All the New Features for the Tesla App in Apple iOS 18

Not a Tesla App

Apple has released its latest software update for iPhone, iPad, and MacOS, along with other systems. While the update includes many new features, such as RCS text message support, a customizable Control Center and many other features, we’ll focus on the ones that apply to Tesla and the Tesla app.

Control Center

With iOS and iPadOS 18, Apple overhauled Control Center. Visually, it remains very similar to its previous incarnation, except that you can now customize it in several ways. First, you can resize each button. Most icons can be customized so that they take up a single square, two spots or four. While Tesla doesn’t support any native actions for Control Center yet, you can create your own shortcut using Apple’s Shortcuts app and add it to Control Center (see below). The action can preheat/precool the cabin, start charging, unlock the vehicle or many others. To set a custom action, simply swipe down to Control Center, tap the plus (+) icon on the top-left corner, and choose Add a Control at the bottom.

Not a Tesla App

Customize Tesla App Icon

iOS 18 also adds support for dark icons and customizable tint options. That means that you now have a degree of control over what the Tesla app icon looks like. To use dark icons while Dark Mode is active on the phone, tap and hold on any app icon and choose Edit Home Screen. When the icons start jiggling, tap the Edit button on the top left and choose Customize.

At the bottom of the screen, you’ll now be able to choose between various methods of customizing your app icons. You can pick from two app icon sizes, choose light/dark app icons and choose a color for tinting all icons.

The Tesla dark icon is a red T on a black background, while the light icon remains the same white T on a red background. The Tinted option allows you to tint all of your app icons in your preferred shade.

Lock Screen Buttons

Not a Tesla App

The iPhone has had two lock screen icons for several years, which include shortcuts to the flashlight and camera apps. However, with this update, you can now swap out those icons for other apps or custom actions. Since the Tesla app doesn’t support any actions yet, you’ll need to create a shortcut first, then you can apply it here or to the Control Center. Creating a shortcut for cabin preconditioning is one of the most useful options, as it gives you one-touch access to cooling your vehicle.

To set up custom lock screen buttons you’ll want to lock your phone first. then tap on your wallpaper in any blank area. Choose customize and then choose the lock screen. You’ll then see several options to add widgets or remove the icons from your lock screen. Start by removing one of the icons at the bottom, then tap the + button to add a new one. This could be the Tesla app, or a specific shortcut. If you want to use a shortcut, you’ll want to choose Shortcut Control Title. Once the menu comes up, you simply pick the shortcut you created.

Locking Tesla to Face ID

With iOS 18, Apple also introduced the ability to lock or hide certain apps. You can lock an app so that it requires Face ID before someone is able to access it. To set it up, just tap and hold on the app icon you’d like to lock and then choose the “Require Face ID” option. Like most things on iOS, if Face ID fails, you can still open the app with your phone’s passcode. If you prefer to hide an app, the process is similar. You’ll want to choose Require Face ID, and then the phone will prompt you whether you want to just require Face ID or if you’d like to hide the app.

If you choose to hide the app, the app icon will be removed from your home screen, and the app will only show up in the Hidden folder in the App Library. To access the App Library, swipe left after you get to the last home screen. To bring up a list of your hidden apps, tap the Hidden folder at the bottom and authenticate with Face ID.

Keep in mind that locking or hiding your app comes with several disadvantages. If you lock your app, then all Tesla notifications won’t be readable without first authenticating with Face ID.

Creating an Apple Shortcut & Using Siri

Not a Tesla App

You can create your own custom action with Apple Shortcuts. They can be extremely simple, like unlocking your vehicle, and require only a couple of minutes to set up.

To create a shortcut that could be utilized in Control Center, on the Lock Screen or as the Action button, open the Apple Shortcuts app.

Once you’re there, tap on the plus (+) sign at the top right corner of the app. On the bottom half of the screen, scroll up until you find the Tesla app and tap it. You’ll then see a list of all supported Tesla functions.

You can tap on any action such as Start under ‘Precondition Vehicle’ or Unlock vehicle. After choosing your preferred option, you’ll need to choose the vehicle it applies to, even if you have a single vehicle on your account. Simply tap the Choose Vehicle text and pick your car.

If you’d like to name the action, you can tap on the name with the down arrow at the top center of the screen and choose rename. After renaming your action, you can simply tap done and exit the app.

You can now run the action by simply saying its name when you bring up Siri, such as “Hey Siri, start car.” You can also take this shortcut and add it to Control Center or the lock screen for quick access.

Action Button

Not a Tesla App

With the new iPhone 16 model, Apple has replaced the mute/vibrate toggle with the Action button for all phone models. The Action button can be used for any action you’d like, but assigning it to a shortcut allows you to perform certain Tesla functions like the ones we mentioned earlier that could be added to Control Center or the lock screen.

Cooling down the cabin can now be a single button push away, and you can even push it without removing your phone from your pocket.

Until Tesla adds native support for actions that could be added to different parts of iOS 18, creating a simple shortcut is your best bet to take advantage of the latest iOS 18 features.

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Tesla Says 12V Power Socket Access Will Not Return With Sentry Mode

Not a Tesla App

It turns out that the big undocumented change in Tesla update 2024.32 that disables the 12V power and USB ports while Sentry Mode is active is not a bug but an intentional change.

A fan contacted Tesla Service to see if the change was intentional and what the reason behind the change was. Surprisingly, they received a response pretty quickly.

No 12V Power Access

Tesla has decided to restrict 12V power access for safety reasons—namely, to “reduce the likelihood of thermal events” when third-party devices are left powered on without users present. Tesla reached out to the fan in question by phone, and they seemed to be sticking to that line.

It seems that Tesla is resolute that it was due to safety reasons and that the change would not be “fixed” or allowed in a future software update – as this was an intentional change for safety reasons.

Other sources have reported that the change was due to potential misuse of the 12V power access, with people wiring 1200w microwaves and kettles or jury-rigging 240v to 120v adapters, which had apparently been the cause of multiple fires in Tesla vehicles within China.

Workarounds

There are a couple workarounds, although neither are ideal. You can tap in to the vehicle’s 12v line directly to power your accessories, or you can use Camp Mode.

If you choose to enable Camp Mode, then you’ll need to manually lock the car from the app since walk-away door locking is disabled with Camp Mode. However, Camp Mode will use extra energy to keep the climate system enabled.

We’re still hoping Tesla considers bringing the Cybertruck’s Power Control menu to the rest of its vehicles and is somehow able to limit the max draw from these outlets to prevent dangerous situations.

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Join Our Tesla Robotaxi Event Prediction Contest

Tesla

With the Robotaxi event just a day away, we thought it would be a fun idea to run a contest to predict what Tesla will announce tomorrow evening.

We’ve outlined a list of questions below; simply answer them on our forums or social media (X or Threads), and be entered for a chance to win some great prizes.

The individuals who have the most correct answers will win one of five prizes mentioned below. If more than five people get them all right, a random drawing will be held from the pool of winners.

We’ll reach out to the winners either by email or by DM on social media.

The Questions

1. Will Tesla let attendees experience Robotaxi at the event?

2. Will Tesla first start the network with human supervision (ridesharing), or with Robotaxis only?

3. What year will the network start? When will it become fully autonomous? (if announced)

4. When will Robotaxi production begin? (if announced)

5. Will it be Robotaxi or Cybercab?

6. Which of these Robotaxi Concepts will be the closest to the one announced?

7. Will Robotaxi include:

   1. Front-facing camera?

   2. Stainless-steel body?

   3. Steer-by-Wire or No Steering Wheel? (if announced)

   4. Which current Tesla model has the most similar door-opening mechanism?

   5. How many seats will the robotaxi have?

8. Will the robotaxi include AI5/Hardware 5, HW4 or something completely different?

9. Where will Tesla’s first Rideshare/Robotaxi location be established?

10. Will customers be able to purchase a Robotaxi?

Requirements

Please use the template below to answer the questions on social media or in our forums. You can post your answer as a comment to our forums, to our X post, or to our Threads post.

Once you do that, repost or quote post your favorite article from us.

1. Yes

2. Ridesharing

3. 2025/2027

4. 2025

5. Cybercab

6. Dominic's

7. Yes, Yes, SBW, No, 2

8. HW5

9. LA

10. Yes

Prizes

Prizes are generously provided by Enhance and Jowua, makers of some of the best Tesla accessories and amazing Tesla community members. Prizes will be mailed out directly by them. Winners will get to choose their prize from the list below. First place will have the first pick and so on. There will be five winners in total.

• S3XY Buttons (including a commander and wiring)

• S3XY Knob for Model 3/Y

• Tesla Gaming Controller - Multi-Device Wireless Controller (Wireless Charging)

• Tesla Gaming Controller - Multi-Device Wireless Controller (Wireless Charging)

• Tesla Gaming Controller - Multi-Device Wireless Controller (Wireless Charging)

Disclaimer

This is a Tesla event, and Tesla normally likes to hold their cards close to their chest. If an answer is ambiguous, we’ll go with the best choice decided by our staff. We’ll do our best to be fair. This

With all that said, we wish our entrants the best of luck, and we’ll announce the winners at the end of the week.

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