Tesla Software Update 2025.20 Released to Employees - What May Be Included

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It’s that exciting time again when a major Tesla software update is on the verge of being released. Tesla update 2025.20 is now being tested on employee vehicles, but since Tesla is very strict about sharing updates early, it’s anyone’s guess as to what’s in it.

This update is now reaching employee vehicles, which means it will still be a few weeks before it reaches customers. However, there’s plenty to be excited about. Given the trail of breadcrumbs found in Tesla’s code recently and from recent announcements of upcoming features, there are plenty of hints about what could be in it.

Let’s break it down and see what may be included in Tesla update 2025.20.

Grok

The existing voice command system gets the job done for basic controls, but it’s far from an intelligent, conversational assistant that many have come to expect from their cell phones or other smart devices. The integration of Grok is expected to change that.

Not only is Grok expected to bring a much more reliable system that’s able to parse commands from conversational phrases, but it’ll also drastically expand what the vehicle is capable of understanding and responding to through its voice system.

If you haven’t used Grok, you have several articles on what you can expect. It’ll be a drastic improvement that will reshape the way many of us drive. That may sound like we’re blowing the feature out of proportion, but if you spend a lot of time by yourself in your vehicle, this could have a huge impact on your commute.

Grok could be used as a conversational assistant, a sort of virtual friend who knows a whole lot just about any topic. Sure, you’ll be able to ask it for the weather or stock quotes or when Tesla is holding its next event, but the real power of it is just to be able to carry on conversations about a specific topic.

So here’s what we can expect. A virtual assistant who can execute vehicle commands like opening the glove box, which will be a direct replacement for the voice command system. You’ll also be able to ask general knowledge questions and carry on a conversation about any topic.

The responses won’t be limited to text like they are in the voice command system. Grok will have its voice, just like it does in the Grok app, so you’ll be able to hear your responses, letting you stay focused on the road. However, there likely won’t be a way for Grok to respond with anything except text or voice, for example, it likely won’t be able to display a photo.

Since Grok is replacing the vehicle’s command system and it’s mostly a backend change, we expect it to be available on older vehicles as well, such as those with Intel MCUs.

Grok is close to being released, so if it isn’t included in update 2025.20, it’s expected to be soon afterward, as Grok code has already been found in the previous Tesla update. The code discovered includes UI elements and a personality button like the Grok app.

New Vehicle Keys

With the Robotaxi Network launching as soon as June 12th in Austin and Elon confirming the project is well ahead of schedule, we’re anticipating Tesla will unveil the Robotaxi half of the Tesla app and the in-car interface sometime soon. While we don’t expect to see the in-car interface for both the front and rear screens for vehicles just yet, we could start seeing some other aspects, such as new virtual keys.

Two new keys were found: “Rider Keys,” which allow other drivers to access your vehicle when it is in “Fleet Mode,” and a new type of key called “Pre-delivery.” These keys will presumably let you unlock a vehicle but have limited capabilities. They could allow you to open and inspect your new vehicle, but not start it.

This could remove another human component when picking up your new Tesla.

Trailer Visualizations

Trailer visualizations could be added soon following confirmation from Wes Morril, Cybertruck’s Lead Engineer. Trailers are typically depicted as an additional vehicle or a truck. While the vehicle can accurately detect the trailer, the visualization leaves something to be desired.

Tesla already renders a series of objects in the visualizations, but trailers, along with trains and gates are some of the most requested additions.

Wes Morril also mentioned that Tesla may start rendering Cybertrucks in the visualization. It’s not clear whether he meant that Tesla was updating the truck's 3D model to be a Cybertruck, or if Tesla would display a special Cybertruck model specifically when the vehicle detects a Cybertruck.

While the Cybertruck has a polarizing design, this could be a fun addition. Years ago, Musk commented that Tesla would eventually render other Tesla vehicles as themselves in the visualization, even in their same real-life color, but it seems that Tesla dropped that idea and decided to keep the visualizations simpler.

Custom Wraps

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Tesla recently launched a cool custom wrap feature for the Cybertruck, allowing owners to customize their vehicle's appearance in the Tesla app and various vehicle visualizations. While the feature was exclusive to the Cybertruck, Tesla soon announced that it would also arrive for other models in the future.

The feature allows users to create their own custom wrap designs using a Tesla-provided template. It also allows them to create a custom license plate that is displayed in the visualization, letting you create a fun vanity plate or display your actual license plate.

Child Left Behind Detection

Tesla recently launched Child Left Behind support in Europe on the new Model 3. This feature uses the cabin radar to detect if a child has been left behind in a vehicle, and then takes some critical emergency steps. If an unattended child is detected, the vehicle will flash its exterior indicator lights, play an alert tone, and send a notification to your Tesla App. This repeats at regular intervals until you return.

We’re also expecting Tesla to improve this feature by automatically enabling the climate system in the vehicle when it detects a child left alone in the vehicle. In a critical scenario, Tesla previously stated that it would also automatically call emergency services if the driver doesn’t respond to prompts to return to the vehicle.

Since this feature was just added to a single model in select countries in update 2025.14.12, it appears that Tesla wants to collect data before expanding it further to reduce false positives. Since the feature was just rolled out to the public a few days ago, it may be too soon to expand it to other vehicles in update 2025.20, but it’s possible we may see it included in a few more regions or see another model supported.

Smart Child Seats

Rendering of what Tesla's integration could look like

@dkrasniy

Back in 2024, we found some code and preview images for Smart Child Seats, which would let the vehicle communicate with smart child seats that are already available. The seats could communicate with the vehicle about being properly installed and confirming the child is buckled.

They could also provide warnings if the child has been left in the seat too long or if the car seat belt has been unbuckled.Quality of Life Improvements

Emergency Vehicle Alert

Tesla has recently started processing audio data, enabling it to not only detect emergency vehicles through its cameras but also through audio. This capability could allow the vehicle to detect an emergency vehicle much sooner.

Supercharger Dynamic Pricing Support

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Tesla recently announced that some Superchargers are transitioning to a new dynamic pricing model, which sets the price based on the number of vehicles charging rather than the time of day.

This new pricing model would adjust the price of these Superchargers based on their actual real-time usage when you begin Supercharging. Your price is locked in when you begin Supercharging and won’t change halfway through, so you know exactly how much you’ll be paying.

This change means that a Supercharger could now potentially be cheapest during the day if few vehicles are using it. However, it could also be more expensive at night if it’s under high usage.

These changes make the charging price a little more fair and should help Supercharger congestion, incentivizing drivers to spread out to other nearby Superchargers that may have lower usage and, therefore, lower costs.

Tesla already showed off what the new interface will look like in the vehicle, so we expect that to be implemented in this upcoming 2025.20 update. The updated Supercharger UI will display an arrow next to the Supercharger price, indicating whether the price is higher or lower than anticipated based on historical usage. It’ll also include a “Low Price” or “High Price” label to help consumers decide.

There will also be a new “Find Lower Price Charging” button that will display nearby Superchargers that have lower prices and are less congested.

The Tesla app recently added support for this new charging model in app update 4.44.5.

Quality of Live Improvements

We could also see some other smaller, quality-of-life improvements from Tesla. First up are some improvements to Car Wash Mode, which will provide an alert for anyone who inadvertently lowers their window during a car wash.

We’re also hoping to see Tire Fill Assist, which will likely check the Bluetooth TPMS while you’re filling your tires. It could also give you audible feedback through the vehicle’s internal speakers or outside speaker (PWS) when the tire is approaching the set limit.

Last, but not least, we’re continuing to hold onto the hope that Tesla adds Steam Support to its entire lineup of vehicles. Ever since removing the additional RAM from the Model S and Model X, Tesla has quietly killed Steam Support - but oddly enough, it has still provided updates for it. We’d love to see SteamOS make an appearance on Tesla vehicles - what’s more futuristic than having your vehicle running Unsupervised FSD while you take a break and do some gaming?

When Is It Coming?

This update just started rolling out to employees, so it usually takes two to three weeks before it starts rolling out to the first public vehicles. Expect this update to start rolling out sometime in June, which just so happens to coincide with Tesla’s Robotaxi rollout.

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Tesla Officially Unveils Bigger, 6-Seater Model Y L

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Tesla has unveiled its 6-seat Model Y variant in China, known as the Model Y L. This new variant of one of the world’s best-selling vehicles comes with a longer wheelbase, adjusted C-pillar design, and most importantly, a six-seat interior layout.

The vehicle’s specifications have been officially listed in a filing with China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), confirming a launch for this fall.

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The addition of a longer wheelbase and a more spacious third row is a fantastic addition for the Model Y’s family utility, and positions this variant as sort of a mini Model X, but let’s compare the sizes to really know how this new Model Y compares to a Model X.

Meet the Model Y L

The defining feature of the new Model Y L is its six-seat configuration. This layout has previously been exclusive to the larger and more expensive Model X. While Tesla has offered the Model Y in a 7-seat configuration before, the third row was much too small to be utilized by anyone but small children.

Comparing Model Y L to the Model X

@xiaoteshushu on X

Let’s compare this upcoming Model Y L to the regular Model Y and the Model X.

The new wheelbase of 3,040mm is a significant stretch from the standard wheelbase, and in fact, is longer than the Model X’s wheelbase of 2,965mm. However, the overall length of the vehicle is 84mm (~3 inches) shorter than the Model X. This means the vehicle sits neatly between the current Model Y and Model X, filling a much-needed gap.

While this Model Y L is slightly smaller than the Model X, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s smaller inside. The Model X features a much larger front end than the Model Y, accounting for several inches. When you line up the front wheel base of the Model X with this new Model Y, the vehicles are almost exactly the same length.

Tesla has designed this Model Y to be a bit more compact and efficient than the Model X, and likely much cheaper, while featuring the well-loved design of the new Model Y.

Other Specifications and Price

The MIIT filing also provided a detailed look at some additional specifications. The Model Y L is a dual-motor, AWD variant, so it will likely be more expensive than the current Model Y AWD that’s available in China today. Tesla charges an additional $6,500 USD when upgrading the Model X from a 5-seat configuration to a 6-seat layout, so we may see something similar here.

The extra length has been added behind the C-pillar, resulting in a longer rear profile for the Model Y L. To accompany this, Tesla has added an updated rear spoiler, similar to the one found on Performance variants, but not carbon fiber. There is also a new wheel design to complement the updated look, along with unique Model Y L badging and a new light gold paint option.

In classic Tesla fashion, no Tesla is slow - and the Y L has a 0-100 km/h (0-60mph) time of 5.9s, with a top speed of 217km/h. Alongside an 82.5 kWh LFP battery pack, the Model Y L boasts an impressive CLTC range of 688 km (427 mi).

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Launch & Availability

According to posts from Tesla China on Chinese social media, the new Model Y L is scheduled to launch in the fall of 2025. Its official listing in the MIIT database is essentially the final regulatory step required before sales can begin, which means the launch is really just around the corner. For now, it appears that Tesla intends to launch this vehicle only in China, as no other filings have been made in other regions. However, these could be revealed in the coming months.

The new Model Y L is a huge addition to Tesla’s lineup - one that addresses the Chinese preference for vehicles with longer wheelbases and additional passenger room in a compact SUV package. The question is - will this variant make its way to North America and Europe?

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Tesla’s Dojo 2 Supercomputer Chip Enters Mass Production

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Solving real-world artificial intelligence - whether for autonomous driving, real-world robotics, or advanced reasoning - requires an almost unfathomable amount of computational power. To meet this challenge, Tesla has been developing its own custom AI training hardware while simultaneously purchasing hardware in the open market.

Now, the next-generation Dojo 2 chip has reportedly entered mass production with the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer, TSMC. While many may consider this a side quest, expanding Tesla’s computing base will be necessary to achieve exascale supercomputing, which will be crucial for all of Tesla’s AI ambitions.

Elon Musk called Dojo 2 “a good computer,” and then followed up with a classic computer performance joke - Dojo 2 can indeed play Crysis at a billion frames per second.

Can play Crysis at a billion frames per second

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 12, 2025

Exascale AI: FSD, Optimus, and More

While Tesla has effectively utilized powerful third-party GPUs to train its models to date, the Dojo supercomputer is a ground-up, application-specific solution designed for a single purpose. It will efficiently process massive amounts of video data for training neural networks. The Dojo 2 chip itself is the key that unlocks this potential.

Dojo 2 will train the vision-based neural nets that FSD relies on, allowing Tesla to process video from its massive global fleet of vehicles even faster. As Tesla continues to improve FSD, one of the biggest challenges has been the intake of video for handling difficult edge cases.

Hundreds of thousands of miles of training data may pass by before an edge case is identified and trained on, but it all needs to be analyzed, labeled, and processed, which is key for Dojo 2. Each new useful piece of training data will help Tesla proceed down the march of 9s, making FSD just that little bit better every time.

This process requires massive amounts of compute and training time - but it is an absolute necessity to improve FSD. Of course, this goes beyond just FSD in vehicles. Tesla’s humanoid robot, Optimus, also runs on FSD to navigate and interact with the physical world. 

While it may be a custom version of FSD, it remains FSD at its core, which means the same neural nets that analyze the environment and build a 3D map of the world for your car perform the same work for Optimus.

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Custom Approach to AI Hardware

Dojo 2’s power doesn’t just come from raw compute; it comes from a series of architectural choices that make it excel at training FSD and differentiate it from general-purpose hardware, or even other AI-specific hardware.

To this end, Tesla is using TSMC’s new Integrated Fan-Out with Silicon-on-Wafer (InFO-SoW) packaging technology. For massive AI workloads, heat and the speed at which data moves between chips are often the biggest bottlenecks.

This new packaging technique allows for high-bandwidth connections directly between processing dies, which lowers latency and dramatically improves heat dissipation, all key to building massive and dense compute clusters.

Unlike general-purpose chips, Dojo 2 is designed with a custom instruction set, specifically built to train FSD. The cores are specifically made to accelerate the exact mathematical operations, like matrix multiples and systolic arrays, which form the backbone of Tesla’s vision-based neural networks.

By building its own hardware, Tesla can then integrate its own software and compilers directly with the silicon, optimizing for specific workloads and avoiding the performance penalties that can result from using third-party software, such as Nvidia’s CUDA.

The start of Dojo 2 may seem like a side quest for some, but it’s actually a key step for Tesla’s AI technologies that give them an advantage over the competition using off-the-shelf hardware. They’ll need to continue investing in custom hardware to improve FSD at a reasonable pace, rather than the current glacial pace we’ve seen over the last few months.

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