Tesla has updated the radio icon and removed the FM label
Not a Tesla App
With every major Tesla update there are often smaller changes or features that aren't mentioned in the release notes.
The main attractions of Tesla update 2022.28 are the ability to minimize a full-screen video and Alternate Routes, however, several undocumented features also made it into 2022.28.
Suggested Destinations
Tesla is adding suggested destinations
Randell/Discord
When tapping on the 'Navigate' button, you will now be presented with various suggested destinations. You will receive up to three suggested destinations that will appear at the top of recent destinations. These suggestions will automatically change depending on various factors. You can also find out more about suggested destinations.
Dark Mode Colors
Tesla has made some changes to dark mode
@ClemensBecher/Twitter
The dark mode color scheme has been adjusted so that various screens now use lighter gray tones. For example, prior to this update the car visualization area and apps like the media player both used the same dark gray color for the background.
However, with this update, Tesla has changed the background color of apps from a dark gray to a much lighter gray so that they stand out from the vehicle visualizations.
Changes to the Theater Status Bar
Most options in the Tesla Theater status bar have been removed
@ClemensBecher
With this update Tesla introduces the ability to minimize Tesla Theater, allowing you to access vehicle menus and settings without leaving your streaming video.
Previously while streaming video in full screen, there was a quick access bar at the top of the video that could be revealed by tapping near the top of the screen. This status bar lets you access some vehicle controls without leaving the video. Video controls such as cabin temperature, screen brightness and volume could easily be changed.
Since you can now minimize a full-screen video without leaving the video app, Tesla has mostly removed the options that once appeared at the top of a video.
When tapping near the top of the screen, the number of options has been reduced to minimize theater, a back button and the state of charge of your battery.
A gray line has also been added to the top of the screen to let you know that you can now swipe down on the full-screen video to access other car functions.
Phone Icon
The phone icon is now always visible when a call is active
Corey2002/Not a Tesla App forums
When you're on a call in the vehicle, the green phone icon will now always remain visible in the status bar, regardless if the phone card is hidden or not. The icon in the status bar has also changed shape slightly, going from a pill shape to a square.
Battery Calibration
A message will now be displayed when the vehicle is calibrating its battery
@roslan3d/Twitter
Your vehicle will now display 'Calibrating,' when charging is nearing completion. This will be displayed for all vehicles, regardless of their battery type.
New Radio Icon
Tesla has updated the radio icon and removed the FM label (rendering)
Not a Tesla App
The radio icon has also been updated to be more ambiguous with this update. The traditional analog radio markers have been flipped so that they now run vertically instead of horizontally.
The letters 'FM' have also been replaced with a generic circular icon so that it's more inclusive of other supported bands such as DAB, which is supported in many parts of the world.
HomeLink Buttons
The HomeLink button text has once again been changed. Tesla used to display the name of the garage door or gate inside of the button, with the words 'Activate' or 'Cancel' underneath the button. The problem with this approach was that the text underneath the button is far too small, and it wasn't obvious how to cancel a door from auto-opening.
However, recently Tesla swapped the location of the name and the action text so that 'Activate' would appear inside of the button and the garage door name underneath the button.
The HomeLink buttons have been changed once again. This time for the better.
daniel454/Not a Tesla App forums
This could lead to some confusion for those with multiple garage doors, as you would be presented with multiple buttons that would be labeled 'Activate,' with the only differentiating feature being the small text underneath the button.
With update 2022.28 Tesla has taken a hybrid approach. When pulling up to your garage door, the buttons will once again be labeled with the name you've given your garage doors (top photo).
However, if you have auto-open or auto-close enabled, then you will see the 'Cancel' text inside of the button for the specific door that will be opened or closed. The rest of the buttons will still show their given labels (bottom photo).
Of the several iterations Tesla has gone through, this approach appears to make the most sense. It's now more obvious how to cancel a garage door or gate from auto-opening and you'll still see the name of the garage doors in the predominate text most of the time.
Safety Menu Reorganized
Options in the Safety menu have been reorganized
Not a Tesla App
The vehicle options under Controls > Safety have been slightly rearranged. Sentry Mode, PIN to Drive and Glovebox PIN have moved up. This allows you to quickly enable or disable them without needing to scroll.
Have you noticed any other changes in 2022.28? Let us know.
Winter is here, and temperatures are dropping, so one of the most common Tesla questions is about to resurface.
If you’ve landed here after frantically searching about “smoke” coming from your Tesla while Supercharging, take a deep breath—it’s completely normal.
Tesla Smoking While Charging
If you’re Supercharging in freezing weather—even with preconditioning—you might notice steam rising from your Tesla. But rest assured, your car isn’t smoking.
Your Tesla’s heat pump is hard at work warming both the cabin and battery to keep you comfortable and ensure optimal charging temperatures. Over time, condensation and ice build-up in the heat exchanger coils.
Why Does It Happen?
When you reach a Supercharger with your vehicle, the heat pump is still running hot, but without the cold air from driving to keep the heat exchanger coils cool, the ice and condensation quickly start to evaporate—creating what looks like smoke.
Since this typically happens near the front of the vehicle, where a car would traditionally have an engine, new vehicle owners can be startled by the discovery. However, rest assured that it’s just water vapor and it’s completely normal in cold weather.
In fact, this behavior can be experienced in any EV with a heat pump in cold climates. So, if you saw steam coming out of your vehicle and panicked, don’t worry—you’re not alone.
Now that you know what’s happening, go ahead and Supercharge with confidence.
Tesla made a lot of improvements in the 2024 Holiday Update, including more than 15 undocumented improvements that were included in the release. One of these was a stealthy performance improvement to the YouTube app.
Several people have mentioned they’ve seen improved performance on YouTube since this year’s Holiday Update - and there’s an interesting reason why.
YouTube Improvements
The improved YouTube performance in Tesla vehicles comes from an unexpected source—Tesla actually rolled back support for YouTube’s newer AV1 video encoding. Instead, vehicles now default to the older VP9 encoding standard.
While AV1 is highly efficient in terms of bandwidth, it requires considerably more processing power to decode and display videos. VP9, on the other hand, is less computationally demanding but uses more bandwidth to achieve the same video quality. This trade-off means smoother playback and better overall performance, even if it comes at the cost of slightly higher data usage.
Intel Inside
The VP9 video codec that the YouTube app is now using is much easier to decode, making it less taxing on the vehicle’s processor. This change is particularly beneficial for Tesla vehicles with Intel processors, which previously struggled to stream video at just 720p. When using AV1, these vehicles often experienced stuttering, sometimes forcing the YouTube app to automatically downgrade playback to 480p.
With this update, Intel-based Teslas should now be able to stream at 1080p smoothly. Streaming at 1440p is also possible, although occasional stutters still occur as the system keeps up with the decoding process.
Intel-based vehicles are the big winners with this change, but this appears to affect AMD Ryzen-based infotainment units as well, providing even smoother playback.
Chromium Web App
Tesla’s Theater apps aren’t native applications; instead, they run as chromeless web apps, leveraging the open-source browser built into Teslas known as Chromium (the open-source version of Chrome). Although this works quite well, there is a severe limitation - Chromium hardware acceleration isn’t supported on Linux, the operating system Tesla uses for their OS.
As a result, Tesla vehicles rely on software decoding instead of hardware decoding, which would otherwise handle video playback far more efficiently. A potential solution could be for Tesla to transition away from Chromium-based web apps in favor of a Mozilla Firefox-based browser, as Firefox does support hardware acceleration on Linux. This switch could also open the door to better streaming performance and the possibility of expanding Tesla’s in-car entertainment options.
However, Tesla’s choice of Chromium likely stems from Digital Rights Management (DRM) requirements for streaming services like Disney+ and Netflix, which rely on DRM-enabled playback. Firefox on Linux has had inconsistent support for DRM due to codec availability and variations in operating system versions.
We’re hopeful that Tesla will either adopt Firefox or develop a fully native application to improve video streaming, rather than continuing with the current web-based Tesla Theater. This shift could also pave the way for additional in-car applications built on Tesla’s native Linux environment—perhaps even reviving the long-rumored Tesla App Store.
Regardless, this update is a welcome improvement, particularly for YouTube, which remains one of the most widely used Theater Mode apps due to its accessibility, free content, and mix of short and long-form videos. It remains to be seen whether similar improvements are made for Netflix, Disney+, or other streaming platforms.
If you’ve noticed improved performance in Theater Mode, now you know why.