Non-original Tesla rearview mirror glasses OK for when yours got stolen?

In my previous blog post I wrote that the rearview mirror glasses of both Tesla Model 3s were stolen, and that I ordered a cheap set of non-original mirror glasses and a more expensive set of non-original mirrors online. The cheap set would take 2 weeks to be delivered, but they arrived within a week. Time to share my experience.

As can be seen above, the construction is fairly basic, with a simple heating coil and connections for the plus and minus wire. When mounting, I noticed that the Tesla heating plugs slides too loosely over the pins. I then squeezed the plug with a pair of pliers and then slid the plugs on so that there is sufficient clamping force. For the rest, it was just clicking the mirrors into the mirror holders to finish the job. The result can be seen below.

All in all, I am pretty satisfied with the result. I have noticed two minor drawbacks;
– no automatic dimming of the mirror (would not be possible for such low price)
– heating element is rectangle-shaped and is missing a small piece (the “upper triangle”) of the mirror
I can live with these “drawbacks” as the chance of theft of these mirrors is smaller, and because the costs for replacement is very low. So I canceled the appointment at Tesla for the day after tomorrow, and will stay for the time being with these rearview mirrors.

My tip remains: buy a set of cheap imitation mirror glasses so that you have a reserve set when someone steals yours.

Update 20230104: costs for installing original mirrors at Tesla are 326 Euro excluding VAT, so 394 Euro including VAT.