegan leather interior or certain types/textures of plastic materials. But of the film choices, it does offer better protection than a vinyl wrap would.
Xpel paint protection film is 8mils thick multilayered polyurethane film with a topcoat that can “heal” itself from light scratches when heated. It also has the benefit of adding UV protection to the surfaces it covers. Typically used for the outside of the vehicle many don’t realize that it can also be applied to vehicle interiors, especially those with high-gloss finishes.
Protecting the Paint
Speaking of paint protection film. It leads us to the best way to protect the paint from pet damage. Wrapping the entire car is always an option and ensures that there are no areas of missing coverage to worry about. If you don’t mind seeing the slight line you also have an option of installing film on certain sections of the vehicle, like just below the windows or trunk opening area. Paint protection film can also be done on a full panel-by-panel basis.
Paint protection film also comes with a 10-year warranty for peeling, bubbling, and delaminating not caused by customer wear and tear.
Ceramic coating is another option for protecting the paint. Our graphene ceramic coating provides a 10H hardness, the highest available, sealing the paint in a protective coating. Typically ceramic coatings last 3-4 years for a well-maintained vehicle. The coatings offer higher scratch resistance, and the main idea behind it is if you get a scratch then that scratch is being polished out of the coating and not the factory clear on the vehicle. And generally also that it won’t make it through the coating and through the paint.
Protecting the Vegan Interior
Hands down the best way of protecting your seats when it comes to pets is using seat and door covers. These can come in an array of different options. From a thick canvas material to a softer quilted material, and all the way up to fitted faux leather coverings that can look just as good if not better than the factory seats. Of course, all these options also have different price points, the fitted sit coverings can run up into the hundreds per seat.
One of the main goals when choosing a covering option should be the ease of cleaning and removing it. With pets involved you want a cover that can be easily removed and washed, then reinstalled. Tesla even sells an official rear-seat pet liner. Fitting into place by securing a strap around the headrests. Their pet liner is designed to keep pets in the rear seats with a mesh divider and attaching to the front two seats. Allowing protection of the seat backs as well as the center console. It even has separate panels for protecting the doors.
If you don’t feel like paying $145 for the official Tesla pet liner, you can find cheaper, similar options on Amazon. Even individual car door covers that are attached by sliding a small plastic tab in between the window and door panel just like the Tesla option. Making them easy to install or remove, and allowing easy access to the seat. Most full rear seat covers are all secured the same, and have similar design features, like a way to access the seatbelts.
Another option for those with smaller animals would be a pet booster bucket seat. It also adds the benefit of being able to securely “buckle in” your pet in case of an accident or sudden braking. And it allows smaller pets the ability to look out the window without having to step on the window panel.
Protecting the Carpet
One of your only options is really to invest in some floor mats. Rubber ones would be the best option for pet owners, or those with kids, to best handle wet and dry messes, as well as being easier to clean off. You don’t have to worry about any water or other liquids seeping through fiber mats and still managing to stain or damage the factory carpeting.
Another option would be to ScotchGuard the carpet to make it more liquid and stain-repellent. Allowing you more time to mop anything up before it soaks in. But it needs to be periodically reapplied and you would still have to clean out any dirt or mud from the carpet.