Tesla integrates Steam into the Model S and Model X
Tesla
Tesla has integrated Steam's library of thousands of games in its Model S and Model X electric vehicles. In July, Elon Musk said that Tesla would release a demo of the Steam integration by August. The demo never came to fruition, but Musk reiterated the plan to integrate Steam into Tesla vehicles. Tesla just launched a beta version of the video game library as part of its holiday update.
Supported Vehicles
For now, Steam is only available on newer versions of the Model S and X with 16GB of ram, but Elon has said that there will be a retrofit available for earlier S and X models in the future.
Although newer Model 3 and Model Y cars have the AMD Ryzen chip, they did not get beta access to Steam because these vehicles do not have a discrete GPU like the Model S and X. It's not clear whether Steam will eventually be integrated into other MCU 3 cars (with a smaller catalog), including the Model 3 and Model Y, but it's unlikely that it'll ever come to any MCU 2 vehicles.
Storage
Games must be downloaded on WiFi and stored locally in the vehicle. This could be in the vehicle's internal drive, which appears to have about an 80GB partition allocated for games or via external storage. The holiday update that added Steam also added support for external storage devices. Additionally, Tesla has released a 1TB SSD that costs $350 and will be available in February 2023. The SSD offers storage for any vehicle data including dashcam footage but is optimized for fast loading. It is also designed to withstand the potentially extreme temperature fluctuations that can occur inside a car and is guaranteed to have a long life span.
However, owners can use almost any solid-state drive they own. In fact, Tesla's own hard drive appears to just be a rebranded Samsung T7 SSD, which is known for its speed and durability. It currently sells on Amazon for less than $140.
Video
Cloud Saves
For games that support Steam Cloud, Tesla will automatically sync your game progress, so that you can pick up right where you left off, regardless if you're at home or in your car.
Premium Connectivity
Tesla's Premium Connectivity allows vehicle owners to access more bandwidth-hungry features such as streaming music and video. Although Steam games are downloaded over WiFi, Tesla requires Premium Connectivity to access Steam. This could be due to Tesla keeping your Steam profile and game process synced.
Rear Display
Unfortunately, Tesla does not currently allow users to play Steam on the vehicle's rear 8" display which can be used to watch streaming video while the car is in motion. Tesla could allow this in a future update, but at the moment Steam is limited to the vehicle's 17" display when the vehicle is in park.
Bluetooth Controllers
Along with Steam support, Tesla has added support for Bluetooth controllers and even keyboard and mouse setups in supported games. Tesla says that PS5 controllers work best with this feature.
In June of 2021, Tesla unveiled a proprietary controller which closely resembled a PS5 controller with two analog sticks, four directional buttons and four action buttons. The controller also resembles a steering wheel with a closed-loop design, likely to accommodate racing games. Since the unveiling, we haven’t heard much about the Tesla controller.
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date on the latest Tesla news, upcoming features and software updates.
Following the surprising return of the turn signal stalk on the refreshed Model Y, reliable Tesla source Chris Zheng has indicated that the Model 3 will also be receiving a turn stalk. While it initially seems surprising, Tesla mentioned that after receiving lots of customer feedback, there is a lot of demand for the return of the stalk.
For those who appreciate the newer turn signal buttons on vehicles like the Cybertruck, this might come as a surprise. However, the Model 3 and Model Y are designed for the average driver transitioning from a traditional vehicle, making the removal of the turn signal stalk an unexpected and potentially disappointing change.
Turn Stalk
In a conversation during the latest episode of Jay Leno’s Garage, Tesla’s VP of Vehicle Engineering, Lars Moravy, mentioned that Tesla works to remove superfluous parts. In this case, they removed one part too many - and are now bringing back the turn signal stalk.
The updated stalk on the refreshed Model Y is a simplified version of the current Model Y stalk. It doesn’t include multi-stage turn signals (short three flashes versus staying), buttons, or other features. Pure and simple - it is utilized for signaling left and right. The rest of the functions of a traditional stalk remain either on the wheel or on the screen.
Lack of Right ‘Shifter’ Stalk
Tesla has no intent to bring back the right stalk, which is traditionally used to shift the vehicle from Drive to Reverse and Park in Teslas. It’s also used to activate Autopilot. The shifting functionality will remain on-screen or available via the backup by tapping the buttons on the ceiling near the hazards button. Shifting via the dash is intuitive and convenient once you get used to it - and with AutoShift hopefully coming out of Beta sometime soon, this could get even better.
Autopilot activation will remain with a button on the steering wheel. While a vehicle with a single stalk may look a little odd at first, Lars mentioned that Tesla didn’t receive many complaints about shifting or Autopilot use.
Retrofit
Not a Tesla App
We haven’t heard anything about retrofitting the 2024+ Model 3s with the turn signal stalk at this point. However, we imagine this may be a possibility in the future.
However, we can recommend using the wireless Enhauto’s S3XY Stalks if you want to bring a single or dual stalks back to your refreshed Model 3 and don’t want to wait for an official retrofit to arrive. They’re easy to install, well-designed, and reliable.
Other Models
The big question now is: will Tesla bring back the turn signal stalk for its other models? It’s possible, but we doubt it. The Model S and Model X, especially with the Yoke, feel more natural without a stalk, and the button-based signals suit their design. While a stalk might occasionally be useful—like signaling in and out of a roundabout—any future refresh of the S or X would likely include steer-by-wire instead.
On the Cybertruck, the absence of a stalk goes unnoticed, thanks to steer-by-wire, as the squircle steering wheel is never in an awkward position. After thousands of kilometers of daily driving, including plenty of roundabouts, the author can confidently say the signal stalk isn’t missed at all. In fact, the turn signal buttons feel more intuitive, given how the Cybertruck handles.
That said, could Tesla offer signal stalks as an option for those who prefer them? It’s not out of the question. We’ll keep you updated, but in the meantime, let us know—do you prefer turn signal buttons or a traditional stalk?
xAI’s Grok AI Model has been receiving rapid updates, similar to Tesla’s FSD. After waiting for a major update, the latest version—Grok 3—is set to launch with a live demo on February 17th.
Grok 3 is supposed to bring big improvements, as xAI has changed its approach to training the Large Language Model (LLM). Unlike many other LLMs, Grok can access real-time information and adapt its answers based on the latest news and discussions happening on X’s platform, making it more suited for current events or breaking news.
At the World Governments Summit in Dubai, Elon also mentioned that Grok 3 is already outperforming its competitors, so there is a lot to look forward to. Let’s dig into the new capabilities and then see why they matter to Tesla drivers.
New Capabilities
This time, Grok is set to feature self-correction, reinforcement learning, and synthetic datasets. Self-correction allows Grok to identify and fix its own mistakes, with human oversight ensuring that the process is guided. This helps refine Grok’s future responses as part of its ongoing training.
Reinforcement learning, meanwhile, rewards or penalizes the AI based on its actions. When it performs correctly, it receives a reward, reinforcing that behavior; penalties reduce the likelihood of undesirable actions. Combined with new synthetic datasets, xAI can accelerate Grok’s training process, much like how Tesla’s AI team has been refining FSD. There’s definitely a lot of overlap between the two.
Voice Support
Grok is one of the few remaining publicly available AIs that doesn’t have a live-voice mode. Its competitors - including Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT - both have live voice response and reasoning and will also integrate and hook into 3rd-party services over voice.
Musk has previously stated that all Tesla vehicles will eventually receive Grok as a Smart Voice Assistant—one far more capable than the current voice command system.
Tonight’s demo, at 8 pm PT is expected to be live, potentially showing off the integration into Tesla vehicles. Millions of existing Tesla vehicles worldwide could soon take advantage of Grok as a voice assistant. There’s even a rumor of a wake word for the feature — potentially Grok.
Grok’s real-time capabilities mean you could ask it to add a stop to your route for food at the highest-rated local restaurant with minimal wait. Grok would gather and process that information while your car drives itself, then update your route, allowing FSD to take you directly there. You’ll also be able to ask general knowledge questions, such as the weather for tomorrow or the price of Tesla stock.
Controlling the vehicle will also be greatly upgraded. While the current voice command system can handle simple tasks like “Open Charge Port” or “Turn on Defrost,” the new system should be able to handle more complex requests and allow drivers to ask things in a more natural way.
We expect to find out more about Grok in Teslas tonight. Even if the demo tonight doesn’t specifically mention Tesla, a look at Grok’s new abilities could be a first look at what we’ll soon be able to experience in our Teslas.