A late-night Elon Musk post on X has this writer wondering if the Matrix has a glitch. For over a year, credible Tesla-focused websites and the mainstream media have referred to the Tesla Model 3 as the "Highland." But the company’s CEO says the Highland name “is not real,” although it has been seen in various Tesla documents. The cryptic message comes just 24 hours after the new Model 3 launched in North America. Is Musk simply joking, or is there a deeper meaning to his words?
Reuters was the first to use the word Highland. On November 28, 2022, the news outlet ran an “exclusive” story citing “four people with knowledge of the effort” of a revamped version of Model 3 codenamed "Highland." The name made sense. Although the exact origin remains unknown, there were intriguing theories:
Historical Reference to Ford: Some believe "Highland" might refer to Ford Motor Co's Highland Park plant, the birthplace of Ford's revolutionary assembly line.
Cinematic Nod: Others speculate that the name could be a homage to the 1986 film "Highlander", known for its immortals' battle and the iconic line, "there can only be one." This theory aligns with Musk's penchant for movie references and quirky humor.
A few weeks after the report, the mysterious partially covered Model 3s appeared around California. The name Highland took off from there.
Musk vs. Mainstream Media: A Turbulent Narrative
Elon Musk's relationship with the mainstream media has been tumultuous, marked by a series of confrontations and criticisms. His stance has been particularly conspicuous since he acquired Twitter. This ongoing battle with the press can be seen as a backdrop to the "Highland" mystery, casting Musk's latest tweet in a different light.
Perhaps his dismissive comment about the "Highland" codename might not be a straightforward denial but a nuanced swipe at media credibility. Considering that Reuters, a major news outlet, was the first to report on Highland, it could be interpreted as a continuation of his broader skepticism towards media reporting, mainly when it involves narratives about Tesla.
This dynamic adds an intriguing layer to the story, where the "truth" of the Model 3 "Highland" becomes not just a matter of fact but also a symbol in the larger narrative of Musk's complex relationship with the media. As Musk continues to engage in this media tug-of-war, each tweet and statement becomes a potential chess move in an ongoing battle of narratives.
Tesla Community Reaction
Seriousness aside, the internet did not fail to bring a few laughs in the replies to Musk’s post. Some played with the idea of it being part of a grand simulation, adding a touch of sci-fi flair to the debate. Others jokingly asked if this was all just a clever trick or even a plot twist worthy of a movie. The popular “TMFINR” meme showed up a few times.
A few users leaned into humor and parody, echoing the playful skepticism that often accompanies Musk's cryptic messages. Amidst the laughter, there were genuine queries and theories, with several pondering if "Highland" was just an internal project name or something more.
Rumors and conspiracy theories weren't far behind, as some speculated about hidden meanings and possible secret projects. This led to various interpretations, from outright dismissal to earnest theorizing. Could it also have been used to identify who was leaking information? There are a lot of leaks! YoursYour's truly was reminded of a classic Creed line from The Office:
Overall, the community's response was a lively mix of jest, confusion, and curiosity, showcasing the engaging and speculative environment that Musk's tweets often create. It's a unique relationship between Musk, his projects, and his audience, where a single tweet can ignite a spectrum of imaginative and playful discussions.
The Model 3 "Highland" story continues to blend mystery and speculation, fueled by Musk's latest remarks. The “Highland” name was used internally, as it has shown up in several internal documents, so Musk's post causes some confusion. Does he possibly mean that Highland isn’t a part of the (final) product’s name and shouldn’t be used by media to differentiate it from the previous generation?
Whether a clever ruse, a misunderstood codename, or a media misinterpretation, it is a fascinating example of Tesla's cultural impact. Dare we ask if Juniper is real?
Yesterday, we reported that Tesla updated their Steam integration on Model S and Model X vehicles. The update was part of their 2024 Holiday Update, but it looks like there may be more to this than a simple update.
Steam, a video game library app, makes it easy for users to buy or launch games on their computers. However, a couple of years ago, Valve, who created Steam, launched their own standalone device, the Steam Deck. The Steam Deck runs a custom OS based on Linux.
Steam Launch
When Tesla launched the redesigned Model S and Model X, Tesla introduced a dedicated gaming GPU with 16GB of RAM and touted the ability to play top-tier PC games in Tesla vehicles.
In 2022, Tesla finally launched the Steam app for the Model S and Model X as part of its 2022 Holiday Update. The Steam app runs Steam OS, the same OS as the Steam Deck in a virtual environment.
However, earlier this year, Tesla stopped including the GPU and Steam (Beta) in their vehicles, and we haven’t seen any updates to the Steam in quite some time. In fact, we thought Tesla was axing their gaming-on-the-go dreams.
SteamOS Update
The Steam app, which is still in Beta, is getting an interesting update for the Model S and Model X vehicles with the discrete GPU.
Those vehicles received an update to SteamOS 3.6 - the same version of SteamOS that runs on the Steam Deck. While nothing has visually changed, there’s a long list of performance optimizations under the hood to get things running smoother.
Comparing Steam Deck to Tesla Vehicles
Let’s take a look at the Steam Deck - according to Valve, its onboard Zen4 CPU and GPU combined push a total of 2 TFlops of data, which is fairly respectable, but much lower than today’s home consoles. The Steam Deck is capable of 720p gaming fairly seamlessly on low-to-medium settings on the go and is also built on the AMD platform.
AMD-equipped Teslas, including the Model 3 and Model Y, are packing an older Zen+ (Zen 1.5) APU (processor with a combined CPU and GPU). AMD claims that the V1000 - the same embedded chip as on AMD Tesla vehicles (YE1807C3T4MFB), brings up to 3.6 TFLops of processing power with it, including 4K encoding and decoding with the integrated GPU on board.
While that’s not enough for 4K gaming or comparable to a full-blown console or desktop GPU, that’s enough raw horsepower for light gaming and is currently more powerful than the Steam Deck.
The Model S and Model X’s GPU brings that up to about 10TFlops of power - comparable to modern consoles like the Xbox Series X at 12 TFlops.
Steam Gaming for All Vehicles?
The fact that Tesla is updating SteamOS even though the feature is no longer available in any new vehicles could indicate that Tesla is not only bringing Steam back to Teslas but that it’s going to play a much bigger role.
While SteamOS is run in a virtual environment on top of Tesla’s own OS, we could see Tesla bring SteamOS to all of its current vehicles, including the Model 3, Model Y, and Cybertruck. Steam in these vehicles would likely support any game that’s capable of running on the Steam Deck.
We think this Steam update, which includes performance improvements and a variety of fixes, has quietly passed under most people’s radars. This could be a very exciting update for those who enjoy gaming, especially for those who love to do it in their Tesla.
As part of Tesla’s 2024 Holiday Update, Tesla included two awesome new features - Weather at Destination and the long-awaited Weather Radar Overlay. These two features are big upgrades built upon the weather feature that was added in update 2024.26. The original weather feature added an hourly forecast, as well as the chance of precipitation, UV index, Air Quality Index, and other data.
However, this update also added some smaller weather touches, such as the vehicle alerting you if the weather at the destination will be drastically different from the current weather.
Not a Tesla App
Weather At Destination
When you’re navigating to a destination and viewing the full navigation direction list, the text under the arrival time will show you the expected weather next to your destination. You can also tap this, and the full weather pop-up will show up, showing your destination's full set of weather information.
Note the weather under the arrival time
Not a Tesla App
You can also tap the weather icon at the top of the interface at any time and tap Destination to switch between the weather at your current location and the weather at your destination.
You’re probably considering that the weather at your destination doesn’t matter when you’re three hours away - but that’s all taken into account by the trip planner. It will add in both charge time and travel time and show you the weather at your destination at your expected arrival time.
And if the weather is drastically different or inclement, such as rain or snow, while you’ve got sunshine and rainbows - the weather will be shown above the destination ETA for a few moments before it tucks itself away.
Tesla also recently introduced a new voice command. Asking, “What’s the weather?” or something similar will now bring up Tesla’s weather popup.
The weather pop-up above the ETA
Not a Tesla App
One limitation, though—if you’re planning a long road trip that is more than a day of driving, the weather at destination feature won’t be available until you get closer.
Weather Radar Overlay
As part of the improvements to weather, Tesla has also added a radar overlay for precipitation. You can access the new radar overlay by tapping the map and then tapping the weather icon on the right side of the map. It’ll bring up a radar overlay centered on your vehicle. It’ll animate through the radar data over the last 3 hours so that you can see the direction of the storm, but you can also pause it at any point.
You’re able to scroll around in this view and see the weather anywhere, even if you zoom out. It also works while you’re driving, although it can be a little confusing if you’re trying to pay attention to the navigation system. If you like to have Points of Interest enabled on your map, the weather overlay will hide POIs except for Charging POIs.
Requirements / Data
Unfortunately, you’ll need Premium Connectivity for any of the weather features to work, and being on WiFi or using a hotspot will not be enough to get the data to show up. The data, including the weather radar, is provided by The Weather Channel.
As for supported models, weather and weather at destination are available on all vehicles except for the 2012-2020 Model S and Model X. The weather radar has more strict requirements and requires the newer AMD Ryzen-powered infotainment center available on the 2021+ Model S and Model X and more recent Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.
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