Tesla's Newest Safety Enhancement: Predictive, Vision-Based Seat Belt Tensioning

By Kevin Armstrong
Tesla makes their cars even safer with seat belt pretensioning
Tesla makes their cars even safer with seat belt pretensioning
Tesla

Elon Musk used Tesla's quarter two earnings call to highlight several accomplishments made by his company in recent months, including one that may have gone under the radar.

In the 2022.20 update, Tesla introduced a Seat Belt System Enhancement. Musk expanded on the upgrade and its importance to the auto industry.

Update 2022.20.7

Installed on 0% of fleet
0 Installs today
Last updated: Dec 5, 12:44 am UTC

"Our safety team also introduced a feature that tension seat belts if the vision system detects an imminent collision, which has never been done before," said the CEO as he described the predictive, vision-based seat belt tensioning program.

While the seatbelt is considered the single most effective safety technology in the history of the automobile, it has a fundamental flaw as it only provides tension when there is an impact.

However, Tesla's advanced camera system has made seat belts safer. "The car has got to be crunching to trigger the seatbelt tensioner, but because we have the vision, we can actually see that a collision is about to occur with 100% probability before it actually happens."

Tesla's Q2 document shows a chart that displays the seat belt tension performance in three different scenarios, belted, belted with a pre-tensioner and belted with the vision system. The vision system mirrors the vehicle's deceleration closest and shaves off milliseconds to better restrain the occupants.

Tesla compares seat belt occupant accerlation using various systems
Tesla compares seat belt occupant accerlation using various systems
Tesla

"This is a fundamental safety advantage that Teslas are now able to offer. And there is also an over-the-air update, so this is something that will be in place in all cars that have at least AP3 hardware," said Musk. This latest update further enhances its outstanding safety features; it provides a pretension to the seat belt and can adjust the airbag deployment faster.

The Seat Belt System Enhancement is available in update 2022.20 and higher and the feature is available for all newer Teslas, which includes the new Model S and Model X, all Model Ys, and newer Model 3s.

Tesla prides itself on developing the safest vehicles on earth. The Model S, Model X and Model 3 scored the lowest overall probability of injury of any vehicle ever tested by the U.S. government's New Car Assessment Program. The NHTSA has assessed Teslas with a 5-star safety rating. In addition, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has given Teslas the top safety pick numerous times. Most recently, calling the Model 3 the Top Safety Pick of 2022, IIHS gave high marks in every category, including superior scores for front crash prevention.

This latest safety improvement, yet another trailblazing moment for the automotive industry, will surely draw more kudos and, hopefully, save more lives.

Photos and Video of Tesla’s Holiday Update 2024 - Part 2

By Not a Tesla App Staff
@g3st4l1

Tesla released its holiday update to consumers yesterday, and this is part two of our review of some of the biggest features of the annual update.

If you missed Part 1, where we covered the updated Energy app, the weather radar overlay, the app’s new Dashcam viewer, and more, please be sure to check that out as well.

Nearby Parking

When viewing details for a Point of Interest (POI) on the map, you can now tap on “Nearby Parking’ to get directions to nearby parking lots or garages. This should make it easier to find parking for big events or busy areas.

Lower Volume in Reverse

@g3st4l1

Tesla has added a new option under Controls > Safety that lets the vehicle automatically lower the volume of any audio being played when the vehicle goes into reverse. The option is right next to Joe Mode, which lowers the volume of all sounds like turn signals and Autopilot beeps.

Set Arrival Energy

@g3st4l1

You can now choose the amount of energy you’d like to arrive with at your destination. Tesla will then take this into account when determining charging stops and charging times.

The Set Arrival Energy is a new option under trip details which you can get to by swiping up (or pressing the …) in the navigation module that shows your destination and ETA.

Adjust Passenger Seat On Screen

@g3st4l1

Tesla has added a new Seats option to its settings. It appears that it has several purposes, not only letting you turn on/off seat heaters, but also letting you move the passenger seat forward and backward. This could be especially useful if you have a baby seat behind the passenger seat and sometimes need the extra room.

Unfortunately, there are no presets or memory, so you’ll need to adjust the seat each time. It does not allow you to adjust other seat functions, such as the seat back or lumbar support.

For the Model X, it also lets you move the middle seats backward or forward.

Vehicle Maintenance Summary

@tslaway

Owners can now view their vehicle's maintenance history. This builds upon the Maintenance History feature Tesla added recently, which lets you add digital vehicle records when maintenance is performed. It includes a wide variety of items, from adding windshield washer fluid to replacing the vehicle’s battery or motor.

However, with the Holiday Update, Tesla is adding an easy-to-view “consumer” version of vehicle history that lets owners view maintenance records without having to go into Service Mode. The Vehicle Maintenance Summary is under Controls > Service > Maintenance and provides a read-only view for vehicle owners. You’ll have to go into Service Mode to add any maintenance records, which are permanent and can not be erased, even after a factory reset.

@tslaway

When viewing the owner version of Maintenance Summary, owners can quickly view when tires were last rotated, when the cabin filter was replaced and more.

Autopilot Lane Changes

Not a Tesla App

In Europe, Tesla has added a new indicator light that shows which automatic lane changes are available. Whenever Autopilot is enabled, the vehicle will now display a light indicating which lanes are available for Automatic Lane Changes. The icon will start off gray, then turn green and show an arrow to the left, right, or both sides.

If you want to see other Holiday Update features in action, be sure to check out part 1 of this series, where we take a look at all the features of Tesla’s Holiday Update. You can also read the release notes for the Holiday update, version 2024.44.25.2

If you’ve noticed any additional changes in this update, definitely let us know. Thanks to Zer and teslaway for the photos of the new features.

Photos and Video of Tesla’s Holiday Update 2024 - Part 1

By Karan Singh
@g3st4l1

While Tesla showed off a fantastic list of upcoming features for the 2024 Holiday Update, several things were left out. Now that the update has started rolling out in small numbers to the public, it’s our chance to find out about some of these smaller features and view others in action for the first time.

All of these features are part of software update 2024.44.25.2.

Energy App Changes

@g3st4l1

The Energy app has been updated for all models. For the first time, the Model S, Model X, and Cybertruck receive the Consumption tab, which shows real-time energy usage and how the car performed over a certain period. Previously, only the Drive and Park tabs were available.

The consumption tab was already available on the Model 3 and Model Y, but it’s receiving some changes. The Y-axis (energy used/gained) now appears to adjust based on the data; however, the X-axis (distance) is now fixed at 200 miles or 300 km, and the user can no longer change it. Previously, you could switch the graph between a 5-, 10-, and 15-mile history, but now it appears to be static at 200 miles.

The Energy app also included buttons to view your average range over the selected distance or your real-time range. However, those buttons have been removed, and you can now only view your average range at the top of the app and see how it compares to the rated (EPA) range. You can also view your projected range (the distance you can travel at this rate), which shows up in the middle of the graph.

In addition to those metrics, the app also shows you the total amount of energy used in the bottom left corner, which is a nice addition.

The addition of the consumption tab to the Model S, X, and Cybertruck is great, but some users may not be fans of the simplified look and controls. Not being able to select the distance or see the instant energy usage is a little bit of a disappointment. We would’ve loved to see the ability to pinch in and out of the graph so that you can adjust the time period to practically anything you wanted, up to a maximum of the last 200 miles, but overall these are nice improvements.

Unfortunately, this does not bring the Energy app to legacy Model S and Model X vehicles.

Weather At Destination

As part of the Holiday Update, Tesla is including a new feature to show the weather at your arrival destination. Tesla added the ability to view live weather and weather forecasts in the 2024.26 update, and now they’re extending it so that you can also view the weather at your destination.

The UI is intuitive, and tabs are simply added so that you can switch between the weather at your current location and your destination.

Tesla will also highlight any significant weather differences between your current location and final destination.

This feature is available for the Model 3, Model Y, Cybertruck, and new Model S and Model X. It also includes Intel-based vehicles (MCU 2), but like the original weather feature, it requires Premium Connectivity.

Precipitation Map

Another big part of the Holiday Update is precipitation maps appearing as overlays on your vehicle map. When you tap the new precipitation icon on the right next to the satellite imagery button, a precipitation map overlay will appear, giving you insight into areas with incoming rain or snow. There is also an animated 3-hour forecast that shows weather patterns.

This particular portion of the Weather update requires an AMD (MCU 3) vehicle. Unfortunately, since Tesla is paying for this weather data, it’s only available if you have Premium Connectivity and using a hotspot or being on WiFi is not enough to enable the feature.

It’s available on all vehicles except the legacy Model S and Model X.

Boomerang Fu

@g3st4l1

The new Boomerang Fu game will let you slice and dice your friends in a frantic physics party game. The game is available in Arcade > Boomerang Fu, and must be downloaded before being played. If you have Premium Connectivity, you’ll be able to download it on the go.

The game can be played by up to four people, but it does require a controller.

This new game requires an AMD Ryzen-based (MCU 3) vehicle and it’s available on the new Model S, new Model X, Model 3, Model Y and Cybertruck.

Light Show Improvements

Tesla has really hit it out of the park with Light Show Improvements in the 2024 Holiday Update. The biggest change is the ability to start Light Shows directly from your mobile app (V4.39.5+), but there’s more. Tesla has added two new built-in Light Shows based on Cyber Symphony by Lionel Yu and Ready for Assault by Evgeny Bardyuzha.

Tesla is already adding the ability to control interior lighting for Light Shows by adding special color effects, which is sure to make Light Shows even more spectacular. Tesla has also extended the maximum allowed length of a Light Show with this update.

You can check out the music for Ready for Assault below.

Theater Updates

Theatre mode can now be interacted with via the rear screen on vehicles that have them, including the ability to edit playlists or play and pause videos. 

But here’s the most surprising feature in the update. You’ll also be able to start a video in the web browser before you start driving and it’ll continue to play when you shift into drive only. The video will be disabled, but the audio will continue to play. So you’ll now be able to listen to YouTube-only podcasts.

Tesla is also giving us the ability to control the video with the media player, so you’ll be able to pause or start the content while driving.

Dashcam Viewer & Sentry Mode Improvements

@g3st4l1

The Holiday update is packed with features, but one of the most useful will be the ability to view your dashcam and Sentry Mode videos directly from your phone.

You’ll be able to access all of the content on your USB drive from your phone. The vehicle will stream the video from your USB drive, so the vehicle will need an active WiFi or cellular connection in order for the feature to work.

You’ll be able to change cameras, jump to Sentry Mode alerts, and even save clips onto your phone, making it much easier to save that important data.

Sentry Mode Improvements

Sentry Mode also received a batch of improvements. Tesla already sends mobile notifications for critical events - like an alarm going off. Now, Tesla will notify you if Sentry Mode is active and a door handle is pulled on a Model 3 or Model Y. In addition, if someone attempts to open the trunk by pressing the button - or open the Cybertruck’s vault - you’ll get a notification for that too.

Update 2024.44.25.2

Installed on 3.3% of fleet
44 Installs today
Last updated: Dec 6, 6:35 am UTC

The update is currently only going out to vehicles that don’t have access to FSD. However, we expect it to soon be available to users on FSD 12.5.4 and later available to those on FSD 12.5.6 and FSD v13.2.

If you’ve noticed any undocumented features in this update, definitely let us know through the Contact Us link at the bottom of this page.

If you’re enjoying this in-depth look at Tesla’s holiday update, be sure to check out part two, where we cover the new Seats menu, Set Arrival Energy, Maintenance Summary and more. You can also view the release notes for this update, version 2024.44.25.2.

Huge thanks to Zer for taking the time to share so many images with us.

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