The visor button that opens a garage door or driveway gate has been standard equipment in premium vehicles since 1994. In a growing number of new EVs, it is no longer there — or it is there only if you pay extra for it.

The shift is happening without much announcement from manufacturers. EV owners with gates and garages are noticing it after delivery.

What happened at Tesla

Tesla’s approach has been the most visible. The company removed HomeLink from the standard equipment list for Model 3 and Model Y. The technology — a module in the overhead console that transmits RF signals to open garage doors and driveway gates — is now a separate purchase, available through Tesla’s shop for around $300. Owners who received a Model 3 or Model Y without it must either buy the retrofit kit or find a different access method.

Model S and Model X still include HomeLink as standard. The Cybertruck also ships with it.

The move was almost certainly driven by cost. HomeLink is a licensed technology from Gentex Corporation, and integrating it requires a certified module for each vehicle line. On a platform Tesla was working to bring to a lower price point, a licensed visor module used by a fraction of buyers was an easy target.

Polestar and the broader pattern

Polestar has not included HomeLink on any of its production vehicles. Owners of the Polestar 2 and Polestar 3 have no factory or aftermarket retrofit equivalent to the Tesla kit.

The pattern across EV brands is uneven. Some manufacturers continue to include HomeLink as standard equipment. Others have made it optional or omitted it, often pointing buyers toward app-based integrations as a substitute. Whether that substitution actually works depends heavily on what the owner is trying to open and how far from the road it sits.

Why the app alternative falls short at gates

For a garage door attached to a house, a phone-based system can work reasonably well. The distance from phone to opener is short, and a reliable connection is usually available.

Driveway gates are different. The gate receiver may be 100–300 feet from the street, past a long driveway and possibly behind trees or terrain. An RF signal at 315 or 433 MHz from a HomeLink unit will reach that receiver reliably. A cloud-relayed app, or even a local Bluetooth signal, typically won’t.

This is the gap owners with longer driveways encounter when their EV doesn’t include HomeLink. Why HomeLink stops working with your driveway gate covers the RF mechanics in more detail, including why the physics of the signal matters more at gate distances than at garage distances.

Retrofit options

For EVs that shipped without HomeLink, the main option is the Gentex retrofit kit — the same RF module, designed to clip to a standard visor mirror. It programs the same way as a factory-installed HomeLink unit and supports rolling-code protocols including Security+, Security+ 2.0, and Intellicode. At around $300, it is not inexpensive, but it restores the same capability owners would have had from the factory.

Universal visor clickers are available at lower price points, but most use fixed-code transmission. Fixed-code clickers won’t pair with Security+ or Security+ 2.0 openers, which are the most common type on residential gates.

For a side-by-side look at what’s available for driveway gate access when HomeLink isn’t included — hardware, app-based, and category alternatives — HomeLink alternatives for driveway gates covers the full field honestly.

The gap this opens

As HomeLink shifts from a standard fitting to a premium add-on, the default access experience for EV owners with driveway gates gets more complicated. A newer category of vehicle-paired openers addresses this directly: the gate responds to the car’s proximity rather than a visor button or phone tap. The Premium-EV Arrival Stack covers how that access layer fits into the broader EV home-arrival picture.

Proxly is building in this category. If you have a driveway gate and an EV without HomeLink, the beta list is open while the product is in pre-launch.

The visor button served its purpose for three decades. Whether the replacement is a retrofit module, an app, or a different access layer depends on the driveway length and how much friction is acceptable at the gate.

Frequently asked questions

Which new EVs don't include HomeLink?
Tesla Model 3 and Model Y no longer include HomeLink as standard equipment — it is a separately purchased module, available through Tesla's shop. Polestar does not include HomeLink across its lineup. Tesla Model S and Model X still ship with HomeLink installed.
Can I add HomeLink to an EV that didn't come with it?
Yes. Gentex, which makes HomeLink, sells a retrofit kit that mounts to the visor mirror and uses the same RF protocol as built-in units. It costs around $300, works with most vehicles that have a standard visor mirror, and installs without a dealer visit.
Does losing HomeLink matter more for driveway gates than garage doors?
Generally yes. Driveway gates sit farther from the house, so RF range is more critical. App-based alternatives that work well at an attached garage often struggle at the 100–300-foot distances typical of gated driveways. HomeLink's RF signal maintains reliable range at those distances.
Team Proxly

The engineers building Proxly — a hands-free auto-open accessory for residential driveway gates. Built in California.

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