Tesla Aero Hubcap Replacement: Hub & Lug Nut Covers — Quick Installation & Review (Video)

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I recently lost one of the original aero hubcaps our Tesla Model 3 SR+ came with. It seems that driving into a large amount of standing water in the midst of a ginormous Florida thunderstorm tore it off. (Or it was stolen.) It was quite sad to lose a hubcap, and a couple of days later we even drove a half an hour or so back to the area where we thought we lost it to look around for it. Alas, no hubcap.

Front wheel is completely missing a hubcap. Back wheel has new hub & lug nut cover as a replacement for a normal Tesla aero hubcap. Photo by Zach Shahan | CleanTechnica.

Front wheel is completely missing a hubcap. Back wheel has new hub & lug nut cover as a replacement for a normal Tesla aero hubcap. Photo by Zach Shahan | CleanTechnica.

The silver lining in this story is that I’ve wanted to get those simple hub & lug nut covers Tesla offers ever since I bought the car, and I finally did. (Note that the current option is a bit different from the original option back in 2019 when I bought the car — seemingly better and easier to install.) I also bought a replacement aero hubcap for those times when drive a long (or even moderate) distance on the Interstate. The aero hubcap helps with … aerodynamics, and thus extends the range of the vehicle by about 5%.

Step 1: buy "Model 3 Aero Wheel Cap Kit" from Tesla. (Price: $60 at the moment)

Tesla hub & lug nut cover as a replacement for a normal Tesla aero hubcap. Step 2: take new cover out of box and bring it to car. (Step 1.5 was taking the original cover off if it didn't fall off by itself.) Photo by Marika Shahan | CleanTechnica.

Step 3: push the cap cover into place and then pop it on (may take a little punch to get it to snap). Photo by Marika Shahan | CleanTechnica.

Step 4: pull on the hubcap cover around the sides to make sure it's on firmly. Photo by Zach Shahan | CleanTechnica.

Tesla hub & lug nut cover as a replacement for a normal Tesla aero hubcap. Done! Photo by Zach Shahan | CleanTechnica.

I knew it was fairly simple and easy to pop these little hub + lug nut covers onto Tesla, but I admittedly never looked beyond the surface, and not being the handiest dude in the world, I was slightly concerned I might run into trouble. As it turned out, though, installing these hub + lug nut covers was just about the easiest thing one could imagine.

Both wheels have new hub & lug nut covers as replacement for a normal Tesla aero hubcaps that came with our new Model 3 in 2019. Photo by Zach Shahan | CleanTechnica.

Both wheels have new hub & lug nut covers as replacement for a normal Tesla aero hubcaps that came with our new Model 3 in 2019. Photo by Zach Shahan | CleanTechnica.

After pulling off the aero (or other) rims, you simply put each of these covers into the middle of the rims and then give them a little pop in order to create a clear clicking sound that will assure you they are on firmly. That's it. It takes all of about 3 seconds. It really couldn't be easier or quicker to install them.

Once on, well, it's up to you whether you like how they look or not. But I love the look!

Front wheel is completely missing a hubcap. Back wheel has new hub & lug nut cover as a replacement for a normal Tesla aero hubcap. Photo by Zach Shahan | CleanTechnica.

Oh, funny enough, another Tesla Model 3 (a Turo one) with the hub & lug nut covers was also at the Supercharger where I changed the aero hubcaps to these smaller hub & lug nut covers. I took a few pictures of it as well.

Zach is tryin' to help society help itself one word at a time. He spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as its director, chief editor, and CEO. Zach is recognized globally as an electric vehicle, solar energy, and energy storage expert. He has presented about cleantech at conferences in India, the UAE, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, the USA, Canada, and Curaçao.Zach has long-term investments in Tesla [TSLA], NIO [NIO], Xpeng [XPEV], Ford [F], ChargePoint [CHPT], Amazon [AMZN], Piedmont Lithium [PLL], Lithium Americas [LAC], Albemarle Corporation [ALB], Nouveau Monde Graphite [NMGRF], Talon Metals [TLOFF], Arclight Clean Transition Corp [ACTC], and Starbucks [SBUX]. But he does not offer (explicitly or implicitly) investment advice of any sort.

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