All the Undocumented Changes in Tesla Update 2024.2

By Not a Tesla App Staff
Tesla now makes it easier to unlock a vehicle when someone is inside the car
Tesla now makes it easier to unlock a vehicle when someone is inside the car
Not a Tesla App

Like every other Tesla owner, we look forward to the latest Tesla update every month, which is hopefully filled with improvements and new features. However, the release notes only cover the biggest changes, so every month we go through an update and receive countless tips from readers that highlight all of the smaller changes Tesla has made in the latest update.

Here we’ll go through all of the undocumented changes in Tesla update 2024.2.

Unlock Car and Trunk Buttons

To make it easier to unlock the vehicle for others, Tesla has added a contextual unlock button that appears in certain situations.

If the vehicle is locked and there is someone inside the vehicle, an 'Unlock Vehicle' or ‘Unlock Trunk’ button will now appear if someone tries to open the vehicle from the outside.

Trips Menu Redesign

Tesla updated the Trips menu to be easier to read and take up less space
Tesla updated the Trips menu to be easier to read and take up less space
Not a Tesla App

Tesla has redesigned the Trips menu under Controls > Trips. The new design features 'Reset' buttons directly next to the trip meter instead of all the way at the bottom.

The 'Show in Trips Card' is now aligned right on the same row, allowing all trip meters to fit on the screen without having to scroll.

Each trip meter is now easier to read at a glance as well. The details for each trip meter are now grouped in a darker gray color.

Supercharging Tips

Tesla now points out that steam coming out of your vehicle while Supercharging is normal
Tesla now points out that steam coming out of your vehicle while Supercharging is normal
Not a Tesla App

In the Charging menu, Tesla provides various tips when Supercharging such as not taking up adjacent stalls since some Superchargers share power between neighboring stalls.

Another tip has been added for vehicles with a heat pump. Tesla states that water vapor coming out of the car while Supercharging in cold conditions is normal. Recently some owners have been confusing the steam that is emitted from the vehicle for smoke.

Supercharging Tips can be accessed by going to Controls > Charging and tapping on Supercharging Tips.

PIN to Drive

The PIN to drive menu adds another layer of security
The PIN to drive menu adds another layer of security
Not a Tesla App

The PIN to Drive keypad that appears when you enter the car received some minor design changes.

All Apps Menu

All apps are now displayed in the 'All Apps' menu
All apps are now displayed in the 'All Apps' menu
Not a Tesla App

The All Apps menu [...] will now display all apps available, even if they're docked at the bottom of the display. Previously, the menu would only display apps that weren't pinned as favorites.

Additional Vehicle Info

Additional Vehicle Information now contains, well, additional information...
Additional Vehicle Information now contains, well, additional information...
Not a Tesla App

The Additional Vehicle Information menu under Controls > Software will now display if your vehicle is capable of 3rd-party NACS DC charging.

It sounds like not all vehicles may be capable of charging at all future 3rd party NACS DC chargers.

Software Version in App

Additional details are now shown about the vehicle's current software version
Additional details are now shown about the vehicle's current software version
Not a Tesla App

With this update, the vehicle's software version displayed in the app will also display additional information.

Tesla recently added the software version hash to the software version at the bottom of the app, and with this update, they're also displaying the vehicle's software version number, such as v11.1 as part of the version field.

Undocumented Changes on Update 2024.8

We publish undocumented changes throughout the lifetime of a release. There have already been six undocumented changes related to Tesla’s latest software update, version 2024.8. If you haven’t seen them yet, head on over to the release notes page.

If you discover any additional undocumented changes in a Tesla update, please let us know on our contact us page.

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Tesla Smoking While Supercharging? A Look at What's Actually Happening

By Karan Singh
Hot_Engineering3140 on Reddit

Winter is here, and temperatures are dropping, so one of the most common Tesla questions is about to resurface.

If you’ve landed here after frantically searching about “smoke” coming from your Tesla while Supercharging, take a deep breath—it’s completely normal.

Tesla Smoking While Charging

If you’re Supercharging in freezing weather—even with preconditioning—you might notice steam rising from your Tesla. But rest assured, your car isn’t smoking.

Your Tesla’s heat pump is hard at work warming both the cabin and battery to keep you comfortable and ensure optimal charging temperatures. Over time, condensation and ice build-up in the heat exchanger coils.

Why Does It Happen?

When you reach a Supercharger with your vehicle, the heat pump is still running hot, but without the cold air from driving to keep the heat exchanger coils cool, the ice and condensation quickly start to evaporate—creating what looks like smoke.

Since this typically happens near the front of the vehicle, where a car would traditionally have an engine, new vehicle owners can be startled by the discovery. However, rest assured that it’s just water vapor and it’s completely normal in cold weather.

In fact, this behavior can be experienced in any EV with a heat pump in cold climates. So, if you saw steam coming out of your vehicle and panicked, don’t worry—you’re not alone.

Now that you know what’s happening, go ahead and Supercharge with confidence.

Tesla Improves YouTube App With Smoother Playback

By Karan Singh
Not a Tesla App

Tesla made a lot of improvements in the 2024 Holiday Update, including more than 15 undocumented improvements that were included in the release. One of these was a stealthy performance improvement to the YouTube app.

Several people have mentioned they’ve seen improved performance on YouTube since this year’s Holiday Update - and there’s an interesting reason why.

YouTube Improvements

The improved YouTube performance in Tesla vehicles comes from an unexpected source—Tesla actually rolled back support for YouTube’s newer AV1 video encoding. Instead, vehicles now default to the older VP9 encoding standard.

While AV1 is highly efficient in terms of bandwidth, it requires considerably more processing power to decode and display videos. VP9, on the other hand, is less computationally demanding but uses more bandwidth to achieve the same video quality. This trade-off means smoother playback and better overall performance, even if it comes at the cost of slightly higher data usage.

Intel Inside

The VP9 video codec that the YouTube app is now using is much easier to decode, making it less taxing on the vehicle’s processor. This change is particularly beneficial for Tesla vehicles with Intel processors, which previously struggled to stream video at just 720p. When using AV1, these vehicles often experienced stuttering, sometimes forcing the YouTube app to automatically downgrade playback to 480p.

With this update, Intel-based Teslas should now be able to stream at 1080p smoothly. Streaming at 1440p is also possible, although occasional stutters still occur as the system keeps up with the decoding process.

Intel-based vehicles are the big winners with this change, but this appears to affect AMD Ryzen-based infotainment units as well, providing even smoother playback.

Chromium Web App

Tesla’s Theater apps aren’t native applications; instead, they run as chromeless web apps, leveraging the open-source browser built into Teslas known as Chromium (the open-source version of Chrome). Although this works quite well, there is a severe limitation - Chromium hardware acceleration isn’t supported on Linux, the operating system Tesla uses for their OS.

As a result, Tesla vehicles rely on software decoding instead of hardware decoding, which would otherwise handle video playback far more efficiently. A potential solution could be for Tesla to transition away from Chromium-based web apps in favor of a Mozilla Firefox-based browser, as Firefox does support hardware acceleration on Linux. This switch could also open the door to better streaming performance and the possibility of expanding Tesla’s in-car entertainment options.

However, Tesla’s choice of Chromium likely stems from Digital Rights Management (DRM) requirements for streaming services like Disney+ and Netflix, which rely on DRM-enabled playback. Firefox on Linux has had inconsistent support for DRM due to codec availability and variations in operating system versions.

We’re hopeful that Tesla will either adopt Firefox or develop a fully native application to improve video streaming, rather than continuing with the current web-based Tesla Theater. This shift could also pave the way for additional in-car applications built on Tesla’s native Linux environment—perhaps even reviving the long-rumored Tesla App Store.

Regardless, this update is a welcome improvement, particularly for YouTube, which remains one of the most widely used Theater Mode apps due to its accessibility, free content, and mix of short and long-form videos. It remains to be seen whether similar improvements are made for Netflix, Disney+, or other streaming platforms.

If you’ve noticed improved performance in Theater Mode, now you know why.

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