Tesla has now released update 2023.38 to roughly half of its fleet. Now that the update is in the wild, a couple additional enhancements have been spotted that are only available in certain regions.
Predictive Charger Availability
Tesla has continually improved Supercharger information in the vehicle. In the past couple years they've added the ability to view the number of chargers available at site Supercharger location, as well the number of stalls that are out of order. They also show how busy the Supercharger is at various points throughout the day.
If you thought live data was the best Tesla could do, they have a surprise in store in update 2023.38. If you're navigating to a Supercharger, Tesla will now predict how many Supercharger stalls will be available at your arrival, and display the predicted wait time, if any.
Tesla says they will factor in your travel time to the Supercharger, as well as other Tesla vehicles' travel times, to predict the charger's availability when you arrive.
Tesla continues to open up Supercharger to other electric vehicles, and while the number of non-Teslas charging at Superchargers may be a small percentage right now, that number is expected to increase as more manufacturers adopt Tesla's charging port. It'll be interesting to see how well Tesla can predict Supercharger availability when they may not be aware of all vehicles routing to each charger.
This feature is currently limited to the U.S., but is likely to expand to other regions as Tesla gathers more data and determines its accuracy.
When Tesla officially announced the feature on X, it wasn't clear which update the feature would feature the updated feature, but it has now been spotted in update 2023.38. The updated light pattern is currently only be available in select countries, including the U.S. It appears to not be available in most of Europe at this time, but that may change in a future update.
Vampire Survivors: Multiplayer Gaming
Update 2023.38 also brings other features, such as an update to Vampure Survivors. Just in time for Halloween, Tesla owners and their passengers can team up in a co-op mode, mowing down hordes of the undead. The gameplay allows up to four passengers to participate, turning your vehicle into a virtual battleground against zombies. This feature, however, has its prerequisites.
It requires MCU 3, making it exclusive to the recent Model S/X and 3/Y models. For those ready to dive into this electrifying experience, shift the Tesla into Park (P), navigate to the Tesla Arcade, and then choose Vampire Survivors. Remember, each player needs their own controller, which can now be wired or Bluetooth.
Location Sharing: Enhanced Transparency
Update 2023.38 also notifies drivers if they are being crept on, known as location sharing. A new icon now appears at the top of the touchscreen when any app — including the official Tesla app — requests live location data from your vehicle.
Tesla also introduces a practical modification that could prevent window or door damage during a vehicle update. We know that the window goes down just a little bit when the door opens and closes because of the distinct frameless door design. However, the windows can not adjust during software updates, increasing the chances of window damage. This update brings down the windows just a little bit to facilitate door opening and closing. Once the update concludes, the windows revert to their former position.
With every update, Tesla gets just a little bit better. We are just a few months away from the epic Christmas update. The countdown is on!
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Tesla has begun to reach out to customers in the United States and is offering demo drives of the Cybertruck on an invite-only basis. @brandonhd on X shared the first invite image, and it looks like it's going out quite quickly to multiple locations that have Cybertrucks on display.
Up until now, display vehicles have been for just that – looking, but no touching. Some Tesla delivery centers and showrooms have also allowed viewers to take a seat inside and open it up, but most are still locked away behind the velvet rope.
It’s exciting to see that Tesla has begun to demo them – and it can only be so long until demo drives open up to everyone.
Advisor-led Demo
This Demo Drive is led by a Tesla Advisor – while you’re driving, the advisor will be in the passenger seat, walking you through the experience. They’ll explain steer-by-wire, off-road controls, and will introduce new-to-Tesla buyers to all the features that are currently available.
The list of locations so far for demo drives appears to be fairly limited, but we will hopefully see demo drives roll out throughout the United States, and eventually Canada too. Here is the current list of city/state locations that have seen demo drive invites.
Actually Smart Summon, the successor to Tesla’s Smart Summon feature, has been confirmed to be coming as soon as next month as per Elon Musk. Colloquially known as “ASS”, Actually Smart Summon is supposed to improve on the regular Smart Summon capabilities, which have historically used ultrasonic sensors (USS) to navigate parking lots.
We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon, and we’re quite excited about what other features will be unlocked once it finally shows up at our doorstep.
Vision-based Improvements
ASS is supposed to bring Smart Summon to vehicles that don’t have USS – using Tesla Vision. Most recently, Tesla has brought Autopark to vehicles without USS, and Vision-based Autopark has been a huge success. It is faster, more reliable, and smoother than the older USS-based solution. It can also park and maneuver in tighter locations.
Today, Smart Summon is sometimes useful at best, usually a party trick, or downright dangerous at worst. It’s excellent and best used in straight lines, where you have a clear line of sight of the vehicle, and can stop it if doesn’t see an obstacle.
I used Smart Summon today, just before writing this article – my 2022 Model Y (with USS) – did manage to show up just fine – in a straight-line location from where I was parked, after exiting the parking spot fairly cleanly. However, I’ve previously used Smart Summon and have had the vehicle turn towards obstacles, such as cart returns or curbs. Overall, it’s a sometimes-useful feature that has a lot of drawbacks right now.
Smart Summon is also restricted to a certain distance – and it's pretty small. The max distance is shorter than most parking lots, being only about 215 ft (65m). If you’re lucky enough to park close, it's very useful to bring your car right to you.
Actually Smart Summon
ASS will bring FSD V12-like capabilities to Smart Summon – the vehicle will primarily use Vision to drive toward you (or the location you’ve indicated). ASS has been supposed to be coming since about September 2022 and has seen many delays – we’re almost at the 2-year point today.
We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon being able to bring the vehicle – safely – right to you. ASS is also one of the key steps towards bringing some other cool features that Elon Musk has previously mentioned – Park Seek and Banish Autopark.
We’re also hopeful that Actually Smart Summon will increase the maximum range a vehicle can be summoned, because the current range is fairly small. Alongside Park Seek and Banish Autopark, we’re closing in on a Robotaxi-based future.
Park Seek and Banish Autopark
When the FSD v12.4 showed up, Elon also mentioned that going forward, vehicles would automatically park themselves when arriving in a parking lot – Park Seek – and that if you got out of the car at the entrance to a business, you could get it to automatically park itself in the parking lot – Banish Autopark. These are two features that are needed for Robotaxi to work – which itself is delayed to October 10th of this year. We’re looking quite forward to them – as in combination with Actually Smart Summon, Tesla has reached the cusp of vehicle autonomy.
A vehicle that arrives, driverless, at the location you’re at, then drives somewhere, parks itself there, and waits for you – is the definition of a Robotaxi.
While we’re likely to have to wait for Banish Autopark and Park Seek just a bit longer, Actually Smart Summon being around the corner is exciting! Gone will be the days of having to run out to your car when you forgot your umbrella – your car will just come right to you instead.
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