Tesla releases new iPhone and Android Tesla app

Tesla has started rolling out their newest phone app. Early this month screenshots and video of an updated Tesla app were leaked online.

The updated Tesla app which we saw has now started becoming available to users. It looks to be rolling out first to iOS, but we expect an Android release to follow very soon (Update: Android version has started rolling out as well!).

What’s New

The app has been redesigned, but the core functionality and layout remain largely the same. There are a couple bigger functionality changes which we’ll start off with.

First, you’ll now be able to send commands to your car immediately, instead of having to wait until the car wakes up. The days of waiting for your vehicle to wake up before you can turn on the HVAC are gone.

The other big functionality change is just as nice if you have multiple Teslas. If you’re lucky enough to own more than one Tesla, you can now unlock any Tesla using your phone key. Previously, you could only unlock the vehicle that was selected in the app.

Other changes in the app are more subtle, but we’ll discuss them below.

You still have a rendering of the car at the very top, followed by some quick action buttons and some categories underneath that. However, the car renderings are now completely 3D and you’ll get fluid 3D transitions as you navigate the app and go into various menus. The battery icon at the top is now much smaller, gray and justified left.

Charging

The Charging section has been removed. Charging information will now be displayed only when your car is plugged in. Upon plugging in your Tesla, you’ll be presented with options to unlock the charge port and start charging. There’ll now be a nice animation of electricity running through the cable when your vehicle is charging. The time remaining, amperage and mi/hr are now displayed near the top of the app, below the battery icon.

A nice addition is that when picking your charge limit in percentage, you can now easily jump to round percentages, such as 70, 80, 90, etc. If your vehicle is charging, it’ll show you an estimate of how many miles it will charge up to.

You can now also view Supercharging history right within the app, instead of having to view it in the car or on Tesla’s website.

Controls

The Controls panel now features a large view of the car with buttons to open the frunk, trunk, charge port and unlock the vehicle. The speed limit, valet mode and sentry mode settings have been moved to a new category labeled Security. The Vent button has been moved to the Climate section.

Climate

In the Climate section things look very similar. You can now view the interior of the vehicle a little better and there’s a new fluid animation when the air vents are blowing. The exterior temperature is also displayed in addition to the interior temperature.

Upgrades

The upgrades section also received a facelift and now includes more information. There are now two sections, Software Upgrades, which feature the Buy and Subscribe sections we’re familiar with and a new Accessories section which offers Tesla accessories specific to your model.

Security

The new security section, in addition to having features that were previously available in other sections will also provide tips for how to improve your phone key experience. For example, if you have Bluetooth turned off, or location services for the app disabled, it’ll point out that unlocking your vehicle can be more reliable if you have those options enabled.

Widgets

With the introduction of the 4.0 release, Tesla has also released Widgets. For iOS there’s a 2x2 widget and a 4x2 widget. Both widget sizes feature the same information, which is the name of the car, battery percentage, location (or charging information), unlock status, an image of the vehicle and the time the information was last updated.

Overall, the app is much smoother and sleeker than the previous version. Some fonts are a little small such as the car information at the very bottom of the app, but this is a great update that we’re sure Tesla will continue to tweak and build upon.

Update:Elon has now confirmed that Bioweapon Defense Mode is coming to the Tesla app as well.

If you're an iPhone user, you can update your Tesla app to 4.0 by visiting the App Store.

You can download the Andorid version through the Google Play Store.

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Tesla Referral Code - Get Up to $2,000 Off a New Tesla

Not a Tesla App

If you’re planning to buy a new Tesla, consider using our referral code. Not only will you receive up to $2,000 off your vehicle, but you’ll help support our site.

Plus, if you take delivery by December 31st, you’ll also get 3 months of free Supercharging and Full Self-Driving (FSD).

Discount Per Model

• Model Y - $1,000 off

• Model 3 - $1,500 off

• Model S, Model X or Cybertruck - $2,000 off

Free Supercharging and FSD

You must take delivery by December 31st, 2024 to qualify for the three months of FSD and free Supercharging. It’s not clear whether Tesla will offer these benefits starting January 1st.

Referral Codes

All referral codes will give you the same benefits. However, each one is limited to 10 uses, so if one hits the limit, try another one.

Nuno84363

Karan29050

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Tesla Resolves 700k Vehicle Recall via OTA Update; NHTSA Now Highlights OTA Recalls

Not a Tesla App

Tesla has issued a recall for 700,000 vehicles in the US, which addresses a software bug that impacted Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) sensors. Of course, this recall was resolved with an over-the-air (OTA) update on Tesla update 2024.38.7. 

As the software bug could potentially pose a safety issue, a mandatory NHTSA recall was filed by Tesla. This bug impacted the Model Y, Model 3, and Cybertruck. As usual, mainstream news media has let loose on Tesla, issuing articles and headline reports on TV covering the recall - but of course, not mentioning it was fixed by an OTA update, even before the notice was released.

You can read NHTSA’s entire recall notice here.

The Bug

Update 2024.38.3 reset the TPMS warning indicator when the vehicle was powered down or put to sleep between drives. This could potentially leave a driver unaware of a persistent TPMS issue, wherein they could have too little or too much air pressure in a tire.

According to the NHTSA filing, Tesla identified the issue on November 6th, 2024, and then confirmed in a further investigation that there was indeed an issue. Shortly afterward, update 2024.38.7 began rolling out on November 12th, just under a week later.

Tesla also confirmed that there were no real-life impacts - so no collisions, injuries, or fatalities as a result of this bug while it was in the wild. They did note that 76 warranty claims were filed during the 6-day period, which helped to isolate the issue.

OTA Recalls Now Recognized by NHTSA 

Not a Tesla App

According to a post by DriveTeslaCA, the NHTSA has now added an icon to their website indicating whether a recall is fixed via an OTA software update. 

The message reads: “Software Update Repairs Recall”. 

That’s certainly a step forward, letting users know the issue will be addressed via a software update and they won’t need to bring their car into service. We’d like to see NHTSA next adopt some of the lessons learned by Transport Canada, which issues recalls solely by e-mail.

NHTSA will be using approximately 50 trees worth of paper to print and ship the recall notices, which will likely arrive sometime in January - months after the issue has already been resolved by Tesla.

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