Year in Review: Every feature Tesla launched in 2021

January 11, 2022

By Nuno Cristovao

We'll take a look back at 2021 and all the improvements and new features Tesla added to their vehicles.

When you consider that Tesla spent the first half of 2021 focusing on the new software for the Model S, it's amazing how many new features Tesla ended up releasing before the end of the year.

Non-Tesla owners often ask what is your favorite thing about Tesla. For many owners, it's without a doubt the software updates.

In 2021 Tesla added more than 50 features and improvements to their cars.

Some of the features are minor improvements, while others add completely new functionality to your car.

In 2021 Tesla added support for nine new languages to its user interface. They also improved more than 10 features such as car visualizations and the Dashcam.

Tesla now also offers additional entertainment such as TIDAL, new streaming services such as Disney+ and TikTok, and new games.

In total Tesla added more than 30 new features in 2021 alone.

Over years, you'll likely receive a hundred or more major software updates that will literally add hundreds of improvements and new features that your Tesla didn't have when you originally bought it.

Below we'll take a look at every feature Tesla added in 2021.

New Languages

Your touchscreen is now available in over 20 languages. To switch your language setting, tap Controls > Display > Language > Touchscreen.

Improved Dark Mode / Night Mode

You can now change to a dark themed display. Tap Controls > Display > Appearance and select Dark.

Hide Map Details

Simplify your navigation app and hide map details by tapping the pin button on the map.

App Loading Progress Bar

When using the car's web browser a splash screen will now be shown that includes a progress bar to let you know that the browser is loading.

Increased Regenerative Braking in Cold Weather

The amount of regenerative braking available in colder temperatures appears was increased. In temperatures of 30-40°F, many users are now seeing their cars remain with full regen braking available.

Improved Driver Profiles

Each Driver Profile will now have its own individual Work and Home address. To update, select your profile, tap Navigation and long press either Work or Home.

TACC Chime

You will now receive an audio alert when Traffic-Aware Cruise Control is enabled. To disable, tap Controls > Autopilot > Traffic-Aware Cruise Control Chime.

Vision-based Autopark

Your vehicle can now automatically park in parallel and perpendicular spots. While driving below 15 mph (25 km/h), the instrument cluster will display a parking icon if it detects a potential parking spot. To initiate Autopark, tap-and-hold the Autopark button in the shift panel, and release the steering yoke. For more information on Autopark, please refer to the Owner's Manual.

Animal Visualizations

Certain four-legged animals are now detected and are displayed in the in-car visualizations.

Dashcam Improvements

Dashcam can now automatically save clips whenever your vehicle detects the occurrence of a safety event (such as an accident or airbag deployment). Recordings captured are stored locally and never transmitted to Tesla. To opt-in, tap Controls > Safety & Security > Dashcam > AUTO. To learn more about how to setup and use Dashcam, please refer to the Owner's Manual.

Manage Dashcam Clips

Easily delete all dashcam video clips directly from the touchscreen by tapping Controls > Safety > Dashcam > Delete Dashcam Clips

Improved Wipers

The windshield wiper wash sequence automatically adjusts to your vehicle speed to better clear salt and grime.

Improved Car Visualization

The car's visualization on the display now looks more realistic and refined. It features an improved lighting source and now uses anti-aliasing to produce a sharper looking visualization.

Yoke Behavior Changes

Your turn signals will now automatically turn off when the vehicle detects a merge, fork or lane change maneuver has been completed. If an upcoming navigation event is detected in the direction of the turn signal, or if the vehicle detects a subsequent lane change, the turn signal will not turn off until the maneuver is complete. Turn signals will always latch when pressed. Additionally, you can now press and hold to latch high beam, and to activate the windshield washer.

Note: Turn signals will cancel based on steering angle regardless of the selected setting for Automatic turn signals.

Bluetooth Progress Bar

When streaming audio over Bluetooth, the car will now display a progress bar in addition to the time remaining to further help you understand how far along you are on the current track.

TIDAL

TIDAL streaming is now available from the Media menu with a TIDAL account. You can listen to TIDAL playlists or albums in high-quality audio by connecting to Wi-Fi and pressing Download on the selected content.

Disney+

You can now watch Disney+ in the Tesla Theater app. To launch Tesla Theater, tap the Entertainment icon in the Application Launcher and select the Theater tab while your car is in PARK.

TikTok

You can now watch TikTok from your touchscreon. To launch, tap the Theater icon from the bottom bar and select TikTok while your car is in darn.

Sky Force Reloaded

Sky Force Reloaded is the spirit of the classic arcade shoot 'em ups, captured with modern visuals and design. Meaty explosions, incinerating lasers, colossal bosses and diverse aircrafts to pilot.

Sonic the Hedgehog

Jump into the original Sonic the Hedgehog! Speed by in a blur using the supersonic spin attack at high speed, defy gravity around loop- the-loops and defeat Dr. Eggman as the fastest hedgehog of all time. Gotta Go Fast!

Sonic the Hedgehog requires a controller to play.

Best game controllers for your Tesla

Sudoku

Fill every square and enjoy this classic logic puzzle game, featuring five difficulty levels and a smart hint system for beginners.

The Battle of Polytopia - Multiplayer Support

You can now play The Battle of Polytopia with friends using the multiplayer mode.

Light Show

Watch your Tesla dance to a choreographed light show any time of year. Open Toybox, tap Light Show and follow the instructions.

See Tesla's Light Show in action

Detect Emergency Vehicles

You Tesla wil now be able to detect and react to certain emergency vehicles while using Autopilot.

Blind Spot Camera

You can now automatically see a live camera view of your blind spot whenever you activate the turn signal. To enable, tap Controls > Autopilot > Automatic Blind Spot Camera.

Tesla Powerwall Coordination

Your vehicle coordinates with Powerwall for enhanced charging during a power outage, without exceeding the energy and power capabilities of your Powerwall system. Powerwall continuously responds to the changing power needs of your home and will slow or stop your car's charging, keeping your home loads powered. During a power outage, your car will charge from the Powerwall whenever it is above the threshold set in the Tesla mobile app. You can change this threshold to balance your home and transportation energy needs, putting you in full control of your energy ecosystem. Powerwall can also use surplus solar to charge your vehicle during an outage if you keep your car plugged in while the sun is shining.

Boombox Megaphone

Project your voice with additional authority using the new Megaphone function. Tap Toybox > Boombox > Megaphone.

Note: Your car must be in park to use Megaphone.

Adaptive Suspension Damping

A recalibrated suspension damping algorithm allows for smoother control and improved ride comfort. A rebalanced rebound-to-compression ratio works with the all-new multilink rear suspension to enhance steering response and handling for a higher degree of road connection and more precise control during spirited driving.

Detect Uneven Tire Wear

Your Tesla will now report whether there is uneven wear on your tires. If a tire is showing signs of uneven wear, a message will appear on your displaying letting you know that your tires should be inspected.

More about detecting uneven tire wear

Additional Car Information

Additonal details are now displayed in your car's Software menu. Your car will now display supported cellular networks under Modem capabilities. It will also show whether your vehicle is compatible with Tesla's CCS adapter.

To view this information go to Controls > Software and tap on 'Additional Vehicle Information'.

Track Mode for 2021 Model S Plaid

Optimize your Plaid configuration for dynamic driving exclusively on closed courses and experience the unmatched performance at many different venues. To enable, tap Controls > Pedals & Steering > Track Mode.

- Thermals: The heat pump system cools more aggressively, maximizing powertrain endurance and performance. Enable post-drive cooling to shorten wait times between sessions.

- Drive Systems: Torque vectoring authority is increased across the three motors, elevating the vehicle's agility and cornering capability. The accelerator pedal allows more precise torque control, and regenerative braking power is strengthened to recover more energy.

- Suspension: Adaptive damping reduces vehicle motions, improving handling and promoting driver confidence. Ride height is automatically set to 'Low' upon drive off.

- Display: A track-focused interface includes a lap timer, G-meter (real-time accelerometer), vehicle thermals monitor, Dashcam video capture, vehicle telemetry capture, and offers customization options.

Automated Seat Heaters

First row seat heaters can now automatically regulate seat temperature based on the cabin environment and the climate control set temperature. To access seat heating controls, tap the temperature settings to bring up the HVAC panel.

Note: HVAC system must be in Auto to use automatic seat heating.

Driver Door Unlock

Unlock only the driver door when approaching the vehicle by tapping Controls > Locks > Driver Door Unlock Mode.

Use Comfort Damping Suspension in Autopilot

Your vehicle will now automatically transition to Comfort Suspension Damping when Autopilot is engaged. This setting is enabled by default. To disable, tap Controls > Suspension > Use Comfort Damping in Autopilot.

Immersive Sound

Immersive Sound now has additional granularity along with an AUTO setting which will adjust based on the type of content playing. To access, tap Media > Audio Settings > Immersive Sound > AUTO.

Request FSD Beta

You can now request early access to Full Self-Driving Beta pending eligibility. To get started, tap Controls > Autopilot > Request Full Self-Driving Beta and follow the instructions.

Add Stop (Waypoints)

Add a new stop to your route by tapping the "+" icon on the navigation search button and searching for a destination, or selecting a pin on the map.

Easily reorder or add multiple destinations to your route with updated arrival times. To add a stop, or edit a trip, initiate a navigation route, and tap the more options button on the turn list.

Seat and Steering Column Calibration

You can now calibrate your seat and steering column if you're having any issues adjusting them. To calibrate your seat and steering column, you can go to Controls > Service and tap Seat Calibration.

Active Road Noise Reduction

Your vehicle now has the ability to actively reduce low-frequency road noise while driving on rough surfaces. To accomplish this, the system uses the seat microphones to measure the noise in the cabin, then generates anti-noise through the speakers to create quiet zones around the occupants.

To access, tap Audio Settings > Options > Active Road Noise Reduction.

Customize App Launcher

Drag and drop your favorite apps to any position along the bottom menu bar for easy access. To customize your menu bar, hold any icon and then drag to reorder. To adjust climate controls such as heated seats and defrost, tap on the temperature or swipe up from the bottom of the screen.

Sentry Mode Live Access

You can now view your car's surroundings from the Tesla app when parked to confirm the safety of your environment before returning to your car. Live Camera is end-to-end encrypted and cannot be accessed by Tesla. To enable or disable, tap Controls > Safety > 'View Live Camera via Mobile App' from the vehicle touchscreen display.

Note: This feature requires mobile app version 4.2.1 or higher, and Premium Connectivity.

Subwoofer

You can now adjust your subwoofer by bringing up your Media Player, and tapping the settings icon > Tone.

V11

The car now features an updated UI that is consistent with the redesigned Model S. With it comes new and reorganized menus and options.

Cabin Camera Driver Monitoring

The cabin camera above your rearview mirror can now determine driver inattentiveness and provide you with audible alerts, to remind you to keep your eyes on the road when Autopilot is engaged. Camera images do not leave the vehicle itself, which means the system cannot save or transmit information unless you enable data sharing. To change your data settings, tap Controls > Safety & Security > Data Sharing on your car's touchscreen.

Car Wash Mode

Car Wash Mode closes all windows, locks the charge port and disables windshield wipers, Sentry Mode, Walk-Away Door Locks and parking sensor chimes. For automatic car washes with conveyor belts, the Free Roll option shifts to Neutral and prevents the parking brake from automatically applying if you leave. To access, tap Controls > Service > Car Wash Mode.

Disable Mirror Autodim

You can enable or disable automatic dimming for your mirrors. To access, tap Controls > Mirror > Mirror Auto Dim.

Swap Between Miles/Percent

You can now switch between battery percentage and distance units by tapping the range display next to the battery icon.

Remain Connected to Wi-Fi in Drive (Hotspot support)

To remain connected to Wi-Fi when shifting into gear, tap Wi-Fi icon > Wi-Fi Settings > Remain Connected in Drive. This is especially useful for users who wish to use their hotspots for connectivity.

New Tesla App

In 2021 Tesla completely redesigned their official phone app. Since releasing version 4.0, they have been adding new features at record pace.

The Tesla app now supports widgets, Sentry Mode Live Access, scheduled charging, customizable actions, improved notifications and much more.

More about the new Tesla app

FSD Beta

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Black Tesla/YouTube

Tesla has made drastic improvements to thier FSD Beta. The beta is now on version 10.8.1 and is much more capable at navigating city streets. Tesla also released the beta to thousands of additional public testers using their Safety Score calculator.

Our Safety Score Calculator

FSD Visualizations

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DirtyTesla/Twitter

This year Tesla made huge strides in car visualizations with their FSD Beta. Gone are the matrix-like graphics which were replaced with 3D models that are similar to the production visualizations. The visualizations do an excellent job in deteting not only road markings, but road edges, speed bumps, crosswalks and so much more.

Take a look at every FSD visualization

A Closer Look at Tesla's Updated Energy App - What's Changed

December 12, 2024

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

One of the big undocumented changes in Tesla’s 2024 Holiday Update was the changes to the Energy app. While the Model S, Model X, and Cybertruck received the Consumption tab in the Energy app for the first time, the changes made for those models also carried over to Model 3 and Model Y.

The Consumption tab lets you view your vehicle’s consumption over recent trips as well as view projected range estimates based on historical usage, but it now offers different options.

Sadly, legacy Model S and Model X vehicles produced before the 2021 refresh still don’t have access to the Energy app at this time.

Energy App

Tesla’s Energy App previously let you view a lot of in-vehicle data on what is consuming energy and how to improve your energy consumption. It was previously refreshed in 2022 and brought Drive, Park, and Consumption tabs to help compare actual vehicle energy consumption versus what you’d expect from the EPA ratings.

The old Energy App's consumption page.

Not a Tesla App

Key Changes

The Energy App has seen a lot of changes - mostly in the name of simplicity and reducing confusion. Some changes reduce functionality, but others bring even more. All of these changes impact the Consumption tab - the Park and Drive sections are unchanged.

Distance

Previously, you were able to switch the graph on the Consumption tab to show the last 5, 15, or 30 miles. Instead, it is now a static display of the last 200 miles (or 300km). This means your last 200 miles of driving - whether it's a single trip or multiple trips. Your range prediction and energy usage are now based on 200 miles of driving instead of the previous selectable distance.

This allows for a more reasonable range prediction as small bursts of high-energy usage, such as time spent accelerating to highway speeds from an offramp, are now less of an impact and are instead averaged out by regular driving.

However, for those who love to take their Teslas to the track or tow regularly, this makes the consumption significantly less useful because you can no longer see your actual energy usage for the type of driving you’re doing. This could be fixed with a reset button or by adding the ability to select your distance — similar to before.

Projected Range and Average Wh/mi

Unfortunatley, the Instant Range button has been removed, and the graph is now locked on what was previously the Average Range. Essentially, you cannot view your real-time range based on current instantaneous consumption - but you can view the overall projected range.

Additionally, average Wh/mi and projected range are still displayed - but in different areas compared to before. The projected range is displayed on the center-left side of the graph, while the average Wh/mi is now displayed at the top of the screen.

Not a Tesla App

Compare Vs EPA

Another new feature is that the average range is now compared to the EPA estimated range in terms of wh/mi. You’ll be able to see whether your driving style and conditions put you over or under the EPA estimate in a pretty quick way, which is helpful.

This new comparison is located just under your average Wh/mi.

Small and minor adjustments to your driving style - like not taking off like an electric lightning bolt at every red light - will make a big difference to your range. Don’t worry - we know its hard, we love doing it too! Other things - such as driving downhill versus uphill, will have an impact that you can’t necessarily avoid unless you’re old enough that you went to school uphill both ways.

Total Vehicle Consumption

The final new feature is a total vehicle consumption number at the bottom left, under the chart. It will tell you how much energy you’ve consumed over the distance you’ve driven so far. This is a convenient way of seeing exactly how much energy you’ve used.

Bug

There’s currently a bug in the way the Y-axis is labeled. The yellow area of the graph means the vehicle is using energy, while green means the vehicle is generating energy through regenerative braking. However, the Y-axis is currently mislabeled and shows generated energy as using about 100-200 Wh/mi.

The confusion appears to be due to the dark gray line, which looks like “0” on the Y-axis but actually represents the vehicle’s rated range. We would expect this to be Y-axis 0, since above the line the graph is yellow, and underneath it, the graph is green. However, this line is at about the 240 Wh/mi mark but will vary depending on the vehicle.

Due to this bug, it’s currently not possible to see how much energy is being generated.

Dynamic Y-Axis

The Y-axis in the Consumption tab is now dynamic - it will expand and contract automatically based on the driving data. We’ve seen it go from 400 Wh/mi all the way up to 800 Wh/mi. You likely need to be in a Model S Plaid or Cyberbeast with Launch Mode to see numbers much higher than that.

We’re sad to see the X-axis get locked to 200 miles, but being able to see total vehicle consumption and comparing average consumption against what’s rated is equally, if not even more valuable.

Overall, the new and improved Consumption tab is simpler and doesn’t require user input. While it takes away some features, it makes it easier for drivers who may not use it regularly. The most important piece is the projected range, which is now easier to see and understand unless you're towing and need the historical usage erased because it’s now irrelevant to your current drive. Hopefully, Tesla will allow you to scrub the graph horizontally in the future, adding the ability for the user to adjust the X-axis dynamically.

Tesla Smart Voice Assistant Coming - Vehicle Responds for First Time

December 12, 2024

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

If you hop into your Tesla and say ‘Hi’ or ‘Hello’ after pressing the Voice Command button, there is a good chance it’ll reply with “Hello!” This is the newest and most interesting piece of news pointing us to the conclusion that a Tesla voice assistant is on the way.

Previously, if you tried this, it would simply return “Command not understood.” This is the first time the vehicle is responding and interacting with the user.

Experience It Yourself

You’ll need to have your vehicle language set to English. Once that’s done, you can use the voice command button on your steering wheel or yoke - for the Model 3 and Model Y, push the right wheel button, and for the Model S, Model X, and Cybertruck, press the button. Then go ahead and say Hi or Hello.

The Hello! response may even have regional differences. For a German Tesla owner, after setting his language to English, the response came back as “Hallo.” We’re interested to see what the responses may be in other regions, so let us know if you notice anything interesting.

We’ve tried a few other basic things, but it seems that, for now, the vehicle only replies to a simple greeting. Asking it what time it is or the $TSLA stock price doesn’t seem to do much yet - unless you’re in China with the updated Smart Assistant.

Not a Tesla App

Server-Side Update

This update appears to be happening over Tesla’s voice system backend and doesn’t require the Holiday Update. Users who aren’t on the Holiday Update are reporting that they’re getting this new response as well.

We already know that Tesla interprets speech remotely, and the driver’s voice is not processed in the vehicle. Instead, the voice snippet is transmitted to Tesla’s servers, where Tesla processes it and sends a response back to the vehicle so that the vehicle can interpret it. This is unlikely to change with a smart assistant, as Elon Musk has already said that Grok will still process data server-side instead of on-device.

Many users recently also noticed significant improvements to voice commands, saying that the system understands them better and that responses now come back faster.

All of these things point to a new backend system for voice processing that Tesla is testing. It’s not unusual for a company to switch to a new backend process but keep the capabilities the same as the legacy system until it’s ready to roll out the new features. At that point, it’s simply a flip of a switch to allow the new capabilities.

The new smart assistant that was rolled out in China is mostly a backend change, with the in-vehicle experience largely remaining the same. The activation method (button press) and user interface remain the same. What changed is the response that comes back from the server, and the assistant gained a voice. The new voice we receive with a smart assistant could very well be the new voice users are experiencing in the navigation system in newer vehicles.

Below is a video of the voice assistant in China:

Vehicle Support - Intel?

When China received the Smart Assistant, it was locked to cars equipped with AMD Ryzen processors only. Shortly after its initial launch, it became available to older cars with Intel Atom processors as well.

However, we’re not sure whether it would apply to legacy Model S and Model X owners. A legacy vehicle owner had their vehicle report “Command not understood” when they tried the ’Hi’ voice command.

Grok for Tesla

Elon has previously mentioned that Tesla vehicles would receive Grok AI. Grok, as of yet, still doesn’t have live speech support like other LLM models such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini. However, a major update to Grok just brought massively improved image generation via a new model called Aurora.

xAI has been hard at work improving Grok, and we’re sure that live speech support is on its way soon. Once that feature arrives on X, Tesla will likely be well-positioned to enable a Grok-powered smart assistant fleet-wide with a flick of a switch.