Tesla Now Displays Which Apps Are Accessing Your Vehicle's Location in Update 2024.20

June 29, 2024

By Karan Singh

Tesla will now show you which apps are using your location

Maxim

In an undocumented change in Tesla update 2024.20 and later, Tesla has added a minor, but privacy-focused change to its software. Tesla has a user privacy-first focused policy, which aligns with the expansion of user privacy changes.

Location Privacy

Since late 2023 (update 2023.38), Tesla has been showing a small location icon at the top of the screen any time the vehicle’s location is being accessed, either by Tesla or a third-party app.

This includes someone using the Tesla app, which displays the vehicle’s location on a map. However, as of update 2024.20 and later, Tesla is now expanding the information shown.

Previously, when the icon was tapped, it would display a general message explaining why the icon was appearing. The message stated:

“This icon appears when an app requests your vehicle's live location data.
You can turn off sharing anytime in Controls > Safety > Allow Mobile Access, including all Tesla app access.
When this setting is on, your vehicle communicates directly with the Tesla app and other apps, but Tesla doesn't track your location.”

The same text is still displayed, but now boldly says, “This icon appears when an app requests your vehicle’s life location data.”.

More importantly, Tesla now displays the service that is accessing the vehicle’s location (h/t DriveTeslaCanada). So if someone opens the Tesla app, the vehicle will now display that the vehicle’s location is being accessed by the “Tesla Mobile App.” In addition, it appears to also display which Tesla driver or account is viewing the location of the vehicle. If it’s a third-party app or service accessing the vehicle’s location, Tesla will display the name of the registered third-party app.

Disabling Location Sharing

Tesla states that you can still turn off sharing in the same location as before (Controls > Safety > Allow Mobile Access), but doing so prevents many features of the Tesla app from working. If you use a third-party service, the location information is also tied to gathering detailed data on the vehicle, making it an “all or nothing” option.

If you have a service request active, Tesla Service may also ask you to re-enable Location Services so that Mobile Service can find your vehicle.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a history of which apps have accessed your vehicle’s location over a certain period. The location icon and detailed information are only available for a few seconds when the icon is displayed.

Tesla Teases New 7-Seat Model Y

June 12, 2025

By Karan Singh

The third row in the first-generation Model Y

Not a Tesla App

In a move that’s sure to excite those with larger families, Tesla has started teasing the return of the seven-seat configuration for the Model Y. In a new marketing email sent out to customers recently, Tesla explicitly highlights the vehicle’s spaciousness.

“Ready for anything with long range, seating for up to seven, and enough room for everyone’s gear.”

The seven-seat Model Y was initially offered in late 2021, but it hasn’t been available since Spring 2023. The return of the new variant will be an addition that many have been waiting for, as the next vehicle with that much passenger space in the line-up is the Model X, starting at almost double the price.

First-Gen Model Y Third Row

The original seven-seat Model Y was extremely popular in the Asia-Pacific and European markets, and it still sold fairly well in North America despite differences in preferred vehicle sizing and spaciousness. It offers additional seats for larger families with young children, but space in the third row is minimal.

The seven-seat variant makes the Model Y more competitive against other three-row SUVs on the market. The video below features the seven-seater, first-generation Model Y.

Power Reclining Third Row?

The refreshed Model Y was launched with power-reclining second-row seats, a huge plus for practicality and ease of use. The power-reclining second-row seats are extremely popular with families and are very helpful, as you can control them from the front screen rather than needing to open the rear doors.

Tesla is likely to integrate power-reclining seats into the third row and potentially keep them for the second row as well. With the second row sliding forward and backward for easy entry, as well as allowing the second and third rows to fold flat for additional cargo room when needed.

Launch Date and Price

Tesla’s tease of the seven-seat variant is likely just the start. With recent sightings of the Model Y Performance variant hitting the Nürburgring, it seems Tesla has a lot in store for this summer. If you’ve been waiting for the seven-seat variant, it seems like it’ll be just a few short months away at this rate.

While we haven’t seen any production samples or other details regarding dates yet, Tesla previously priced the seven-seat option at an additional $2,000 USD ($3,000 CAD). The seven-seat option will likely only be available on the Long Range AWD and Long Range RWD variants, not the Performance model, similar to the first-generation Model Y.

Tesla’s First Autonomous Vehicle Delivery to Happen on June 28th

June 12, 2025

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

In Elon’s flurry of posts on X about FSD yesterday, he also revealed the date that another moment of peak science fiction would be occurring — June 28th. Tesla expects to conduct the first-ever self-delivery, where a brand-new Model Y will depart from the production line and arrive directly at its new owner’s home without any human intervention.

Imagine ordering a vehicle, and a few days later, rather than needing to pick it up, it simply arrives in your driveway and notifies you via an app that it has arrived. That’s no longer the talk of science fiction; it is quite literally something that is likely to happen this month.

Expect a Model Y Delivery in Austin

Considering everything Tesla has done so far, we’re fairly certain that the first self-delivered vehicle will be a Model Y in Austin, in the same geo-fenced area where Tesla’s Robotaxi will operate. FSD is highly optimized for the Model Y, and it’ll take some time for those optimizations to trickle down to the rest of the fleet. It’s not clear if FSD performs better on the Model Y because it’s the most popular vehicle and, therefore, Tesla has the most data for it or if Tesla explicitly chose to focus more on their most popular vehicle.

Tentatively, June 22.

We are being super paranoid about safety, so the date could shift.

First Tesla that drives itself from factory end of line all the way to a customer house is June 28.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 11, 2025

Why Self-Delivery?

While a car driving itself is something truly different from what other manufacturers offer, there are also numerous strategic advantages for Tesla to do so. This includes drastically reducing last-mile delivery costs by minimizing the need for car carriers, delivery drivers, and even delivery personnel at your local Tesla center. For customers, it could mean a faster, more flexible delivery method - and one absolutely unforgettable welcome to Tesla ownership.

We recently took a closer look at the advantages and disadvantages of vehicles delivering themselves to customers. While it’s all positive for Tesla, there are some potentially negative sides to it as well.

A Futuristic Glimpse

When you step back and look at it, Self-Delivery is a logical extension of Unsupervised FSD and the Robotaxi network in general. Self-deliveries are expected to run on the same software stack that powers the Model Ys currently roaming Austin’s streets autonomously, which means there is little for Tesla to do other than enable specific instructions for self-delivery during the final vehicle configuration steps.

Robotaxis currently run a newer version of FSD than what’s available to the public, but these self-delivered vehicles will likely be on the same version when they’re delivered.

Given Elon’s note that the dates could shift, this could easily be moved to early July; however, either way, it seems like we’re just weeks away from this monumental event, which will further reduce the cost of Tesla vehicles.