Ludicrous Updates Expected for Tesla's New Model 3 Performance Model

October 20, 2023

By Kevin Armstrong

Tesla leaked the rear badge for the new Model 3 performance

The Kilowatts

Fasten all seat belts, seal all entrances and exits, close all shops in the mall, cancel the three-range circus, and secure all animals in the zoo... Tesla's New Model 3 may be going Ludicrous! If you're not following, then you don't understand the heart of Tesla and you owe it to yourself to watch the video below; it's Spaceballs.

Since the new Model 3 was unveiled, we've speculated that a unique trim could yet be revealed. Now, thanks to Tesla fan, the Kilowatts, we may know what that new upgraded package will be - Ludicrious.

Tesla Community Spots the Parts

The Kilowatts uncovered Tesla's Parts Catalog that hints at a performance version of the Model 3, initially speculated to be Plaid. The images showcasing the rear badge and the new wheels have since been removed from Tesla's catalog, but not before fans could capture a variety of screenshots.

Tesla's Plaid versions are known for their advanced tri-motor setup, however, after a closer look at the rear badge, it doesn't seem like the Plaid logo. It does resemble when Dark Helmet orders his ship to go to Ludicrous speed. Like the movie, the image appears to be the stars streaking past.

This development aligns perfectly with Elon Musk's well-known quirky sense of humor. He did name his Space X rockets after the Millennium Falcon; he also has the Boring Company.

It also fits Tesla's lineup. The flagship, luxurious Model S and Model X have a Plaid trim. Therefore, putting the Plaid badge on the lesser, more common Model 3 and Model Y could deteriorate the exclusivity of the Plaid brand. As the Tesla Silicon Valley Owners Club has pointed out several times, Musk previously rejected a Plaid version of a Model 3. But Ludicrous is just one step down as we've already passed light and ridiculous speed.

More than Just a Badge

While the badge will look great on the back of the new Model 3, and the new logo will make for a fantastic T-shirt print, there is much more to this new level. Also spotted in the parts catalog are improved sport brakes, suspension, and unique wheels.

Model 3 Performance Motor

This latest discovery aligns well with the vehicle certifications spotted in Europe last month. The letter T appeared in documents issued by the Dutch vehicle authority RDW. This 'T' in the Model 3 Performance's VIN could indicate the motor/drive unit type.

While there was initial speculation about a potential tri-motor setup for a Plaid Model 3, regulatory filings and certification documents have clarified that the Model 3 Performance will retain its dual motor setup. Given the documented specifications, it's plausible that one of the dual motors has been enhanced, possibly to match the advanced motor found in the Model S/X Plaid. This is anticipated to boost the top-end speed and acceleration of the Model 3.

While the current Model 3 certainly isn't a Cuisinart, it does have hyperjets of its own, especially with the acceleration boost software enhancement. So this latest revelation is just one more thing to entice the current Model 3 owners to consider upgrading and more reasons for potential owners to jump into the Tesla world.

Is Tesla Planning to Add Steam Support to All Vehicles?

December 11, 2024

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

Yesterday, we reported that Tesla updated their Steam integration on Model S and Model X vehicles. The update was part of their 2024 Holiday Update, but it looks like there may be more to this than a simple update.

Steam, a video game library app, makes it easy for users to buy or launch games on their computers. However, a couple of years ago, Valve, who created Steam, launched their own standalone device, the Steam Deck. The Steam Deck runs a custom OS based on Linux.

Steam Launch

When Tesla launched the redesigned Model S and Model X, Tesla introduced a dedicated gaming GPU with 16GB of RAM and touted the ability to play top-tier PC games in Tesla vehicles.

In 2022, Tesla finally launched the Steam app for the Model S and Model X as part of its 2022 Holiday Update. The Steam app runs Steam OS, the same OS as the Steam Deck in a virtual environment.

However, earlier this year, Tesla stopped including the GPU and Steam (Beta) in their vehicles, and we haven’t seen any updates to the Steam in quite some time. In fact, we thought Tesla was axing their gaming-on-the-go dreams.

SteamOS Update

The Steam app, which is still in Beta, is getting an interesting update for the Model S and Model X vehicles with the discrete GPU.

Those vehicles received an update to SteamOS 3.6 - the same version of SteamOS that runs on the Steam Deck. While nothing has visually changed, there’s a long list of performance optimizations under the hood to get things running smoother.

Comparing Steam Deck to Tesla Vehicles

Let’s take a look at the Steam Deck - according to Valve, its onboard Zen4 CPU and GPU combined push a total of 2 TFlops of data, which is fairly respectable, but much lower than today’s home consoles. The Steam Deck is capable of 720p gaming fairly seamlessly on low-to-medium settings on the go and is also built on the AMD platform.

AMD-equipped Teslas, including the Model 3 and Model Y, are packing an older Zen+ (Zen 1.5) APU (processor with a combined CPU and GPU). AMD claims that the V1000 - the same embedded chip as on AMD Tesla vehicles (YE1807C3T4MFB), brings up to 3.6 TFLops of processing power with it, including 4K encoding and decoding with the integrated GPU on board.

While that’s not enough for 4K gaming or comparable to a full-blown console or desktop GPU, that’s enough raw horsepower for light gaming and is currently more powerful than the Steam Deck.

The Model S and Model X’s GPU brings that up to about 10TFlops of power - comparable to modern consoles like the Xbox Series X at 12 TFlops.

Steam Gaming for All Vehicles?

The fact that Tesla is updating SteamOS even though the feature is no longer available in any new vehicles could indicate that Tesla is not only bringing Steam back to Teslas but that it’s going to play a much bigger role.

While SteamOS is run in a virtual environment on top of Tesla’s own OS, we could see Tesla bring SteamOS to all of its current vehicles, including the Model 3, Model Y, and Cybertruck. Steam in these vehicles would likely support any game that’s capable of running on the Steam Deck.

We think this Steam update, which includes performance improvements and a variety of fixes, has quietly passed under most people’s radars. This could be a very exciting update for those who enjoy gaming, especially for those who love to do it in their Tesla.

Tesla Holiday Update Weather Features: All the Small Details

December 11, 2024

By Karan Singh

Robert Rosenfeld / YouTube

As part of Tesla’s 2024 Holiday Update, Tesla included two awesome new features - Weather at Destination and the long-awaited Weather Radar Overlay. These two features are big upgrades built upon the weather feature that was added in update 2024.26. The original weather feature added an hourly forecast, as well as the chance of precipitation, UV index, Air Quality Index, and other data.

However, this update also added some smaller weather touches, such as the vehicle alerting you if the weather at the destination will be drastically different from the current weather.

Not a Tesla App

Weather At Destination

When you’re navigating to a destination and viewing the full navigation direction list, the text under the arrival time will show you the expected weather next to your destination. You can also tap this, and the full weather pop-up will show up, showing your destination's full set of weather information.

Note the weather under the arrival time

Not a Tesla App

You can also tap the weather icon at the top of the interface at any time and tap Destination to switch between the weather at your current location and the weather at your destination.

You’re probably considering that the weather at your destination doesn’t matter when you’re three hours away - but that’s all taken into account by the trip planner. It will add in both charge time and travel time and show you the weather at your destination at your expected arrival time.

And if the weather is drastically different or inclement, such as rain or snow, while you’ve got sunshine and rainbows - the weather will be shown above the destination ETA for a few moments before it tucks itself away.

Tesla also recently introduced a new voice command. Asking, “What’s the weather?” or something similar will now bring up Tesla’s weather popup.

The weather pop-up above the ETA

Not a Tesla App

One limitation, though—if you’re planning a long road trip that is more than a day of driving, the weather at destination feature won’t be available until you get closer.

Weather Radar Overlay

As part of the improvements to weather, Tesla has also added a radar overlay for precipitation. You can access the new radar overlay by tapping the map and then tapping the weather icon on the right side of the map. It’ll bring up a radar overlay centered on your vehicle. It’ll animate through the radar data over the last 3 hours so that you can see the direction of the storm, but you can also pause it at any point.

You’re able to scroll around in this view and see the weather anywhere, even if you zoom out. It also works while you’re driving, although it can be a little confusing if you’re trying to pay attention to the navigation system. If you like to have Points of Interest enabled on your map, the weather overlay will hide POIs except for Charging POIs.

Requirements / Data

Unfortunately, you’ll need Premium Connectivity for any of the weather features to work, and being on WiFi or using a hotspot will not be enough to get the data to show up. The data, including the weather radar, is provided by The Weather Channel.

As for supported models, weather and weather at destination are available on all vehicles except for the 2012-2020 Model S and Model X. The weather radar has more strict requirements and requires the newer AMD Ryzen-powered infotainment center available on the 2021+ Model S and Model X and more recent Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.