Photos and Video of Tesla’s Holiday Update 2024 - Part 1

@g3st4l1

While Tesla showed off a fantastic list of upcoming features for the 2024 Holiday Update, several things were left out. Now that the update has started rolling out in small numbers to the public, it’s our chance to find out about some of these smaller features and view others in action for the first time.

All of these features are part of software update 2024.44.25.2.

Energy App Changes

@g3st4l1

The Energy app has been updated for all models. For the first time, the Model S, Model X, and Cybertruck receive the Consumption tab, which shows real-time energy usage and how the car performed over a certain period. Previously, only the Drive and Park tabs were available.

The consumption tab was already available on the Model 3 and Model Y, but it’s receiving some changes. The Y-axis (energy used/gained) now appears to adjust based on the data; however, the X-axis (distance) is now fixed at 200 miles or 300 km, and the user can no longer change it. Previously, you could switch the graph between a 5-, 10-, and 15-mile history, but now it appears to be static at 200 miles.

The Energy app also included buttons to view your average range over the selected distance or your real-time range. However, those buttons have been removed, and you can now only view your average range at the top of the app and see how it compares to the rated (EPA) range. You can also view your projected range (the distance you can travel at this rate), which shows up in the middle of the graph.

In addition to those metrics, the app also shows you the total amount of energy used in the bottom left corner, which is a nice addition.

The addition of the consumption tab to the Model S, X, and Cybertruck is great, but some users may not be fans of the simplified look and controls. Not being able to select the distance or see the instant energy usage is a little bit of a disappointment. We would’ve loved to see the ability to pinch in and out of the graph so that you can adjust the time period to practically anything you wanted, up to a maximum of the last 200 miles, but overall these are nice improvements.

Unfortunately, this does not bring the Energy app to legacy Model S and Model X vehicles.

Weather At Destination

As part of the Holiday Update, Tesla is including a new feature to show the weather at your arrival destination. Tesla added the ability to view live weather and weather forecasts in the 2024.26 update, and now they’re extending it so that you can also view the weather at your destination.

The UI is intuitive, and tabs are simply added so that you can switch between the weather at your current location and your destination.

Tesla will also highlight any significant weather differences between your current location and final destination.

This feature is available for the Model 3, Model Y, Cybertruck, and new Model S and Model X. It also includes Intel-based vehicles (MCU 2), but like the original weather feature, it requires Premium Connectivity.

Precipitation Map

@Tesla this is what the weather layer looks like in the new update.
Impressive.#Tesla pic.twitter.com/etJdfRYki1

— Andras Csanyi (@csanyi_andras) December 5, 2024

Another big part of the Holiday Update is precipitation maps appearing as overlays on your vehicle map. When you tap the new precipitation icon on the right next to the satellite imagery button, a precipitation map overlay will appear, giving you insight into areas with incoming rain or snow. There is also an animated 3-hour forecast that shows weather patterns.

This particular portion of the Weather update requires an AMD (MCU 3) vehicle. Unfortunately, since Tesla is paying for this weather data, it’s only available if you have Premium Connectivity and using a hotspot or being on WiFi is not enough to enable the feature.

It’s available on all vehicles except the legacy Model S and Model X.

Boomerang Fu

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The new Boomerang Fu game will let you slice and dice your friends in a frantic physics party game. The game is available in Arcade > Boomerang Fu, and must be downloaded before being played. If you have Premium Connectivity, you’ll be able to download it on the go.

The game can be played by up to four people, but it does require a controller.

This new game requires an AMD Ryzen-based (MCU 3) vehicle and it’s available on the new Model S, new Model X, Model 3, Model Y and Cybertruck.

Light Show Improvements

Tesla has really hit it out of the park with Light Show Improvements in the 2024 Holiday Update. The biggest change is the ability to start Light Shows directly from your mobile app (V4.39.5+), but there’s more. Tesla has added two new built-in Light Shows based on Cyber Symphony by Lionel Yu and Ready for Assault by Evgeny Bardyuzha.

Tesla is already adding the ability to control interior lighting for Light Shows by adding special color effects, which is sure to make Light Shows even more spectacular. Tesla has also extended the maximum allowed length of a Light Show with this update.

You can check out the music for Ready for Assault below.

Theater Updates

Theatre mode can now be interacted with via the rear screen on vehicles that have them, including the ability to edit playlists or play and pause videos. 

But here’s the most surprising feature in the update. You’ll also be able to start a video in the web browser before you start driving and it’ll continue to play when you shift into drive only. The video will be disabled, but the audio will continue to play. So you’ll now be able to listen to YouTube-only podcasts.

Tesla is also giving us the ability to control the video with the media player, so you’ll be able to pause or start the content while driving.

Dashcam Viewer & Sentry Mode Improvements

@g3st4l1

The Holiday update is packed with features, but one of the most useful will be the ability to view your dashcam and Sentry Mode videos directly from your phone.

You’ll be able to access all of the content on your USB drive from your phone. The vehicle will stream the video from your USB drive, so the vehicle will need an active WiFi or cellular connection in order for the feature to work.

You’ll be able to change cameras, jump to Sentry Mode alerts, and even save clips onto your phone, making it much easier to save that important data.

Sentry Mode Improvements

Sentry Mode also received a batch of improvements. Tesla already sends mobile notifications for critical events - like an alarm going off. Now, Tesla will notify you if Sentry Mode is active and a door handle is pulled on a Model 3 or Model Y. In addition, if someone attempts to open the trunk by pressing the button - or open the Cybertruck’s vault - you’ll get a notification for that too.

The update is currently only going out to vehicles that don’t have access to FSD. However, we expect it to soon be available to users on FSD 12.5.4 and later available to those on FSD 12.5.6 and FSD v13.2.

If you’ve noticed any undocumented features in this update, definitely let us know through the Contact Us link at the bottom of this page.

If you’re enjoying this in-depth look at Tesla’s holiday update, be sure to check out part two, where we cover the new Seats menu, Set Arrival Energy, Maintenance Summary and more. You can also view the release notes for this update, version 2024.44.25.2.

Huge thanks to Zer for taking the time to share so many images with us.

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Tesla Teases FSD Unsupervised, Hits 50,000 Autonomous Miles

Not a Tesla App

We’ve known for a while now that Tesla has been using a custom build of FSD to allow its newly produced vehicles at Giga Texas and Fremont to autonomously navigate themselves from the production line to the outbound delivery lot. 

While we knew they were using a custom build of what was likely FSD Unsupervised, thanks to a recent post from Tesla AI on X, this has now been confirmed. Tesla has also confirmed it has accrued over 50,000 driverless miles, totalled from vehicles autonomously driving themselves to delivery lots.

Giga Texas production now uses FSD Unsupervised to deliver cars from end of line to the outbound logistics lot.

Over 50,000 driverless miles have been accrued between California and Texas factories so far pic.twitter.com/79zKY0U6Ox

— Tesla AI (@Tesla_AI) April 13, 2025

Autonomous Driving to Loading Areas

For most of Tesla’s vehicles - that’s a 1.4-mile trip that is shared with pedestrians, cars, trucks, and construction equipment. You can see in the video that the Teslas are navigating public roadways and encountering real human drivers.

That’s great news, especially since many were wondering whether Tesla would secure the necessary approvals in time to launch their Robotaxi network in June.

Increased Confidence

Following Tesla’s post to X, Musk followed up by saying that when Tesla launches FSD Unsupervised soon, it will be the first time there will be a generalized, pure AI solution to autonomy. Tesla and several executives continue to post more content about autonomy and the Robotaxi network, leading us to believe they’re feeling confident in the June launch.

Model Ys autonomously navigate a 1.4 mile trip on a road shared with pedestrians, cars, semi trucks, construction equipment & more pic.twitter.com/iPx2fs78v2

— Tesla AI (@Tesla_AI) April 13, 2025

Cybertruck Too

Back when Tesla initially announced the autonomous travel of its vehicles from production to loading lots, they mentioned that the Cybertruck was the only vehicle at Giga Texas not receiving that same treatment.

Now, that’s changed - Cybertruck is now also navigating through the Cybertunnel to make its way from the factory directly to the loading docks, all on Unsupervised FSD. And that’s making us even more excited, especially because Tesla was supposed to launch an FSD Update for the Cybertruck a little while ago - but it hasn’t made it to production yet. This update is set to bring Start FSD from Park, as well as Actually Smart Summon - bringing the Cybertruck to feature parity with Tesla’s other AI4 vehicles.

Cybertrucks autonomously navigate a 0.6 mile route traversing beneath one of America's fastest highways, emerging through a steep 17% grade to reach their destination pic.twitter.com/3ZMYCRPhIj

— Tesla AI (@Tesla_AI) April 13, 2025

Now that Tesla is confidently using a build of Unsupervised FSD to navigate the tight confines of the tunnel and park, we’re pretty sure that Tesla will likely launch the expected FSD update in the near future.

FSD Update Soon?

It’s been a while since any FSD hardware variant has received an FSD update. It appears that Tesla has been focused on Unsupervised FSD and launching FSD outside of North America.

It seems like we may get a new FSD update soon, and we don’t believe it’ll be just for the Cybertruck. Those who have the opportunity to sign up for Tesla’s new Early Access program will likely be some of the first recipients to receive the FSD update, so stay tuned.

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Tesla Opened the Floor — These Are the Features Drivers Want Most

Not a Tesla App

Lars Moravvy, Tesla's Vice President of Vehicle Engineering, recently took to X to pose a question to the community: “Let's make Teslas better… what do you all want for 2026?”

The question absolutely took off, and there were tons of fantastic suggestions about what Tesla owners would love to see from their vehicles in the future.

There were more than 12k suggestions, so let's take a look at some of the most popular feature requests.

Top Suggestions

• CyberSUV - A classically styled SUV with a stainless steel exterior.

• Faster Charging & Better Charge Curves - Tesla vehicles start off with fast charging speeds, but usually taper off quickly in comparison to other brands. This is especially true when compared to some Chinese brands, which sustain 500 kW charging at up to 70% state of charge. Let's get improved charging speeds on Teslas as well, especially with the 500 kW Superchargers coming in Q3.

• 450mi / 500mi range vehicles - Lots of customers want longer range vehicles, even though Tesla's analysis says the 300-mile range is ideal for 90% of its customer base. Range really does matter - especially for customers in more rural locations or those who choose to tow or haul with their vehicles.

• Ambient Lighting Reacts to Music - This one is pretty straightforward, and it's surprising we don't already have this feature. Having basic integration with the currently playing audio is a neat feature, and really helps to make the entire experience even more seamless and premium.

• Refresh Model 3 Signal Stalk Retrofit - Some people really love their signal stalks. While there aren't retrofits available just yet, we do recommend the Enhauto Stalks. For those who want an official retrofit, there is now some hope - Lars responded and said he'll try.

• Lumbar Support in the Profile - Right now, lumbar support is the only seat item not saved to the Tesla Profile. This may change soon, as Lars followed up and mentioned that there are a few technical issues preventing it, but Tesla could make it work with some of their magic.

• Model 3 Track Pack - The Model S has an exclusive Track Pack as a post-factory retrofit offered by Tesla, including premium brakes, tires, and wheels. The Refreshed Model 3 Performance is a killer track vehicle - but getting real track support from Tesla would be a game-changer for those who love to race.

Some of Our Favorites

• Sentry Mode Improvements - Several users suggested adding B-pillar recording to Sentry Mode. And it looks like Tesla has already been working on this, and it'll be available in the upcoming 2025 Spring Update, which will be update 2025.14. Unfortunately, it'll be limited to what appears to be HW4 vehicles due to the additional processing.

• Massaging Seats - A touch of luxury for Tesla's most premium models would be nice. Many other luxury brands already offer massaging seats so it’d help keep the Model S on par with these brands. Edit: Corrected that the Model S has never come with massaging seats.

• Powershare for More Vehicles - Powershare is a fantastic feature, and bringing it to every Tesla is a must, especially as many other brands, including Ford, Kia, and Hyundai, offer either Vehicle to Load or Vehicle to Home capabilities as an option on their EVs. Tesla recently introduced the Mobile Connector with Powershare capabilities and an Outlet Adapter, but it's still exclusive to the Cybertruck for now.

• Starlink Integration - Tesla currently uses cell networks for connectivity, which can sometimes be spotty. Starlink is a clear, high-tech solution that could provide data to vehicles when they have a clear line of sight to the sky.

• Grok in Vehicles - Musk has already confirmed that Tesla will be integrating Grok into Tesla vehicles. We expected it to be included in Tesla's Spring Update, but it looks like they'll need a little bit longer. One of the lead xAI/Grok developers mentioned the request with a wink emoji, so it's clear it’s a feature that Tesla and xAI are actively working on. The way users will be able to naturally talk to AI will be game-changing for many users who are used to driving alone.

There was a lot of positivity in the comments, as well as a ton of interesting requests that could eventually be implemented in Tesla vehicles. Lars also responded to quite a few of the comments, which was nice to see.

While nothing is certain, some of these popular requests may come in a future update, while others may need hardware changes if Tesla wants to implement them.

2026 may seem far away, but there's already plenty of coming this year with a cheaper vehicle and the launch of the Robotaxi network.

If you love reading about feature suggestions, we also recently covered the top feature requests for Tesla, based on the many requests we hear about.

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