New features in the Tesla app with update 2021.36

Tesla recently completely redesigned their iPhone and Android apps. Just a couple weeks after releasing version 4.0, Tesla released an update that included new features such as the ability to change scheduled charging, adjust your charge departure time and more.

Most of these features require your Tesla to have update 2021.36 or later. At the time the app was released, 2021.36 had yet to be available. Software update 2021.36 has now started rolling out to individuals and we now have our first look at the new features in the Tesla app.

Scheduled Charging

The ability to charge your car at a given time, or to have it charged by a certain time has been available in the car for a while now, but we'll now have the ability to schedule it directly from the app.

There's a new Schedule category that will allow you to adjust departure time and scheduled time charging.

Once you tap into the Schedule category, you'll be able to pick whether you want departure time charging, or scheduled time charging.

Tesla's wording here hasn't always been clear, but departure charging lets your car pick when to start charging, and you just let it know when you want it to be completed. This has the added benefit that your battery will be warmer when you're ready to leave. It's especially useful in winter climates.

Scheduled charging is essentially the opposite of departure charging. You pick the time you'd like your vehicle to start charging and it'll continue charging until it reaches your set charge level, such as 80%.

It's interesting that Tesla puts charging options under a ‘Schedule' category instead of ‘Charging'. It leaves the door open for other scheduling options. The obvious one is the ability to schedule your climate in the car, but there could be others such as the ability to schedule Sentry Mode.

I'd personally love for Tesla to include a Nest-like scheduling option that would let you pick the days of the week and temperature when you'd like your climate turned on.

Bioweapon Defense Mode

If your car is equipped with Bioweapon Defense Mode, you'll now be able to turn it on directly in the app. You'll slide up a drawer in the Climate section of the app which will give you the ability to turn on Defrost or Bioweapon Defense Mode.

Adjust Charge Amps

The last improvement that comes to the app with update 2021.36 is the ability to change your charging amps while the vehicle is charging. A new button appears underneath the charge limit slider that will let you select the amps used.

The 4.0 release of the Tesla app had a similar feature set to the previous app it replaced, but it looks like Tesla has plans to continue adding new features now.

In software development there's often an MVP (Minimum viable product) that the product team is willing to release with. In this case the MVP appears to have been the features that were available in the previous app. Now that Tesla has released the new app they can focus on adding new features that they may not have had time prior to release.

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Tesla's Logo: Its Hidden Meaning and Evolution Over Time

Not a Tesla App

Tesla’s logo is iconic – it’s a T, with the text “T E S L A” below it. However, it hasn’t always looked the same, and it does have a deeper meaning than just T representing the first letter.

So, let’s look at Tesla’s logo.

Meaning of the Tesla Logo

We’ll start with what the Tesla logo represents. As Elon Musk put it, the T is like the cross-section of an electric motor, similar to how SpaceX’s logo is like the trajectory of a rocket.

The outer line on top of the T represents the stator of the electric motor – the stationary component that contains the windings and generates a rotating magnetic field when current is applied to it. The lower section of the logo is one of the poles of the rotor, the moving component that is also wound with wire, forming a magnetic pole.

All together, putting the rotor and stator together is how Tesla’s EVs generate their movement and the basics behind how Nikola Tesla put together the first induction motor. The first induction motor was created in 1887, and Tesla the company is named after Nikola Tesla, the inventor of the electric motor.

Tesla’s fairly minimalist logo also aligns with its minimalist approach to things. No part is the best part, and a minimalist interior is the best interior.

Evolution of the Tesla Logo

Tesla's logo has evolved since its 2009 version

Not a Tesla App

Tesla’s logo hasn’t always been the same. The original logo, back when the company was known as Tesla Motors, had the Tesla “T” inside of a shield emblem, representing safety. The word “Tesla” was also part of the logo and displayed within the shield.

In 2017, Tesla Motors simplified its name to just Tesla. At the same time, they redesigned their logo. Like the company’s name, the logo was also simplified. The shield was removed and the word Tesla moved to the bottom of the T. In 2017, Tesla also transitioned to using red in its logo, instead of the previous gray/black color combination.

The current Tesla logo we see today is a revision of the logo unveiled in 2017. The curve at the top of the logo is now more pronounced, the indent on the T is larger and the “T” is a little slimmer.

Tesla's old shield logo and font

Not a Tesla App

Other Great Logos

Although Tesla doesn’t receive a lot of recognition for its creative logo, it’s a simple, creative logo with a deeper meaning that sits right up there with other great logos like those from the Pittsburgh Zoo, Black Cat and Sony VAIO (photo below) and others.

Today, Tesla’s simplistic logo also matches its philosophy of minimalism and simplistic approaches to solving difficult problems, such as solving full self-driving with a vision-only approach.

The creative logos from Pittsburgh Zoo, Sony VAIO and Black Cat.

Not a Tesla App

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Tesla's Upcoming Model Y, Project Juniper, Spotted with Front Bumper Camera; Coming in 2025

JacklJack

While Elon Musk has previously mentioned that a refreshed Model Y, codenamed “Juniper”, would not be arriving in 2024,  JacklJack on Reddit snapped a picture of a Model Y, which was covered up.

When Will It Be Released

The refresh, or Highland Model 3 began with engineering test vehicles being spotted near Giga Texas and the Fremont factory in California. Similarly, this covered-up Model Y was spotted near Pasadena, California.

Given the timelines we saw for the new Model 3, this prototype for the Model Y appears to be following a trajectory for an early to mid-2025 launch. Engineering test vehicles for the new Model 3 were first spotted in North America about 6-8 months prior to its introduction to China. After its initial release in Chinese, the vehicle was later released in North America just a few months later.

If timelines for Project Juniper are similar to what we saw for the Model 3, we should expect to see more engineering test vehicles on the road in North America soon.

The vehicle is expected to be released in China first, with a North American and European arrival following sometime after. While the Performance variant of the new Model 3 didn’t launch until April of 2024, several months after the Long Range version was available in North America, it’s not clear whether Tesla will follow a similar strategy and launch the Long Range version of the new Model Y before the Performance model.

Front Bumper Camera

There was a lot of speculation about the refreshed Model 3 coming with a front bumper camera, but so far the Cybertruck is the only Tesla vehicle that includes a bumper camera and a camera washer (video). While updated versions of the Model S and Model X are also expected to add the lower-bumper camera, so also have yet to go on sale as well.

It’s not clear why Tesla didn’t launch the new camera with the new Model 3 since the bumper was already being redesigned and the factories were being retooled. However, according to the spy shot of the updated Model Y, it looks like it could be Tesla’s second vehicle to include the bumper camera. TeslaNewswire shared a photo of the Model Y with the brightness increased which appears to reveal the new front bumper camera. The location is exactly where you’d expect, very similar to the Cybertruck and similar to early shots of the prototype Model 3 that also contained the bumper camera.

It’s not clear whether this additional camera will make it into the production version, but it’s at least a sign that Tesla is considering adding this camera to another model.

Musk Asks People to Stop

Elon Musk replied to Sawyer Merritt on X (Twitter), not only reiterating that the refreshed Model Y will not be released this year. He also asked people to stop hinting that it will be since it damages Tesla’s sales of the current vehicle.

Musk reiterates that the new Model Y will not launch in 2024

kylaschwaberow/X

Potential Upgrades

While the release of the new Model Y may be about a year out in North America – there is a chance that the updated Model Y Juniper could show up with Hardware 5 sensors and computers. Elon Musk estimated that HW5, now dubbed AI5 was about 12-18 months away from production. The new Model Y could be the vehicle that debuts the new FSD package.

Of course, all of the rest of the upgrades that came with the updated Model 3 will all likely come to the Model Y – a new front and rear fascia, new adaptive headlights, increased range, ambient lighting, new colors, new speakers, and better dynamics in general. Package all of that up with what was already the best-selling car in 2023, and we’ve got a hit on our hands.

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