A 12V fridge in the sub-trunk is one of the more genuinely useful Tesla accessories — road trips, groceries, tailgates. The catch has never been the fridge. It’s whether the car keeps the socket alive after you walk away.
The setting that decides it
For a stretch, keeping 12V power on in a parked car meant leaving Camp Mode or Sentry Mode running, both of which burn energy doing other things. Tesla addressed that with a dedicated option. Per Not a Tesla App’s April 7, 2025 report, a “Keep Accessory Power On” setting under Controls > Charging restores power to the 12V sockets and USB ports while parked, covering the rear 12V plug at a maximum of 16A where the car has one.
The limit worth knowing: that report states accessory power stays on “only while the option is on and the vehicle’s battery remains above 20%, at which point, it’ll be turned off.” So the car will protect itself before your groceries. Note the date on that source — check the setting’s current behavior in your car’s software rather than assuming it’s unchanged.
Camp Mode is the other route
Camp Mode still exists and still keeps things powered, but it also runs climate control, which is a much larger draw than a fridge. If you’re sleeping in the car, that’s the point; if you just want a cooler running while you’re at dinner, it’s the expensive way to do it. Our Camp Mode guide covers when it earns its energy.
Before you buy a fridge
Measure the sub-trunk, not the trunk. Fit is the thing people get wrong — compressor fridges sized for a pickup bed will not drop into a Model Y well. And check the draw in amps against the 16A ceiling above; most 12V compressor coolers sit far below it, but powered inverters are a different question, and Tesla advises against plugging non-Tesla inverters into the low-voltage socket.
Dirty Tesla found one built for the space and tried it on July 21, 2026:
That’s one product in one car, not a recommendation from us — the numbers above are the part to check any fridge against.
Photo by Matheus Bertelli.