Tesla's Model 3 Refresh: Smart Shift and More Revealed

May 15, 2023

By Kevin Armstrong

Model 3 Project Highland concept based on a potential leak

Cybrtrk420/Twitter

The anticipation surrounding Tesla's forthcoming Model 3 refresh, known as "Project Highland," has reached fever pitch, and the latest drone footage from the Fremont test track only adds to the excitement. The video reveals a vehicle boasting a steering wheel design similar to the Tesla Semi and the Model S. Perhaps even more intriguing is the absence of traditional stalks, lending credibility to rumors of an innovative shift towards on-screen controls for shifting between park, drive, and reverse modes.

A New Vision for Interior Design

The drone footage (video below) reveals more than just a new steering wheel design. The door trim, intriguingly, appears to be concealed. This design choice suggests that Tesla might be rethinking how the dashboard design integrates with the door, potentially creating a more unified, aesthetically pleasing interior. We previously reported that the wood grain would no longer be available in the latest version.

The video also reveals that "smart shift" is coming to the Model 3 refresh. At the 3-minute, 20-second mark of the video below, you can see a closeup of the driver swiping the display downward to shift the vehicle into reverse. Almost immediately afterward, the vehicle is backing up.

This lines up with the previous rumor that the Model 3 refresh wouldn't include stalks, as well as Musk saying that Smart Shift was coming to all Teslas in the future.

What's not immediately clear, is whether Tesla will add smart shift to current Model 3 and Model Y vehicles as well, or if it will be exclusive to Project Highland and Project Juniper.

Illuminating Changes: Reverse Lights and Trunk Lid

One of the most revealing aspects of the footage was a noticeable change at the vehicle's rear end: the reverse lights now appear lower in the bumper. This change aligns with our previous reports, confirming that Tesla is indeed revisiting the design of these critical safety features.

The plot thickens with rumors of a leaked new trunk lid design that suggests a transformation of the rear lights into a slimmer look. The observed shift in the positioning of the reverse lights lends some credibility to these rumors, although we await official confirmation from Tesla.

The Path Ahead: Production and Expectations

While Tesla China has publicly refuted rumors of starting trial production at Giga Shanghai next month, such denials often occur before significant launches. These recent revelations seem to align with previous reports, suggesting that Tesla might be gearing up for mass production of the Model 3 refresh by Q3.

Driver seen shifting the Model 3 refresh into reverse using smart shift

Caliber197/YouTube

The Model 3 refresh, with its potential groundbreaking design changes and anticipated advanced technology integration, is set to redefine Tesla's standing in the auto industry. As we await further details, these early glimpses paint a picture of a vehicle that blends innovation, aesthetics, and functionality, promising a new chapter in Tesla's legacy of electric vehicle design.

Tesla Adds Ability to Swipe Left and Right in Browser

September 9, 2024

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

Tesla has made a spate of improvements to its vehicle software recently, starting with the big Spring Update, and then the Summer Update more recently. While we see most of the updates mentioned in the release notes, Tesla often also adds smaller quality-of-life improvements along the way.

Browser Controls

When using the Tesla Browser in the vehicle, you can now swipe left and right to go back or forward a page in your browser history. When you start swiping on the screen, Tesla’s Chromium-based browser will now display an arrow that slides out from the left or right. The circular icon is initially white, meaning that the action won’t be executed, but if you continue moving to the left/right, the icon will eventually turn blue. The blue icon means that the action will be executed once you let go of the screen.

This is a simple quality-of-life improvement that makes using the built-in browser easier.

We’re happy to see updates like these come to the browser, whose last major feature was the full-screen button that was added in update 2024.14.

Future Browser Improvements

While we’re on the topic, let’s look at some future Tesla web browser improvements we’d love to see.

Access to the Mic

Full access to the vehicle microphone isn’t allowed through the web browser right now. That means if you want to get into a Discord, Slack, or Teams call, you’ll only be able to listen – not speak. All of these apps fully function in the Tesla browser for sending messages, but are fairly limited for meetings.

Better Bookmarks

Tesla’s current bookmark system is simple and barebones. You can bookmark a page and give it a name. Once you visit a bookmarked page enough, it’ll show up as an icon in the center of the browser when you go to the homepage.

However, it's difficult to keep a larger set of bookmarks since there aren’t any organizational tools provided. A better bookmark system or the ability to sync bookmarks would be a welcomed feature.

Custom Homepage

Tesla’s current homepage in its browser is simply just a Tesla logo in black or white, depending on whether your car is in dark mode or not. A custom homepage that provides widgets with basic local news, stock information or other details would be fantastic. We’d ask for weather too, but the recent Summer update shows weather at the top of your screen.

If you’ve got more ideas for the fairly barebones Tesla web browser, let us know.

Tesla Updates FSD Package, Can Now Only Buy FSD Supervised

September 9, 2024

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

Tesla has changed how they advertise and sell Full Self-Driving on their website. Although the text changes are small, this change could have greater implications in the future.

Previously, customers were offered the option to purchase “Full Self-Driving Capability,” with text saying that FSD will “continuously improve”. This specific text is no longer offered, and instead, customers can now only purchase “Full Self Driving (Supervised),” which no longer mentions continuous improvement.

You can view the old text on the Web Archive page (photo below) for the Model Y. This change comes right before the upcoming Robotaxi event, so we’re not quite sure what to make of it. Let’s look at what else has changed on Tesla’s website on FSD before we dive into the wording changes.

This news comes hot on the heels that Tesla recently pulled its blog pages for Elon Musk’s Masterplan Part II, which mentioned that all future Tesla vehicles would be Robotaxi capable. However, this has since turned out to be part of regular website trimming and maintenance. However, this FSD change is more intentional.

The previous FSD option you could buy from Tesla (left), and the new one (right)

Not a Tesla App

Definition Changes

These text changes are pretty broad, but that’s not all. There are a few other items that changed, including the removal of the following text:

The activation and use of these features are dependent on achieving reliability far in excess of human drivers as demonstrated by billions of miles of experience, as well as regulatory approval, which may take longer in some jurisdictions. As these self-driving features evolve, your car will be continuously upgraded through over-the-air software updates.

This has now been changed to say:

The activation and use of these features are dependent on development and regulatory approval, which may take longer in some jurisdictions.

That’s a pretty big difference overall, so let’s dig in.

Can Only Buy FSD (Supervised)

Tesla is now only offering the purchase of “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)”, instead of “Full Self-Driving Capability." This has a bit of an implication for the many people who have paid for FSD in the past, expecting their vehicles to become fully autonomous, without supervision being required. With the specific terms on Tesla’s website today, that promise doesn’t seem to be in place for future sales of Full Self-Driving.

Instead, future customers should expect that they may only receive Full Self-Driving (Supervised), which will always require some form of supervision. Tesla no longer states full autonomy on this page, but on the other hand, the Autopilot/FSD Support Page still contains the text for full autonomy.

This seems to be a legal wording change to prevent Tesla from making promises it may not be able to fulfill. On the other hand, Tesla has recently had a fantastic spate of updates this year, with the huge upgrade from FSD V11 to FSD V12. However, they’ve more recently had more trouble with moving on from FSD V12.3.6, which is what most vehicles are still on today. Tesla initially pushed FSD V12.4 and its subversions to early access testers but quickly halted that push. They moved on to FSD V12.5, and V12.5.3 with Actually Smart Summon will begin going out wide sometime next week, to both Hardware 3 and AI4 vehicles.

What Does This Mean for Customers?

For future customers, this likely means that Tesla is intending on only offering Full Self Driving (Supervised), rather than Full Self Driving. This could mean that Tesla will launch a new package for Full Self Driving (Unsupervised) for commercial entities or that it could only be available for Robotaxi vehicles.

For older customers – those who have purchased “Full Self-Driving Capability”, as the feature was previously called, we’re not quite sure whether Tesla will include you in this new ‘Supervised’ description, or if you’ll be offered Full Self-Driving (Unsupervised) when that ultimately becomes available. As for subscribers, Tesla can change their offerings at any point since you’re only paying for what’s available for that month.

Today, we’re not quite sure what to make of this change, especially since that same change hasn’t been reciprocated elsewhere on Tesla’s website. The changes could be anywhere from a protective legal change, to Tesla offering a new FSD (Unsupervised) package in the future, or fully autonomous FSD being something that Tesla will not commit a date or price to.

Let us know what you think in the forums.