A great feature that all Teslas have is the ability to browse the web using the car's touch screen.
All Teslas have a Chromium-based browser, which is the same engine that powers Google Chrome. Although the browser is much faster in newer models, it's a great tool to have at your disposal.
With update 2022.12.1 (release notes) Tesla has made several improvements to make the browsing experience even better. Thanks to Dan Burkland (@DBurkland) on Twitter, we now have details and images on everything Tesla updated with its browser in 2022.12.
Top Row
In Tesla v11, the browser became a part of the Entertainment section, which meant that the browser now had an additional bar on top. The bar displayed the word Entertainment, and let you easily switch between Aracade, Theater, Toybox, or the Browser. Unfortunately, it also decreased the amount of space available to display a website's contents.
With 2022.12.1, this bar has been removed, so that back, forward and the address bar are now at the very top again.
Autocomplete
When typing in a URL or search phrase in the address bar, the browser will now display autocomplete results underneath the address bar.
The autocomplete results are similar to what you'd see on a desktop or mobile device, providing helpful suggestions based on your query or browsing history.
The browser itself has been updated to a newer version of Chromium which brings improved security and browser rendering.
Favorites
Your browser favorites dialog has also received a minor facelift. The information that is displayed remains the same, but the UI now has a cleaner look.
Tesla favorites received a minor facelift
DBurkland/Twitter
New Welcome Screen
The loading screen for the browser has been updated from a generic icon to the Tesla logo.
In addition to your favorites showing up in the Favorites menu, Tesla appears to now show you your most visited sites directly on the welcome screen as well. This is similar to how other major browser will display your most used sites when opening a new tab.
New Tesla browser loading screen
DBurkland/Twitter
Browsing History
Since your browsing history is now used for search autocomplete, Tesla has also added the ability to clear your browser history.
You can now clear your Tesla's browsing data
DBurkland/Twitter
You can remove a single result from your history by tapping on the X button in the address bar autocomplete dropdown, or you can clear your complete browsing history by navigating to Controls > Service and tapping on Delete Browser Data.
The web browser is certainly a useful function in Teslas, as it gives you the ability to view sites or open web-based apps that you might otherwise not have access to.
Since Tesla doesn't yet support apps, one use for the browser is to display web-based apps or games.
One feature I'd love to see Tesla add in the near future is a "full screen" mode that will let you browse the web using your vehicle's entire screen.
Update 2022.12.1 has brought many improvements to Tesla vehicles. One of the other major improvements included in this update is the ability to add seat heaters, wiper and window defrosts back to the launcher.
This update has just started rolling out, with only 2% of the entire fleet having access to the update so far, so be sure to keep an eye out for these exciting features.
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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.
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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