Tesla continues to crack down on leaks, even after making changes to its internal builds. Internal testers and employees previously leaked new software updates with impunity, but it recently got a little harder, with Tesla watermarking release notes with the vehicle’s VIN.'
Discord user
Tesla has recently taken this a few steps further than just watermarking the release notes in the vehicle and in the Tesla app.
API Changes
Tesla has an internal early access program (Wave 1), which allows employees access to the newest updates before they’re made available to the public. This allows employees to experience the latest features on their personal vehicles and help provide feedback to Tesla. It’s a nice perk for employees and gives Tesla one last chance to test software before it’s rolled out more widely.
Previously, if these vehicles were enrolled in the Wave 1 program and a third-party service, the service could use Tesla’s APIs to leak the latest release notes. This used to be a convenient and simple way for outside organizations to get their hands on release notes early, but Tesla has now made changes to prevent this.
Now, vehicles enrolled in the employee early access program won’t return release notes through the API anymore.
Who Gets These Early Updates?
Tesla issues these early updates to its internal ADAS testers, as well as Wave 1 employees. Any Tesla employee can sign up for their early-access program. The tester vehicles are tightly controlled, and there usually aren’t any leaks at this level, other than sightings of unique test beds like the Cybertruck with LIDAR.
Wave 1 employees come after the internal testers and serve as an additional step before public release to early-access customers, such as Tesla influencers.
Most Tesla releases follow this release process: QA > Wave 1 > Influencers > Customers
Wave 1 employees serve as a barrier between customers and a buggy update. Since Tesla needs to test hundreds if not thousands of hardware variations, due to different manufacturers for certain parts, this group plays a critical role in letting Tesla test a wider fleet that is still private.
Tesla doesn’t allow customers to roll back vehicle software, but it is doable through Tesla’s internal service tools on an as-needed basis. This lets Tesla find and kill bugs before they grow into a rampaging problem when released to hundreds of thousands of Tesla vehicles worldwide.
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date on the latest Tesla news, upcoming features and software updates.
Tesla’s upcoming Home Wireless Charging Pad – the so-called “Project Garfield,” will get special Autopark support. Vehicle backup cameras will be able to locate the Wireless Charging Pad and then Autopark the vehicle in the best spot for the charging session to begin.
This information comes from Gizmodo China, who found this information from a reputable local source. We previously looked into Tesla’s Wireless Charging Patents in-depth and how Tesla intends to make this a simple and easy-to-use system, but one that’s also fairly high performance.
Automatic Docking
Similar to your robotic vacuum automatically docking to charge, eventually, your Tesla will be able to automatically locate your Home Wireless Charging Pad, and then maneuver itself into the perfect spot to take advantage of the highest charging speeds with the least energy leakage.
Automatically docking the vehicle is a fantastic solution to the woes of Wireless Charging, where even minor misalignment creates heat and wastes lots of energy. This fixes that issue at the vehicle level, so owners won’t have to move their wireless charging pads under the vehicle or move their vehicle around to find the perfect spot on their own.
In combination with Tesla’s patent to automatically adapt to variations in wireless charging layouts and systems, it seems that Tesla will be able to adapt to most circumstances that previous wireless EV charging companies were having difficulties with. Tesla will be able to vary the coil induction across its Wireless Charging Pad to “steer” or aim the wireless charging at different parts of the inductive coil inside the vehicle, enabling them to reduce heat, reduce waste energy, and accommodate variances in how vehicles line-up with the Wireless Charging Pad.
This feature may be limited to owners or subscribers of Enhanced Autopilot and Full Self-Driving, which come with AutoPark as a standard feature. It could also be a software-level feature that’s enabled when a Home Wireless Charging Pad is detected nearby—which could also be an excellent option. We don’t know how Tesla plans to implement this just yet, but it will be very cool.
While we expect Tesla’s upcoming Robotaxi to feature the first Wireless Charging tech inside an EV, the Cybertruck already has the connectors for it and is ready to be retrofitted with the induction coils in a future update. The upcoming Model Y Juniper may also bring Wireless Charging en-masse to EVs.
We’re super excited to hear more about Tesla’s Home Wireless Charging Pads, as they’ll add even more convenience to owning a Tesla.
Rendering of what Tesla's integration could look like
@dkrasniy
Tesla is adding support for Smart Child Seats in an upcoming update. Greentheonly, who typically decompiles and analyzes Tesla’s software updates, found references to smart car seats in update 2024.32. Tesla will sometimes release code in a software update that isn’t exposed to end users. There could be various reasons for this, such as Tesla wanting to collect data and running the feature in shadow mode, which is often the case with features like Park Assist, Autopark, or Autopilot changes.
Tesla also has the capability to turn on a certain feature in a remote configuration, letting them enable or disable the feature at their discretion. Whatever the case, Tesla appears close to releasing support for these new car seats that help alert parents of potential dangers.
Smart Child Seats
The Smart Child Seat in the preview image is the Babyark Convertible Car Seat, which retails for approximately $1,200 USD. In the code of Tesla’s update, they specifically refer to an “ISOFIX” base. ISOFIX is a standardized car seat fitting system that automatically locks onto a car seat.
The Babyark comes with a slew of smart features, including real-time notifications, buckle alerts, status notifications, and approximately how much time your baby has spent in the seat. Additionally, the Babyark can remind owners of reconfiguring the seat as your child grows. One of the key features of Babyark is a forgotten child alert – which prevents parents from leaving their child in the car.
At this point, we’re not quite sure exactly how many of these smart features will be integrated into Tesla’s UI, but most likely the forgotten child alert will be integrated, as well as possibly a means to automatically recognize when an ISOFIX style seat is installed. Currently, child seats need to be manually marked in the UI – which will dismiss the seatbelt indicator for that seat.
Tesla has time and time again placed a huge focus on safety features, and this upcoming support for smart child seats is another interesting integration to help ensure that parents can keep their children safe. And when they grow up – you can use Tesla’s parental controls to ensure that they drive their Tesla in a safe manner.
![Tesla Adds HEPA Filter to New Model 3, Will it Get Bioweapon Defense Mode? [Update: Tesla Edits Post]](https://www.notateslaapp.com/images/news/2023/new-model-3-hepa-filter_300w.jpg)
