Pop the floor of almost any new car bought in 2026 and the spot where a spare tire used to live is empty. In a new walkthrough, Out of Spec Reviews leans into that gap, fitting a Modern Spare kit into a new Tesla Model Y that sits flush in the underfloor storage area and stays out of sight day to day. The host frames flat tires as a when, not an if, recalling a recent 1,800 mile road trip in a VinFast with no spare and no good plan if something had gone wrong. The kit he installs pairs a compact Continental tire, the same overall diameter as the car's normal wheels but narrower, with a jack, gloves, and a jack puck for lifting the car. He puts the price in the low hundreds of dollars and is clear it is a temporary-use tire, enough to get you off the shoulder and moving again rather than something to run on full time.
Here is the wider picture the video gestures at but does not quantify. AAA research has found that roughly a third of new vehicles now ship without a spare, up from about 5 percent in 2006, as automakers chase weight savings, cargo room, and efficiency. The trade is real, but so is the downside. The usual replacement, an inflator or sealant kit, cannot fix a blowout or sidewall damage, which is exactly the failure that strands people, and AAA notes those kits expire and can cost far more than a simple repair. Electric trucks are an odd case study. The host points out that the F-150 Lightning includes a spare and the Rivian R1T offers one, while the Cybertruck, Silverado EV, and Sierra EV do not, despite having room. For a road-tripper the buyer question is blunt: how far are you ever from a shop that stocks your exact tire size?
Most of the video is a hands-on look at how the kit packs away. According to Out of Spec, the Model Y version drops into the underfloor well with slight modifications, and the host trimmed the original plastic load cover so the floor still sits flush on top and the powered trunk still closes over it. He has been driving the car, which he says belongs to his parents, for several months. The pitch leans on his own history: he says he has been stranded twice in Teslas after pothole strikes, and recounts a separate episode roughly three years ago that left a car undriveable and ran past a thousand dollars once towing was added. He also says he has long kept a Modern Spare kit in his own Model 3 and once ran four of these compact tires through a full track day, offered as evidence they are tougher than they look. A practical note he raises: even drivers who would never change a wheel themselves can hand the kit to a tow operator, which beats waiting on a town that may not stock the size. The host discloses up front that Modern Spare sponsored the video.
Bottom line: A spare you can hide is one of the few aftermarket buys that is pure insurance with no daily penalty, and for anyone who road-trips an EV outside city limits it is easy money. Take the glowing track-day talk with the grain of salt any sponsored review deserves, and judge the kit on the boring stuff: fitment, total weight, and whether you will actually use the jack. The real frustration here is aimed higher up, at automakers that delete the spare to shave cost and then expect owners to buy it back.
Commentary on a third-party video. Figures and claims are as presented in the source and have not been independently verified. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will correct it.