What to Expect in Tesla’s 2024 Holiday Update

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Every year, Tesla releases a huge Holiday update, to celebrate the holiday season. Last year’s Holiday update was packed with features, such as custom lock sounds, alternative routes, high-fidelity park assist and more. We expect this year’s update to be just as packed.

So, what can we expect in this year’s Holiday update? We closely monitor features that are discovered in the vehicle’s firmware or in the Tesla app, but haven’t been released yet. So we have a good idea of some of the features that are likely to be included in this holiday update.

Some of the features mentioned below are highly likely to be included in the holiday update, while others have a chance of showing up in the year’s biggest update.

So we’ll quickly review those, and then move on to what else we think is coming. So, grab your stockings, watch out for the coal, and let’s get stuffing.

Holiday Update Features

We’ve got quite a few features we’re expecting to land with the Holiday Update, so let’s go through them!

Watch Support

First up in our expected updates is Apple Watch support for the Tesla app. A recent update to the iOS app revealed that a Watch app is on its way, and you’ll be able to access some key controls from your Apple Watch in the near future. We’re not sure whether Android watch support will also be included, or whether Tesla will work on this later.

Adaptive Headlights

Next up is Adaptive Headlights - which were confirmed to be “coming soon” to North America. Adaptive Headlights are a massive benefit for driving in the dark and are good for both Tesla owners and other road users. We’re excited to see this one land, as it's a huge safety benefit.

Voice Assistant

Tesla has been cooking up an updated Voice Assistant for quite some time now, with new voiceovers available on new vehicles, and Elon confirming that a Smart Voice Assistant is on the horizon. China recently got context-based voice commands, so we’re hoping for something a little smarter than what’s currently available.

We will say though, there are quite a few Voice Commands already available - but making them smarter and better is never a bad thing!

X App

License Plate Visualization

With an upcoming currently employee-only update, you’ll be able to set your vehicle license plate and have it show up in the vehicle visualization - both when parked and when moving. For now, this feature is China-exclusive, but we’re hoping that this will arrive globally with the Holiday Update, similar to other features that originally launched in China, like the Air Quality Index display, the trip meter that displays traffic along your route, and even the ability to change your vehicle’s color.

SiriusXM Streaming

SiriusXM is famed for its satellite streaming - and for Tesla owners, only the Model S and Model X are equipped with the receivers. For other owners, you were out of luck. However, In a web post that was taken down back in August, SiriusXM confirmed that a SiriusXM Web Streaming App was on its way to Tesla vehicles! 

That means non-satellite (data) streaming of SiriusXM content to any vehicle. Lots of people love SiriusXM’s content, and expanding Tesla’s ever-growing library of streaming content is always a plus.

Amazon Prime Video

Tesla previously added Amazon Music back in Update 2024.26, and many remarked that Prime Video was missing. While you can technically access Prime Video through the web browser, you don’t get the same experience as Theatre Mode. So we’d love for Tesla to bring Amazon’s Prime Video to the list of theatre experiences. 

Smart Child Seats

In Update 2024.32, Tesla added references to Smart Child Seats. These smart seats come with a slew of features, including real-time notifications for the buckle and occupant status. We’re sure all the parents are hoping to be able to better integrate their children’s safety with how safe and smart their vehicle is - including a forgotten child alert!

Avoid Highways

Back in June, Elon confirmed that an “Avoid Highways” option would be coming to Tesla’s navigation options. While this hasn’t landed just yet, we’re hoping this will land with the Holiday Update. Being able to avoid highways, just like you can avoid tolls, can be useful - and some drivers just prefer the scenic or non-highway route to their destination.

Caraoke Studio

Caraoke is getting a Recording Studio mode, where you’ll be able to record your Karaoke sessions, add special effects, and save the files to a USB stick. This will be a fun one - especially when you grab a set of Caraoke Mics!

Everything Else

There’s always more than we covered in just this article. Pretty much anything that a Tesla executive has discussed over the last year on X, or that we’ve seen the potential for arriving in partial updates could show up. This includes items like New Charging Visualizations, Fleet-Data Suspension Adjustments, Stuck Detection for the Cybertruck, and more.

You can read through our list of Upcoming Tesla Features here!

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Tesla May Add Lumbar Support to Driver Profiles, Offer Turn Signal Stalk Retrofit

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Tesla’s Vice President of Vehicle Engineering, Lars Moravy, recently took to X and opened the floor for user input. There, he asked the community for features and improvements they’d like to see to make Teslas better heading into 2026.

This post generated thousands of suggestions - and we recapped the best of them. There were also a few that Lars responded to, giving owners hope for some much-requested future changes, so let’s take a look at what may be coming

Lumbar Profile Support

Today, lumbar support is one of the few items that is not saved in the Tesla profile. That means if you have multiple drivers who use the same vehicle, you’re often left adjusting this setting manually, as it retains the setting that was last used. One community member suggested saving your lumbar setting to your profile just like Tesla does for other seat settings.

Lars said making this change seems doable, but it’ll take some engineering magic. The lumbar support isn’t tied to an absolute sensor like the other seat settings. This suggests that Tesla does not have an exact value to save, as it does with other seat functions, but Lars believes Tesla can find a way to save lumbar preferences. Tesla could potentially time how long the motor runs to get to the user’s lumbar setting and save this value.

With that said, it seems the vehicle engineering team may take a look at this one, and we may see it included in a future update.

Model 3 Signal Stalk Retrofit

The move away from traditional stalks in favor of the steering wheel buttons on the Refreshed Model 3 has been a point of debate. While the author is squarely in the camp of steering wheel buttons (at least with the Cybertruck), many dissent and say that the buttons on the Refreshed 3 aren’t as satisfying or easy to use.

Many other drivers also prefer the tactile feel and muscle memory of a physical stalk for signaling. Tesla appears to favor stalks, as they retained the turn signal stalk with the new Model Y. There are also rumors that Tesla is going to reintroduce the turn signal stalk to the Model 3.

If Tesla adds stalks back to the new Model 3, current 2024+ Model 3 owners are still left without stalks. However, a user suggested adding stalks as a retrofit option. Lars said that he would try to consider a retrofitted signal stalk for the Refreshed Model 3, similar to the simplified version in the Refreshed Model Y.

While less definitive than the lumbar support response, it appears that Tesla may at least consider offering a stalk retrofit for the new Model 3. If you’re a lover of signal stalks and can’t wait for Tesla to get an official one - we recommend the Enhauto S3XY Stalks, which are customizable and feel very close to Tesla’s original fit and finish.

With that said, it’s nice to see Tesla incorporating more community feedback into its vehicle design these days. Perhaps one day, they’ll address the infamous auto wipers. They have gotten better, but they’re still not as reliable as what’s available in most other vehicles. With that said, we look forward to the changes that will emerge from these recent conversations.

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Tesla to Issue TCU Fix That Prevents Vehicles From Sleeping in Update 2025.14.6

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Sometimes, even with Tesla’s intensive bug-testing regime, bugs manage to make it out into the wild. In this particular case, a European user (@darkwaffle48484 on X) noticed that their 2024 Model 3 was using up more battery than normal while parked. Normally, they noted that the vehicle would lose about 1-2% per week; however, recently, they noticed much larger drops of 3-4% per night.

They monitored their Tesla widget and noticed the car wasn’t entering deep sleep. The widget consistently showed a recent connection time—usually within the past 45 minutes.

Fix Inbound

After discussing the issue with other Tesla owners and realizing it was somewhat widespread, they contacted Tesla Service. The service team confirmed that it was a firmware bug affecting the Telematics Control Unit (TCU), which prevented the vehicle from entering deep sleep mode.

The TCU is essentially the communications hub of your Tesla - and is mounted on the ceiling of newer vehicles such as the Model 3 and the new Model Y. It enables cellular and location services (via GPS) and also handles Wi-Fi and Bluetooth services. Tesla Service stated that this bug is planned to be fixed in update 2025.14.6, although the exact version number could change. However, they confirmed that they are aware of the issue and it is being addressed.

@darkwaffle48484

When the user reached out to Tesla Service, Tesla Service responded with the following (translated from Dutch):

“It has been confirmed that this is a firmware bug. The fix is in one of the next updates. Currently, it is planned for 2025.14.6 (subject to change). Do you have any more questions?”

Potentially Region-Specific

This bug could potentially be region-specific. TCUs often require specific hardware components, such as modems, as well as specific firmware versions that support different regions and cellular providers. These enable Tesla to comply with local cellular standards and regulations and ensure that your vehicle can connect to the networks available in that particular region.

At this point, it’s not clear when the fix will roll out, but given that update 2025.14.1 has practically stopped rolling out, Tesla may be waiting to resume the rollout with update 2025.14.3 or this 2025.14.6 version.

If you’ve noticed this issue and are in a non-European nation, let us know.

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