Tesla will display which Superchargers include trailer-friendly stalls
Not a Tesla App
Tesla’s latest update includes a special feature for Cybertruck that may eventually be rolled out to the rest of the lineup. It appears Tesla is getting ready for the summer road trip season early by focusing on enhanced security for drivers who tow trailers and improving accessibility to its Supercharger network for such vehicles.
Cybertruck's New Trailer Alarm Feature
With update 2024.8.4 Tesla is introducing a trailer alarm system for the Cybertruck. This innovative feature extends the vehicle's alarm system to monitor the connection status of a trailer hitched to the vehicle. In practical terms, this means the vehicle's alarm will now also protect the trailer, ensuring an added layer of security for owners' valuable cargo.
With update 2024.8 the alarm in the Cybertruck will sound if the trailer is unhitched
Not a Tesla App
Activating or deactivating alongside the vehicle's alarm system, this feature can be conveniently managed through the vehicle's settings under the "Towing and Hauling" section, where the "Trailer Alarm" option is located. Owners who prefer not to use this feature can disable it, tailoring the vehicle's security settings to their preferences. At this point, we only have confirmation of the feature in Cybertruck, but it would make sense to add it to the other models that haul trailers as well.
The release notes state:
“Your vehicle alarm now also monitors whether your trailer is plugged in to the hitch.
The trailer alarm sets and turns off along with your vehicle alarm. You can disable this security feature in your vehicle settings at Towing and Hauling > Trailer Alarm.”
Tesla Will Show Which Superchargers Include Trailer-Friendly Stalls
Tesla is also improving the Supercharging experience for drivers with trailers. Recognizing owners' difficulties when charging vehicles while towing, Tesla has been progressively introducing pull-through stalls at Supercharger stations. These stalls are designed to accommodate vehicles with trailers, eliminating the need to detach trailers before charging – a significant improvement over the traditional back-in stalls that dominate the network.
Wes Morrill, a Cybertruck engineer who has become more vocal on X, posted that the “Supercharger team is always looking for opportunities to install these at new locations. Will show trailer friendly stalls on the in-vehicle UI to make it easier when road tripping with a trailer.”
Once this feature is implemented, we expect Tesla to list the number of pull-through stalls next to the number of available stalls at each Supercharger location. Tesla already displays how many stalls are in use, how many cars are en route to the Supercharger, and if any stalls are out of order, as determined by their monitoring service.
Tesla already shows how many cars are en route to a Supercharger
Not a Tesla App
Amid rising gas prices, Tesla's updates offer a cost-effective solution for summer road trips. The new trailer alarm and UI improvements for finding Supercharger stations address towing challenges, enhancing the Tesla experience. This initiative showcases Tesla's commitment to innovation and sustainable travel, enabling owners to bypass the impact of fuel costs and enjoy their adventures.
Tesla’s refreshed Model Y is currently being manufactured as Tesla prepares for its first deliveries next month. While we’ve already seen quite a few cool new features, there’s more that has yet to be revealed. A recent video interview with Tesla’s engineering team hosted by Tesla Owners Silicon Valley reveals that the vehicle includes a new 4D cabin radar.
4D Radar
While Tesla has included an in-cabin radar since 2022, this appears to be a new, more capable radar. The current cabin radar is used to verify seat occupancy, but Tesla plans to add more functionality to this new system.
This updated radar will be used to provide a lot more detail than the current radar or cabin camera can provide today. The radar is located in the same location as the current version, directly above the rearview mirror.
Classify Passenger Size
This new radar has several new safety-focused features, and they’re all quite exceptional. First off, the radar will detect and classify passenger size to determine which airbags to deploy dynamically. That means that if a shorter individual is sitting up front, the dashboard airbag may not activate - but the curtain airbag will.
That will reduce injuries in impacts from airbag activation while also reducing repair costs by not activating unnecessary airbags. By having a better idea of the passenger’s size, height, and weight, the vehicle can also better determine when to activate the airbag.
Children Left in Car
But that’s not all - because of that classification system, the radar can differentiate an adult passenger from a baby or child sitting in the second row - and automatically make the necessary dynamic safety adjustments.
The cabin radar will also detect heart rate and breathing, and Tesla will automatically send a reminder through the Tesla app if it detects a child is left unattended in the vehicle. If this occurs, the vehicle will perform a variety of functions, the first being to turn on the HVAC system and send you a reminder. And if that’s not enough - in the case of an emergency, your vehicle will automatically call emergency services for you and report its location.
It’s important to note that while vehicles outside North America have eCall capabilities, in North America, they cannot call 911 unless a phone is connected to the vehicle via Bluetooth. We hope that Tesla can contact 911 via an alternative method or add eCall capabilities to these vehicles.
While the refreshed Model Y will be shipping in March, this new radar and its associated features won’t be available immediately. Tesla intends to activate these new safety features in Q3 2025 - so sometime in late summer or early fall. We’ll dive into this new feature once it’s available later this year.
A member of Tesla’s AI development team, Kalena Brown, took to X to mention that an update is on its way for AI 4 vehicles on older FSD V13.2 builds.
It seems that Tesla has caught an issue that has been preventing vehicles from safely updating from FSD V13.2.2 to newer builds such as FSD V13.2.4 or V13.2.6.
The Bug
Tesla usually catches these issues early in testing, but sometimes, they make their way out into the wild, necessitating a stop to a rollout. In this case, the rollout was likely halted to prevent this issue from spreading to other vehicles.
There have been a lot of comments on social media that users haven’t seen an update since late December or early January. While that’s not completely abnormal, this update, version 2024.45.25.5 includes an issue that prevents it from being updated.
Please be patient! Found an issue specific to that update path, but fix is coming soon
Many folks on older builds also waiting and we're working hard to get everyone covered 🙂
Brown says that Tesla is aware of the issue and is working hard to get a build with the fix released soon. It may be a couple of weeks before it’s ready, but you can expect Tesla to roll this one out slowly to make sure the issue is addressed.
The issue appears to be specific to FSD V13.2.2, so anyone on another update should not be affected. Keep an eye out on our feeds - and we’ll let you know once the update is released.