3 Across Installations: Fitting Car Seats in a Tesla Model 3 Sedan

The Tesla Model 3 is one of the most surprising entries to the packed mid-sized sedan market in the United States, and increasingly one of the most popular. Unlike its competitors (which include the Subaru Legacy, Subaru Outback, Ford Fusion, Volkswagen Jetta, Honda Accord, Volkswagen Passat, Hyundai Sonata, Kia Optima, and Toyota Camry), the Model 3 is only available as a fully electric vehicle. And it’s selling like hotcakes. But how does it do when it comes to keeping families safe?

First of all, everything starts with rear-facing when it comes to car seat safety. Whether you’re 8 hours old or 80 years young, you’re best off rear-facing. Practically speaking, if you can keep your little ones rear-facing until at least 4, the way the Swedes do, you’re on the right track. At that point, if you wish, you can switch to forward-facing. To be honest, you can keep rear-facing too, but if you forward-face, know that you can also switch directly from rear-facing into boostering if your children are ready. From then on, you’ll want to keep your kids in high-back boosters until they’re ready to use adult seat belts; this typically won’t happen until they’re at least 10 to 12. It’s not a race; keep kids in earlier stages if possible for as long as possible.

The guide below represents only a fraction of available combinations for the Model 3; if you find other combinations that work, feel free to let me know through the forums; I’ll add more seats as I get the chance to test them.

You can access the complete 3 across guide for every vehicle here and the complete list of recommended seats here. The Canadian car seat guide is here. 3 across car seat images are courtesy of Wikipedia or the NHTSA.

2018-2019 Tesla Model 3 (BlueStar)

Guaranteed 3 across installations:

Clek Fllo (x3).

Clek Foonf (x3).

Clek Oobr (x3).

Maxi-Cosi RodiFix (x3).

Peg Perego Flex 120 (x3).

Diono Radian R120 (x3).

Diono Radian RXT (x3).

Diono Radian R100 (x3).

Chicco KeyFit 30 (x3).

Graco Size4Me 65 (x3).

Graco Contender (x3).

Combi Coccoro (x3).

Clek Fllo, Diono Radian / RXT, Diono Radian / RXT.

Clek Fllo,Graco Size4Me 65, Graco Size4Me 65.

Clek Fllo, Graco Size4Me 65, Diono Radian / RXT.

Tips and Tricks:

The initial generation of the Tesla Model 3 fastback sedan is just under 185 inches long and just over 76 inches wide with a height of 57 inches and a wheelbase of 113 inches. In other words, you’re going to be able to fit most car seats inside without much trouble as long as you’re willing to use seat belts instead of LATCH for the wider ones. Remember that there’s no safety difference between seat belts and LATCH, but seat belts are much more efficient in helping you squeeze out every available inch of space in your back seats. The center seat is the narrowest and is where you’ll want to install the narrowest seat. Your biggest challenge will be finding enough front-to-back space when using larger seats or when dealing with taller drivers and front seat passengers. The angle adjuster will be a good idea for a Diono-based seat if using it with a child at least 6 months old.

If you find my information on best practices in car and car seat safety helpful, you can buy my books here or do your shopping through this Amazon link. Canadians can shop here for Canadian purchases. Have a question or want to discuss best practices? Send me an email at carcrashdetective [at] gmail [dot] com.