You can name your Tesla by navigating to the vehicle's Software menu
Not a Tesla App
In the realm of electric vehicles, Tesla has always stood apart, not just for its cutting-edge technology and exquisite design but also the personalization it offers owners. One of the most endearing ways Tesla has allowed owners to embrace their vehicles is by allowing them to name them.
Your Tesla can bear a name that resonates with your personality and style. This guide will walk you through the process of naming your Tesla, reveal some hidden Easter Eggs, and offer a cornucopia of popular and creative names to inspire you.
How to Change the Name of Your Tesla
Whether you're cruising in a Model Y, Model 3, X, or S, the process of naming your Tesla remains the same. To assign a name to your Tesla, you can either be in your vehicle or use the Tesla app on your phone.
Change the Name in the Car
Tap the Car icon on the bottom left and proceed to the 'Software' section.
This space holds all vital information about your Tesla, from the hardware it's equipped with to any subscriptions you may have, such as Premium Connectivity or Full Self-Driving, and the current software version your vehicle runs on.
Locate the image of your car; you'll find your exact model name on the left and a spot for your car's name on the right, highlighted in blue. If your car is yet unnamed, you'll see the default text, 'Name your vehicle.' Tap on this, and a screen to rename your car will appear. Voila! Your Tesla is ready for its new identity.
Change the Name in the App
If you prefer to update your vehicle's name using the Tesla app, you can simply tap your vehicle's name at the top of the app. A prompt will pop up, asking you to rename your Tesla.
Unlock Easter Eggs By Setting Your Car's Name
Now, here's an interesting twist. Tesla has hidden a few Easter eggs related to the car's name. As a tribute to Monty Python, name your car “Patsy", "Rabbit of Caerbannog", "Mr. Creosote", "Biggus Dickus," or "Unladen Swallow" and watch the magic unfold. Fans of Douglas Adams' science fiction comedy, 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,' aren't left out either. Tesla has something special waiting for you too!
Popular and Creative Tesla Names
Around the globe, Tesla owners have been bestowing upon their vehicles names that are as unique as they are. Drawing from pop culture, puns, personal tastes, and even color themes, here are some popular choices, along with a few creative ideas:
Tributes to Greats: Elon or Musk, no explanation needed, Nikola the inventor, not the truck, Edison, Jarvis (Iron Man's AI assistant), Eevee (the Pokémon), Vader (Star Wars fans, unite!).
Electricity Inspired Names
Sparky, Wattson, Bolt, Ohm Sweet Ohm, Volta.
Color Inspired Names
Snowy for white Teslas, Raven for black ones, Cherry for red, Sapphire for blue, and Quicksilver for silver.
My Precious, Dream Rider, Freedom Machine, Serenity, Joyride.
The possibilities are truly endless. Let your imagination soar, and bestow upon your Tesla a name that mirrors your personality and style. Whether you're a movie buff, a science enthusiast, a lover of humor, or someone who appreciates the finer things in life, there's an ideal name for your Tesla. Let it reflect what you love, and let it speak volumes about who you are as you cruise down the streets in your one-of-a-kind, personally-named Tesla.
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Winter is here, and temperatures are dropping, so one of the most common Tesla questions is about to resurface.
If you’ve landed here after frantically searching about “smoke” coming from your Tesla while Supercharging, take a deep breath—it’s completely normal.
Tesla Smoking While Charging
If you’re Supercharging in freezing weather—even with preconditioning—you might notice steam rising from your Tesla. But rest assured, your car isn’t smoking.
Your Tesla’s heat pump is hard at work warming both the cabin and battery to keep you comfortable and ensure optimal charging temperatures. Over time, condensation and ice build-up in the heat exchanger coils.
Why Does It Happen?
When you reach a Supercharger with your vehicle, the heat pump is still running hot, but without the cold air from driving to keep the heat exchanger coils cool, the ice and condensation quickly start to evaporate—creating what looks like smoke.
Since this typically happens near the front of the vehicle, where a car would traditionally have an engine, new vehicle owners can be startled by the discovery. However, rest assured that it’s just water vapor and it’s completely normal in cold weather.
In fact, this behavior can be experienced in any EV with a heat pump in cold climates. So, if you saw steam coming out of your vehicle and panicked, don’t worry—you’re not alone.
Now that you know what’s happening, go ahead and Supercharge with confidence.
Tesla made a lot of improvements in the 2024 Holiday Update, including more than 15 undocumented improvements that were included in the release. One of these was a stealthy performance improvement to the YouTube app.
Several people have mentioned they’ve seen improved performance on YouTube since this year’s Holiday Update - and there’s an interesting reason why.
YouTube Improvements
The improved YouTube performance in Tesla vehicles comes from an unexpected source—Tesla actually rolled back support for YouTube’s newer AV1 video encoding. Instead, vehicles now default to the older VP9 encoding standard.
While AV1 is highly efficient in terms of bandwidth, it requires considerably more processing power to decode and display videos. VP9, on the other hand, is less computationally demanding but uses more bandwidth to achieve the same video quality. This trade-off means smoother playback and better overall performance, even if it comes at the cost of slightly higher data usage.
Intel Inside
The VP9 video codec that the YouTube app is now using is much easier to decode, making it less taxing on the vehicle’s processor. This change is particularly beneficial for Tesla vehicles with Intel processors, which previously struggled to stream video at just 720p. When using AV1, these vehicles often experienced stuttering, sometimes forcing the YouTube app to automatically downgrade playback to 480p.
With this update, Intel-based Teslas should now be able to stream at 1080p smoothly. Streaming at 1440p is also possible, although occasional stutters still occur as the system keeps up with the decoding process.
Intel-based vehicles are the big winners with this change, but this appears to affect AMD Ryzen-based infotainment units as well, providing even smoother playback.
Chromium Web App
Tesla’s Theater apps aren’t native applications; instead, they run as chromeless web apps, leveraging the open-source browser built into Teslas known as Chromium (the open-source version of Chrome). Although this works quite well, there is a severe limitation - Chromium hardware acceleration isn’t supported on Linux, the operating system Tesla uses for their OS.
As a result, Tesla vehicles rely on software decoding instead of hardware decoding, which would otherwise handle video playback far more efficiently. A potential solution could be for Tesla to transition away from Chromium-based web apps in favor of a Mozilla Firefox-based browser, as Firefox does support hardware acceleration on Linux. This switch could also open the door to better streaming performance and the possibility of expanding Tesla’s in-car entertainment options.
However, Tesla’s choice of Chromium likely stems from Digital Rights Management (DRM) requirements for streaming services like Disney+ and Netflix, which rely on DRM-enabled playback. Firefox on Linux has had inconsistent support for DRM due to codec availability and variations in operating system versions.
We’re hopeful that Tesla will either adopt Firefox or develop a fully native application to improve video streaming, rather than continuing with the current web-based Tesla Theater. This shift could also pave the way for additional in-car applications built on Tesla’s native Linux environment—perhaps even reviving the long-rumored Tesla App Store.
Regardless, this update is a welcome improvement, particularly for YouTube, which remains one of the most widely used Theater Mode apps due to its accessibility, free content, and mix of short and long-form videos. It remains to be seen whether similar improvements are made for Netflix, Disney+, or other streaming platforms.
If you’ve noticed improved performance in Theater Mode, now you know why.
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