Imminent Ludicrous Launch as Tesla Gears Up for Q2 with the Latest Model 3

By Kevin Armstrong
Ludicrous set for launch
Ludicrous set for launch
Courtesy of @BooDev/X.com

As Tesla edges closer to officially unveiling the Model 3 Ludicrous enthusiasts and potential buyers alike are keenly analyzing every piece of information available. Amidst the flurry of images showing the new Ludicrous model in public and leaked images of the car in a display area at a Tesla facility in Malibu, California, it appears that Tesla will kick off the second quarter in style. But something else will be unveiled as well.

The presence of Tesla's head designer, Franz von Holzhausen, along with his distinctive matte black-wrapped Cybertruck in Malibu, hints at a gathering of automotive influencers and experts. This strategic gathering, further evidenced by sightings of notable figures such as Marques Brownlee and Jason Cammisa, suggests Tesla’s intention to leverage influential reviews and social media buzz to highlight the Model 3 Ludicrous upon its release.

Mysterious Technological Innovations Unveiled

Alongside the anticipation surrounding its unveiling, the Model 3 Ludicrous has sparked intrigue with the mystery of a covered item spotted on a desk beside a covered Model 3. Speculation is that this could be a new motor or an advanced technological component integral to the Model 3 Ludicrous's capabilities.

The Model 3 Ludicrous sets itself apart with significant upgrades, including a redesigned front fascia, side front bumper vents for improved aerodynamics, and new rim designs complemented by a sleek rear spoiler. These enhancements and the expected acceleration metrics that promise to surpass the previous performance model's benchmarks set the stage for what is sure to be a must-have car for the Tesla enthusiast.

Strategic Pricing and Timing

An important financial aspect has come to light courtesy of Tesla insider Sawyer Merritt. He points out a crucial consideration for U.S. customers eyeing the Model 3 Ludicrous: the eligibility for federal incentives. Specifically, Merritt notes that any electric sedan priced over $55,000 does not qualify for the coveted $7,500 Federal EV credit. This detail adds a layer of financial planning for potential buyers, as the Model 3 Ludicrous is expected to harness 2170 cells from Giga Nevada, similar to its predecessor, which could influence its qualifying status from a manufacturing standpoint.

Tesla's timing for the Model 3 Ludicrous unveiling seems strategically poised to stimulate its second-quarter sales, leveraging the heightened public interest and media buzz. The company has prepared investors for a slower year of growth, so introducing this new product aims to strengthen Tesla's market position and emphasize its role as a leader in innovation within the automotive industry.

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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