The Ultimate Guide to Tesla Shortcuts and Tips You May Not Know (Updated)

By Kevin Armstrong
You can jump to any section of a song by tapping anywhere on the progress bar
You can jump to any section of a song by tapping anywhere on the progress bar
Not a Tesla App

Tesla vehicles are known for their cutting-edge technology, making the driving experience enjoyable and efficient. In this article, we will delve into Tesla tips and tricks that can further enhance your experience. While some of these tips may be specific to the Model 3 and Model Y, many are applicable across the Tesla lineup.

Jump to Section in Song

When playing audio and you want to jump to a specific part of a song or podcast, you don't need to drag the progress bar. Instead, you can just tap anywhere on the progress bar to jump to that part.

Display Alternate Routes

You can tap the next turn display to show alternate routes
You can tap the next turn display to show alternate routes
Not a Tesla App

When navigating to a location, you can tap the next turn module near the top of the screen to have the vehicle display any alternate routes to your destination.

The alternate routes view is similar to the ones displayed at the beginning of your drive, however, they're determined by your current location. This could be useful to circumvent construction or blocked roads.

As an alternative, you can also tap the compass icon at the top right of the display, which will also bring up alternate routes.

Set Cruise Control to Current Speed

You can tap the speedometer or speed limit sign to set your Autopilot speed
You can tap the speedometer or speed limit sign to set your Autopilot speed
Not a Tesla App

While on Autopilot, you can tap the speedometer to set the maximum Autopilot speed to your current speed. This is useful if you want to maintain your current speed without manually adjusting it.

Auto Set Cruise Control to Speed Limit

Similarly, you can tap the speed limit sign to set the maximum speed to the speed limit plus your preferred offset. Again, this helps maintain a safe and legal speed while using Autopilot.

Expand FSD Visualization

You can swipe on the top left portion of the display to make FSD visualizations go full screen
You can swipe on the top left portion of the display to make FSD visualizations go full screen
Not a Tesla App

To expand the Full Self-Driving (FSD) Beta visualizations, you don't need to grab the little bar on the right side of the visualizations. You can simply swipe right anywhere on the speedometer/speed limit area or above to expand the FSD visualizations to full screen.

To exit the full-screen visualizations, you can similarly swipe left near the top of the screen. Even a small swipe near the driver will suffice.

Open Music Selection

Tap the album art to open or close the large music panel, making it easy to access and control your music while driving.

Jump to Audio Settings

You can adjust audio settings by volume control in the launcher
You can adjust audio settings by volume control in the launcher
Not a Tesla App

To quickly adjust audio settings, such as balance and equalizer, tap the volume button in the bottom right corner of the screen, then tap the levels icon.

Quickly Close Open Apps

Many apps can be swiped down to be closed, however, you don't have to swipe down from the very top of the app. If the app is already scrolled to the top, you can swipe down on any non-interactive part of the app, or white space to close the app.

You can also simply close all apps or menus by using a simple voice command such as "show map" or by tapping the icon for the open app.

One-Touch Access to Calendar

Tap the clock to quickly open your calendar, keeping your schedule at your fingertips.

Quickly Navigate Home

Swipe down on the navigate button to quickly navigate to your home or work, making your daily commute seamless.

Jump Back to Maps

In a Model 3 or Model Y, if your map is covered either with an app or menu, you can tap the navigation box that appears next to your speedometer to quickly jump back to the map screen and minimize any open apps.

Turn Off Climate

To turn off the climate system, hold down the climate temperature button.

Quickly Open Climate Screen

Swipe from anywhere in the launcher to open the climate window, giving you quick access to climate controls.

Unsync Passenger Temperature

Sync cabin temperature for the driver and passenger by pressing the climate arrows and choosing "split." Alternatively, use the voice command "sync climate" or "unsync climate" to control temperature settings.

Charging Menu

Tap the battery icon to jump to the charging menu, allowing you to monitor and adjust charging settings.

Switch Between Miles and Percentage

Tap the range to switch between displaying miles and percentages, providing a customizable view of your remaining charge.

Details on Indicator Lights

Indicator lights that appear on the left can also be tapped to access the appropriate menu. For example, tapping the headlights icon brings up light settings, while the low tire pressure icon opens the tire pressure menu.

You can tap on the indicator lights to go to the appropriate menu
You can tap on the indicator lights to go to the appropriate menu
Tesla

Adjust Wiper Speed

Pressing the button on the left stalk will wipe the windshield once and bring up wiper settings so you can easily adjust them. As of update 2023.12, you'll also be able to use the left scroll wheel once the wiper settings are on the screen to easily adjust between wiper settings.

Disable Auto Highbeams

Flicking your high beams stalk also brings up light settings, giving you quick access to headlight controls.

Temporarily Enable Blind Spot Monitor

Whether or not you use Tesla's blind spot cameras when your turn signal is enabled, you can tap the turn signal icon on the screen to either temporarily enable or disable the blind spot camera. This is especially useful for drivers who choose not to use the blind spot camera, but would occasionally like to view what's beside them.

Heated Mirrors

If your mirrors are fogged up or have snow or frost on them, you can turn on your heated mirrors by enabling the rear window defroster.

Voice Commands

To open the glovebox, use the voice command "open glovebox" or tap the car icon on the touchscreen, followed by the glovebox icon.

Many more useful voice commands are available on our voice commands page.

These Tesla shortcuts and tips can enhance your driving experience by providing quick access to essential functions and settings.

Tesla Reveals Robotaxi App and Names the Robotaxi the CyberCab

By Cláudio Afonso

Tesla has invested billions of dollars over the years toward vehicle autonomy. The mission continues as Elon Musk and Tesla now prepare to unveil their ride-hailing product, Robotaxi this August. Or, as Musk called it on Tuesday, Tesla CyberCab.

Early Days

Five years ago, during Tesla’s Autonomy Investor Day in April 2019, Elon Musk said he felt “very confident predicting autonomous robotaxis for Tesla in the following year [2020]”. At the time, Musk added a bolder claim, predicting that Tesla wouldn’t even make cars with steering wheels or pedals by 2022. While timeliness may not be Musk’s strong suit, he has a track record for getting things done that others were unwilling to try or thought were impossible. Musk later admitted he can be overly optimistic and said “sometimes I am not on time, but I get it done.” 

Now, 5 years later, we have the robotaxi unveiling scheduled for August 8th. After the release of FSD v12, it’s clear that we’re much closer to autonomy than we were in 2019, although FSD v12 is still a far cry from full autonomy.

While Tesla still has the robotaxi unveiling scheduled for August, Tesla announced yesterday that it’d be prioritizing a simpler “next-gen” model that could be released by early 2025.

Latest Updates

On the conference call, Musk added that Tesla now has over 300 million miles driven with FSD v12 since it was launched just last month. He added that it's becoming “very clear that the vision-based approach with end-to-end neural networks is the right solution for scalable autonomy”.

Tesla said it has been investing in the hardware and software ecosystems necessary to achieve vehicle autonomy and a ride-hailing service. The company is confident that it can establish a scalable and profitable autonomous driving business by employing a vision-only architecture.

think of it [Tesla] as combination of Airbnb and Uber meaning that there will be some number of cars that Tesla owns itself and operates

Tesla = Uber + AirBnb

Later on, Elon Musk unveiled that the new service will operate and result in a mix between Uber and Airbnb where the Tesla driver decides if and when he wants his Tesla to be used and by whom. Tesla stated:

“We believe the Tesla software experience is best-in-class across all our products, and plan to seamlessly layer ride-hailing into the Tesla App.”

Tesla’s CEO clarified that the owners will be able to add or remove their car from the fleet “whenever they want” adding that it will be up to them to decide if they want to only let the car be used “by friends and family or only by five-star users or by anyone at any time”. The flexible program will, just like Airbnb, allow the owners to take the car out of the market when they want.

The upcoming ride-hailing service will enable users to easily request a Tesla vehicle, control the car's temperature, monitor its real-time location, and adjust the audio system. The only question is when.

Musk Teases New Model for Early 2025 That Will Use a Mix of Next-Gen and Current Platforms

By Cláudio Afonso

“We have updated our future vehicle line-up to accelerate the launch of new models ahead of our previously communicated start of production in the second half of 2025”. This was one of the key sentences that were part of Tesla’s deck shared on Tuesday directly before its financial results.

Since Reuters’ report a few weeks ago saying Tesla had “scrapped” the highly expected cheaper model— which Elon quickly denied on X —retail and institutional shareholders started asking for more details on Tesla’s product roadmap for 2024 and beyond.

In the earnings conference call, Elon Musk reiterated that Tesla expects to launch the next model in “early 2025, if not late this year”.

“We've updated our future vehicle lineup to accelerate the launch of new models ahead of previously mentioned start of production in the second half of 2025. So, we expect it to be more like the early 2025, if not late this year. “

Over concerns of temporary production halts to update the factories for these new models, Musk said that Tesla will produce new models with certain aspects from their next-generation platform and current models. This will reduce the number of changes needed on production lines and allow Tesla not only to ramp up production faster but also to get the vehicles to market quicker.

Model Y Redesign

Tesla appears to hit that their next-gen vehicle will be less “next-gen” than they were initially aiming for, but to get a new vehicle out the door by late 2024, the process would already have to be in motion. Tesla may likely be referring to the redesigned Model Y, which is expected to reuse many parts from the new Model 3. Earlier this year, Tesla said that the redesigned Model Y will not be released this year, so it makes sense that they’re looking to speed up that production.

Tesla CEO concluded by saying that these measures will allow Tesla to reach a capacity of over 3 million units. Tesla produced 1.84 million vehicles in 2023. However, this year they’re ramping up Cybertruck production and introduced the new Model 3 into new markets.

And we think this should allow us to get to over 3 million vehicles of capacity when realized to the full extent.

Tesla reported on Tuesday its earnings results followed by a conference call where it teased its upcoming Robotaxi and its next-generation platform saying its “purpose-built Robotaxi product will continue to pursue a revolutionary ‘unboxed’ manufacturing strategy”.

Earlier in the day, Tesla announced the new Performance variant of its sedan Model 3 with deliveries in the United States starting already next month. The new version starts at $45,490 (after applying the $7,500 Federal EV tax credit) and goes from 0 to 60mph in 2.9 seconds.

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