As with all Tesla updates, a slew of smaller features often go undocumented. If you’re anything like us, you love to know all the little changes in a release.
Below are all of the changes that were included in Tesla update 2024.26 but didn’t make it to the official release notes.
Show Next Preconditioning / Charging Event
If you have scheduled a preconditioning or charging event, Tesla will now show you the next event that will take place.
An event to precondition the cabin will appear at the climate screen's top right corner. If you have set a charging schedule, your next charge time will now show up in the charging menu under Controls > Charging.
Hide Music Services Per Profile
Not a Tesla App
When you hide a music service, the music service/app will no longer show up in the all apps menu. Music search will also not display results for services you have hidden.
With this update, Tesla now saves hidden music services per driver profile. This allows a driver to hide any services they don't use while making them accessible to other drivers.
Your audio balance that controls how much sound goes to each speaker is now saved per driver profile. This allows each driver to save their own preferred listening preferences.
You can set your audio system's balance by tapping on the audio levels icon in the music player and choosing Balance.
Service Center Tips
Not a Tesla App
If you have a Service Center appointment, your Tesla will now display tips on screen when you arrive at your appointment.
The tips will remind you that you can see your service appointment status and review your summary in the Tesla app.
Reduce Fan Speed Hint
Not a Tesla App
As Tesla points out in 'Other Updates,' they have improved the the climate menu by simplifying the screen by removing certain options when they're unavailable and reshuffling buttons around to make them easier to access for drivers and passengers.
Reduce Fan Speed Option
Not a Tesla App
When in Auto, the fan speed may now automatically lower to reduce the sound of ambient noise during a phone call.
This feature can temporarily be turned off under Controls > Bluetooth if you need to prioritize cooling or heating the cabin.
New Key Required Screen
Not a Tesla App
This update introduces a new key-required screen when you try to perform an action that requires a key and there isn't one nearby.
Improved Front Camera Clarity
Not a Tesla App
Video post-processing is now applied to the front camera for hardware 3-based vehicles.
With this update, Tesla appears to now be applying the same techniques to the vehicle's front-facing cameras.
Traffic-Aware Cruise Control Chime
Not a Tesla App
In Tesla update 2021.40, Tesla added the option to receive an audio alert when Traffic-Aware Cruise Control is enabled.
This was an option that could be turned on or off under Controls > Autopilot > Traffic-Aware Cruise Control Chime, however, with update 2024.26, this option has now been removed. With this update, TACC will always chime when the feature is engaged or disengaged.
New Ambient Lighting Options
Greggertruck/X
There are now additional options for your vehicle's ambient lighting. Under Controls > Lights, you can now control the brightness of the vehicle's accent lights. In addition, you can choose for the accent lights to only turn on when the vehicle detects dim conditions outside.
If you’ve seen any other changes in update 2024.26, be sure to let us know.
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While most automakers are adding basic and un-integrated AI assistants to their vehicles, Tesla appears to be working hand-in-hand with xAI to build out an entire cast of characters for in-vehicle Grok. In the latest dive into Tesla’s firmware, Tesla hacker @greentheonly uncovered a few new details about the upcoming Grok feature.
This discovery, part of a larger batch of changes found in Tesla update 2025.20, also offers a hint at the hardware required for the Grok.
A Dozen Groks
While we knew from previous firmware teardowns that Tesla was adding various Grok personalities to the vehicle UI, this update introduces a new one called Language Tutor, which may allow users to learn and practice a new language.
These are the different personas that will be included in Grok:
Argumentative
Assistant
Conspiracy
Doctor
Kids’ Stories
Kids’ Trivia Games
Meditation
Motivation
Romantic
Sexy
Storyteller
Therapist
Language Tutor
and the Grok Classic - Unhinged Mode
Release Date
Icons for these personalities have been added to the firmware for the first time, leading us to think Tesla is getting close to releasing the feature. However, even after the feature is developed and included in vehicle software, Tesla may only enable it selectively — such as for select employees for testing.
Grok is expected to be one of the largest vehicle features added via a software update, so it’ll be a big deal when it’s finally released. While we know more or less what to expect from Grok, what we don’t know is about vehicle requirements or whether it’ll require a subscription beyond Premium Connectivity.
Grok Requirements
While subscriptions required are anyone’s guess, vehicle requirements may be a little clearer now, thanks to Green’s discovery that Grok is only being added to AMD-based vehicle software builds.
Unfortunately, this likely means that older, Intel-based vehicles will not receive Grok support, at least for the time being. When Tesla introduced a voice assistant in China, they also started off with AMD-only support but later added Intel support, so it’s possible that the same could happen with Grok.
Energy Saving
Green also found a new undocumented navigation feature in 2025.20.3. This one focuses on leveraging Tesla’s vast amounts of data in an interesting way and offers drivers proactive advice to save energy on a well-traveled route.
In the Energy App, your vehicle will display, “This route is typically driven at X mph. Slow down by Y mph to save Z% for the rest of this trip.’
As you can see in the photo below, Tesla recognizes that vehicles typically drive at 66 mph on the route being driven and offers the driver the option to go five mph slower to save 1% of range. While this example doesn’t provide much incentive to slow down, it could be useful for someone with a low state of charge or if the savings are more significant.
The new line in the Energy App
Not a Tesla App
In the future, Tesla could even use this, alongside the road surface data they’re gathering, to help plan routes for Robotaxi and Unsupervised FSD.
In a letter to industry, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced that it is overhauling its approvals process for vehicles designed without human controls.
The change addresses a regulatory bottleneck that has slowed down American companies like Tesla from deploying purpose-built Robotaxis, rather than relying on using traditional vehicles with steering wheels and pedals. The policy shift is outlined in a letter posted to the NHTSA’s website, which you can find here.
Reducing Approvals From Years to Months
Under the existing rules today, any vehicle that is built without a steering wheel or brake pedals must receive a special exemption from federal safety standards.
Obtaining exemptions for a particular vehicle was a time-consuming process for both the companies requesting exemptions and the NHTSA. The process was often a black box—nobody knew when an exemption might be granted, and approvals could take years.
The NHTSA, under the new administration’s guidelines for autonomous vehicle development, is now committed to streamlining this process. The agency will be implementing a new, faster approach immediately for receiving exemptions for autonomous vehicles without standard controls. The NHTSA expects decisions on exemption requests to be determined within months rather than years.
Accelerating the Cybercab
This change has massive implications for Tesla, which is banking on the production of the simplified and easy-to-maintain purpose-built Cybercab. The Cybercab is developed from the ground up as an autonomous Robotaxi and will be one of the key beneficiaries of this move by the NHTSA.
Knowing that a final design won't be caught in a multi-year regulatory limbo provides a level of certainty that has been missing. It allows Tesla to confidently plan the manufacturing, development, and deployment processes without worrying whether the project will get stuck in regulatory approvals.
According to the letter, the agency will publish its improved instructions for the streamlined process "shortly." With Tesla already having begun Cybercab pre-production and the goals for its deployment as soon as late 2026, there’s still a lot to be done to make autonomy a part of Tesla’s new sustainable abundance mission statement.
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