How to Design a Tesla Wrap in Photoshop, GIMP or Canva

You don’t need a special app to make a Tesla Paint Shop wrap. Any image editor with layers and PNG export will do. This guide covers Photoshop, the free GIMP and Canva, plus the two checks that save you a trip to the car. If you would rather design straight on a 3D model, our free wrap editor does the template work for you.

Step 1: Get the right template

Tesla publishes a template for every supported model in its custom-wraps repository. Each template is a flat “UV map”: the hood, roof, doors and bumpers unfolded onto one image. Pick the folder for your exact car, because the 2024+ Model 3 and 2025+ Model Y use different layouts from the earlier cars. The templates are 1024×1024, except Cybertruck at 1024×768.

Step 2: Set up your file

• Open the template at its original size. Don’t resize the canvas.
• Put the template on the top layer, set it to 30–50% opacity and lock it. It is a guide, not part of the design.
• Work on layers underneath it.

Photoshop

1. File → Open the template PNG, then set the layer to Multiply or lower its opacity and lock it.
2. Add a fill layer for the base color, then shapes, stripes, logos or images on separate layers.
3. Use clipping masks to keep artwork inside a panel.
4. Hide the template layer and choose File → Export → Export As, PNG. Leave the size unchanged.

GIMP (free)

1. File → Open as Layers to load the template, and lower its opacity in the Layers panel.
2. Create new layers below it for your design.
3. Hide the template, then File → Export As, name the file with a .png extension and set compression to 9.

Canva

1. Create a design with a custom size of 1024×1024 px (1024×768 for Cybertruck).
2. Upload the template, stretch it to fill the page and set its transparency to about 40% as a guide.
3. Add elements and text, then delete the template before downloading.
4. Download as PNG. Canva files with photos can exceed 1 MB; if yours does, compress it with the PNG checker.

Design tips that work on the car

• Keep important artwork inside one panel. Logos and faces that cross from a door onto a fender can split or stretch.
• Mirror the two sides. The left and right sides of the car are separate areas on the template, so copy and flip side artwork.
• Think in bold shapes. The car is small on the touchscreen; thin lines and small text disappear.
• Flat colors keep files small and help you stay under 1 MB.

Step 3: Check the file before you walk to the car

Open the PNG in our Tesla wrap PNG checker. It confirms the format, size, file size and name, and shows the design on a 3D model of your Tesla with the template overlay, so you can spot a misplaced logo first. For every file rule in detail, see Tesla Paint Shop file requirements.

Step 4: Load it

Upload it in the Tesla app (Creations → Wrap → Upload) or copy it to a Wraps folder at the root of a USB drive, then pick it in Toybox → Paint Shop → Wraps. Our Paint Shop guide walks through both.