Tesla's Holiday Update: The 15 Undocumented Features

By Not a Tesla App Staff
Not a Tesla App

While Tesla’s exciting holiday update is now behind us, it left us with amazing new features, such as weather radar, Apple Watch support, mobile Dashcam viewer, SiriusXM, and so many other great features that some of us now use every day.

However, it doesn’t end there. Tesla always includes other smaller changes that don’t make it into the release notes, and the holiday update was a big one in terms of undocumented changes.

We’ll go through all the new features that are now available in your vehicle that Tesla didn’t show in their release notes.

Precipitation Map

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While this feature did make it to the release notes, some users may still not be aware that the Precipitation Map (weather radar) is now available on all Teslas with the Intel infotainment unit (except for legacy Model S/X). This feature was requested so long ago that, honestly, we didn’t think it’d ever be released. All Model 3, Model Y and 2021+ Model S and X vehicles now have access to the weather radar map overlay.

Fart on Sit

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For the Emissions Testing Mode easter egg, you can now have your vehicle fart when someone sits down in their seat.

The sound will come from the direction of their seat. For example, a fart sound will sound from the front-right speaker when someone sits in the front passenger seat. It will play the sound selected in the fart selection box, or play a random fart if you choose "I'm so random."

This option defaults to off after every drive.

Voice Assistant

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You can now say 'Hi' or 'Hello' to your vehicle through the voice command prompt, and the vehicle will respond with "Hello!"

This is the first sign of Tesla adding a smart voice assistant to the vehicle, which is expected to be powered by Grok.

Voice Command Changes

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If you use Tesla's voice commands, there are a few changes. When you press the voice command button on the steering wheel, you may now not get audible feedback that the button has been pressed. This will depend on whether there’s music playing or other circumstances.

When sending a text message through a voice command, you may now have to press the steering wheel button again to start dictation after choosing a recipient. It’s not clear what’s causing this change, as sometimes it goes straight into dictation mode, while other times it ask you to press the button to start dictation.

Equalizer

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You can now reset the equalizer settings with the touch of a button by tapping the new circular arrow to the right of the equalizer. This will bring all settings back down to 0.

Performance Improvements

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Intel users are seeing performance improvements while using the Tesla interface, especially in more demanding areas like Tesla Theater. Videos on YouTube now stutter less and Tesla Theater can be minimized more smoothly than before.

The media controls can now control YouTube videos and other web video content as well, even after the vehicle is put into drive.

Service Mode Updates

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Several screens in Service Mode have been updated to show larger visualizations, such as the Airbags and Seats menu.

Tesla has also introduced several new visualizations to vehicles with the Intel infotainment unit, that were previously only available on AMD-based vehicles. Some of these includes Coolant and HVAC options.

The only new feature in Service Mode is for the Cybertruck under Service Mode Plus, which includes:

Connector Reference (Service Mode Plus): A new Connector Reference panel is available to help find connectors and highlight harnesses on the vehicle. Rotate the 3D model to explore or type in the search bar to find a specific connector.

Rearranged Menus

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With the addition of the Seats menu to settings, Tesla has now rearranged the menu options so that the more used options are now more easily accessible.

The Software menu has been moved up, while other options like Navigation and Trips have been moved down to be close to WiFi, Bluetooth and Upgrades.

Selected Custom Lock Sound

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The currently selected custom lock sound is now shown underneath the Lock Confirmation Sound option in the Controls > Locks menu.

Ambient Lighting Easter Eggs

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The Rainbow Road and Santa Mode easter eggs have been updated on vehicles that include the ambient lighting feature.

There are new options in these easter eggs that let you enable or disable the ambient lighting while the easter egg is active.

If enabled, the light strips will cycle through colors of the rainbow when the Rainbow Road easter egg is enabled. For Santa Mode, the interior lights will cycle between red, green and white.

Updated Energy App

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The Consumption tab in the Energy app has been updated with several changes, including:

  • The last 200 miles are now shown, instead of a user-selectable, 5, 15 or 30 miles.

  • Instant Range / Average Range has been removed to simplify the interface.

  • The average range as moved to the top left and now shows the offset from the vehicle's EPA-rated Wh/mi

  • Total energy consumption is now displayed at the bottom left.

  • The colors now have different meanings. Before this update, yellow meant the vehicle was using energy, while green meant the vehicle was generating energy through Regenerative Braking. However, now, yellow means that the vehicle consumed more than the EPA average, and green means that the vehicle consumed less than the EPA average and doesn’t necessarily mean it generated energy.

Toll Roads

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When navigating to a destination, the alternative routes menu that is displayed when you first enter a destination will now show you which routes include tolls by displaying a dollar sign icon next to the travel time.

Limiting Explicit Content

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The Exlicit Content toggle under Audio Settings now applies to YouTube Music as well. This now supports LiveOne, Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, and TIDAL.

Charging Icons

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Tesla has redesigned the charging pins that appear on the map. Supercharger and third-party charger pins are now oval-shaped instead of circular.

Instead of just having the number of charging stalls available, Tesla has added the charging icon to make it more obvious these are charging stations.

Adjust Dashcam Viewer Speed

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You can now adjust the Dashcam Viewer's playback speed. Users can pick from 0.5x, 1x or 2x playback speeds by tapping the playback speed button.

Tire Pressure Indicator

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Tapping the tire pressure indicator will now open the tire pressure card on the left side of the screen instead of opening the Service menu under Controls > Service.

If you ever spot a change that isn’t listed in Tesla’s release notes, we’d love to hear about it!

Tesla Intel Atom (MCU 2) and AMD Ryzen (MCU 3): Feature Differences and How to Tell What You Have

By Karan Singh
DirtyTesla

Tesla vehicles are equipped with two main computer systems: the MCU (Media Control Unit), which is responsible for entertainment and display functions, and the Autopilot/FSD Unit, often referred to as the FSD Computer.

Both of these systems have evolved over the years, and they’re commonly referred to by their generation. For example, MCU 2 refers to the second generation of the Media Control Unit. Similarly, the FSD computer is identified by its generation, often called Hardware 3 or Hardware 4, when referring to the third and fourth-generation hardware. More recently, Tesla has started referring to the FSD Computer as AI3 and AI4, but you’ll still hear the older terms used interchangeably.

These two systems are separate and they’re not upgraded at the same time, meaning it’s possible to have a vehicle with MCU 2 and FSD Hardware 3 or MCU 3 with Hardware 3. Some vehicles even feature MCU 1 alongside Hardware 3.

The MCU is not involved with Autopilot or FSD functions—it’s purely for infotainment and in-vehicle features such as vehicle visualization, gaming, maps, and entertainment. It doesn’t impact the capabilities or limitations of Tesla’s autonomous driving systems.

MCU 1 - NVIDIA Tegra 3

MCU 1 was the first media control unit to be introduced in Tesla vehicles, starting back in 2012. This system was used in the Model S and Model X until about April 2018, when Tesla began transitioning to MCU 2.

By the time the Model 3 launched in late 2017, it already included MCU 2. To keep legacy vehicles up to date, Tesla offers an infotainment retrofit that upgrades MCU 1 to MCU 2, which helps make the infotainment unit much more responsive and adds a variety of newer features. Tesla continues to support vehicles with MCU 1, although upgrades are much further apart. In 2024, Tesla added Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) improvements to vehicles with MCU 1 and even support for FSD V12.3.6 (FSD HW3 required).

Period Offered: 2012 through April 2018

Upgrade: Available as a paid upgrade for Model S and Model X vehicles to go from MCU 1 to MCU 2.

MCU 2 - Intel Atom

The launch of the Model 3 introduced MCU 2, which ran on Intel’s Atom mobile processor. While the Intel Atom was capable at the time, it’s now considered outdated compared to modern standards. As Tesla continues to roll out new features, the limitations of the Atom processor have become more apparent.

There is a notable list of features that are unavailable to vehicles with MCU 2. Although Tesla has optimized software to improve compatibility, not all features have been made accessible to these vehicles.

Period Offered: MCU 2 was offered in 2017 (Model 3) through 2022 (availability differs based on region and model).

Upgrade: As of now, Tesla has not offered an upgrade path or retrofit to transition from MCU 2 to MCU 3, and they’re unlikely to do so.

MCU 3 - AMD Ryzen

In December 2021, Tesla began shipping vehicles with MCU 3, powered by AMD’s Ryzen processor. The first vehicles to feature MCU 3 were the refreshed Model S and Model X, which debuted in 2021. Shortly after, Model 3s and Model Ys were also equipped with MCU 3, and today, all Tesla vehicles, including the Cybertruck, come standard with MCU 3.

This MCU is now the most widely used on the road and is Tesla’s most advanced infotainment processor. It supports impressive 3D visualizations, allows improved gaming on the center touchscreen (and rear screens in equipped vehicles), and offers a host of other capabilities. MCU 3 is also the most feature-complete version, with new features being designed for it first and then backported to MCU 2 or MCU 1 when possible.

Period Offered: The first MCU 3 vehicles were released in December 2021 and is current through today.

Upgrade: MCU 3 is the most current infotainment unit that Tesla offers.

Features Missing on MCU 2 (Intel Atom)

High-fidelity park assist is limited to vehicles with MCU 3
High-fidelity park assist is limited to vehicles with MCU 3
Not a Tesla App

While Tesla does its best to continue to support MCU 2, there is a growing difference between the features available on a vehicle with an Intel Atom infotainment unit and one with the AMD Ryzen processor.

Feature

MCU 2

MCU 3

Games / Arcade

⚠️ Limited Games*

✅ Additional Games**

Parked View

⚠️ Split screen visualization with vehicle on left and map on right

✅ Full-screen Parked Viz - Shadows, Sun Reflections, Shadows

Vehicle Visualizations 

⚠️ Some limitations, such as non-transparent glass

✅ Improved visualizations

Full-Screen FSD Visualization

⚠️ Only Available in North America

✅ Available in All Regions

Zoom Meetings

❌ Not Available

✅ Available

High Fidelity Park Assist

⚠️ Top-Down Visualization Only

✅ Full 3D Visualization

Autopark Visualizations (video)

⚠️ Top-Down Visualization Only

✅ 3D Visualization

Improved UI for Display Modules - Media, Next Turn, Trip Planner

⚠️ Solid Color/Semi-Transparent

✅ Transparency + Background Blur for Display Modules

*Many recent game additions are available to MCU 3 only, including the ever-popular Vampire Survivors and Castle Doombad. Only certain Model S and Model X vehicles include a GPU and the ability to play games on Steam.

**Atari Games were removed from MCU 3 vehicles due to Emulator Licensing issues.

How to Tell - Intel or AMD

Identifying which MCU your vehicle has is straightforward. Simply go to Vehicle Options > Software > Additional Vehicle Information.

In the interface, you’ll find details about whether your vehicle is equipped with an Intel Atom (MCU 2) or AMD Ryzen processor (MCU 3).

MCU 4?

It’s been more than three years since Tesla introduced the AMD Ryzen-powered MCU. Despite advancements, including the transition from FSD Hardware 3 to AI4—and eventually AI5—there’s been no indication of an MCU 4 on the horizon.

The Ryzen processor’s impressive capabilities make it a solid choice for infotainment, and it’s well-suited to serve until there’s another big leap in CPU performance.

While Tesla will upgrade to MCU 4 at some point, it doesn’t seem imminent. Some may argue that Tesla transitioned to MCU 3 too late, leaving vehicles just a few years old feeling outdated. It’s possible Tesla might choose to introduce MCU 4 ahead of the need for more processing power, ensuring that older vehicles can continue to benefit from new software features in the future.

Tesla Expected to Add Turn Signal Stalk Back to Model 3

By Karan Singh
Not a Tesla App

Following the surprising return of the turn signal stalk on the refreshed Model Y, reliable Tesla source Chris Zheng has indicated that the Model 3 will also be receiving a turn stalk. While it initially seems surprising, Tesla mentioned that after receiving lots of customer feedback, there is a lot of demand for the return of the stalk.

For those who appreciate the newer turn signal buttons on vehicles like the Cybertruck, this might come as a surprise. However, the Model 3 and Model Y are designed for the average driver transitioning from a traditional vehicle, making the removal of the turn signal stalk an unexpected and potentially disappointing change.

Turn Stalk

In a conversation during the latest episode of Jay Leno’s Garage, Tesla’s VP of Vehicle Engineering, Lars Moravy, mentioned that Tesla works to remove superfluous parts. In this case, they removed one part too many - and are now bringing back the turn signal stalk.

The updated stalk on the refreshed Model Y is a simplified version of the current Model Y stalk. It doesn’t include multi-stage turn signals (short three flashes versus staying), buttons, or other features. Pure and simple - it is utilized for signaling left and right. The rest of the functions of a traditional stalk remain either on the wheel or on the screen.

Lack of Right ‘Shifter’ Stalk

Tesla has no intent to bring back the right stalk, which is traditionally used to shift the vehicle from Drive to Reverse and Park in Teslas. It’s also used to activate Autopilot. The shifting functionality will remain on-screen or available via the backup by tapping the buttons on the ceiling near the hazards button. Shifting via the dash is intuitive and convenient once you get used to it - and with AutoShift hopefully coming out of Beta sometime soon, this could get even better.

Autopilot activation will remain with a button on the steering wheel. While a vehicle with a single stalk may look a little odd at first, Lars mentioned that Tesla didn’t receive many complaints about shifting or Autopilot use.

Retrofit

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We haven’t heard anything about retrofitting the 2024+ Model 3s with the turn signal stalk at this point. However, we imagine this may be a possibility in the future.

However, we can recommend using the wireless Enhauto’s S3XY Stalks if you want to bring a single or dual stalks back to your refreshed Model 3 and don’t want to wait for an official retrofit to arrive. They’re easy to install, well-designed, and reliable.

Other Models

The big question now is: will Tesla bring back the turn signal stalk for its other models? It’s possible, but we doubt it. The Model S and Model X, especially with the Yoke, feel more natural without a stalk, and the button-based signals suit their design. While a stalk might occasionally be useful—like signaling in and out of a roundabout—any future refresh of the S or X would likely include steer-by-wire instead.

On the Cybertruck, the absence of a stalk goes unnoticed, thanks to steer-by-wire, as the squircle steering wheel is never in an awkward position. After thousands of kilometers of daily driving, including plenty of roundabouts, the author can confidently say the signal stalk isn’t missed at all. In fact, the turn signal buttons feel more intuitive, given how the Cybertruck handles.

That said, could Tesla offer signal stalks as an option for those who prefer them? It’s not out of the question. We’ll keep you updated, but in the meantime, let us know—do you prefer turn signal buttons or a traditional stalk?

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