How to make a Tesla light show in xLights

A custom show is two files: a light sequence (.fseq) made in the free xLights app, and the song it was made for. Here’s the shortest path from a song to a show on your car.

Step by step

1. Install xLightsDownload the free xLights app for Windows or Mac from xlights.org.
2. Get Tesla’s project folderDownload the bare xLights project folder from Tesla’s light-show repository on GitHub and unzip it. Leave its files where they are — the layout of lights and closures lives there.
3. Set the export format firstIn xLights open File → Preferences → Sequences and set FSEQ Version to “V2 Uncompressed”. This is the setting most failed shows get wrong.
4. Open the project folderUse File → Select Show Folder and pick the unzipped Tesla folder. The Layout tab should now show a 3D Tesla.
5. Start a musical sequenceFile → New Sequence → Musical Sequence, then pick your song. Use a 44.1 kHz .wav if you can; 48 kHz audio drifts out of sync on the car.
6. Use a 20 ms frame intervalIn the wizard choose Custom and set the frame interval to 20 ms. The car accepts 15–100 ms, but 20 ms suits almost every show.
7. Program the lightsIn the Sequencer, place effects on the light groups. Most lights are simply on or off; some can ramp. Double-click a group to control left and right separately.
8. Export and name the filesSave and render. Copy the .fseq file and the same song into the LightShow folder on your USB drive, renamed so both share one name, e.g. lightshow.fseq and lightshow.wav.
9. Check before you go to the carRun the drive through the Gearwisp light show checker to catch format, naming and audio problems.

Open the light show checker

How the lights behave

• Most lights are on/off. An “On” effect turns the light fully on; empty timeline means off. Very short flashes (under about 100 ms) are hard to see — leave a little on- and off-time.
• Some lights can ramp. Main beams, and on some cars the signature and turn lights, can fade in or out over 0.5, 1 or 2 seconds. In xLights the fade is chosen by the effect’s brightness level, not a smooth brightness setting.
• Cybertruck light bars have full brightness control and individually addressable LEDs, so regular xLights effects (bars, curtains, morphs) work on them.
• Interior and screen colour. The centre screen, and ambient lights on cars that have them, take full RGB colour.
• Some lights are shared. On several models, side markers and parking lights (and channels 4–6 on Model 3/Y) are one physical output. Leave gaps on all of the shared channels at the same time, or the light just stays on.

Closures: windows, mirrors, liftgate, doors

Closures can open, close, stop or “dance” (wiggle between two positions). They have per-show movement limits and get hot if they dance too long, so use them for accents:

• Only open, close and dance count towards the limit.
• Except for windows, a closure must already be open before it can dance — leave time for it to open (a liftgate takes around 14 seconds).
• Keep dancing to about 30 seconds per show; motors stop when they get too warm.
• Music plays from the cabin speakers, so closing the windows makes it quieter outside.

Figures from Tesla’s xLights guide; check there for the full channel map.

Questions

Show not starting? See light show troubleshooting.