Tesla will add the ability to customize Cabin Overheat Protection feature

July 12, 2022

By Lennon Cihak

Tesla will allow you to further customize its Cabin Overheat Protection feature

Cabin Overheat Protection (COP) is an amazing feature that is available on all Teslas.

If the interior of the vehicle gets too hot, the car can automatically turn on the HVAC fan, allowing cool air to be brought in to help cool the cabin.

You can also choose to have the vehicle use the AC to more effectively cool down the interior of the car, although it comes at the expense of some battery drain.

Up until now the temperature at which Cabin Overheat Protection turns on has not been configurable and is set at 105° F.

However, last night Elon Musk announced that Tesla will be bringing some improvements to Cabin Overheat Protection. You’ll soon be able to adjust the temperature at which COP turns on.

Although Elon says that you'll be able to adjust the temperature at which COP kicks on, it may be limited to a certain range. Maybe somewhere along the lines of 90° to 120°.

After all, if you want to keep the car any cooler, you could always use Climate Keeper.

It'll be interesting to see if Tesla includes any additional improvements to Cabin Overheat Protection, such as only allowing it to cool at certain times or locations. It could also allow the vehicle to automatically vent the windows to help further cool the interior.

Elon recently said that Tesla would incorporate a feature that would allow the vehicle to automatically close its windows when it starts raining. It's certainly possible that these features could be tied together in a 'Summer Improvements' package.

Elon said that the enhancement will be included in the next software update. Elon is likely referring to the next major update and not any minor revisions to 2022.20.

The next major release is expected to be 2022.24, which is probably still 2-4 weeks away.

Tesla’s automatic cabin overheat protection should make a real difference with record heatwaves.

Ability to adjust activation temperature coming with next software release.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 12, 2022

Cabin Overheat Protection currently has three options: Off, No A/C, and On. When the feature is set to off, which is the default, the vehicle will simply not do anything when the interior temperature reaches 105°.

When “No A/C” is selected, COP will simply utilize the fans to cool the cabin. This will help cool down the cabin slightly, but during hot days the interior of the cabin will still climb into 130° and beyond.

The best way to keep the cabin cool during hot days is to set Cabin Overheat Protection to "On," which will let the vehicle utilize the AC.

While this method is best for keeping the interior of the vehicle from exceeding 105° F, it still may not be enough in excessive heat. There is no gaurantee that the cabin will below 105°.

To enable Cabin Overheat Protection in your vehicle, head to Controls > Safety and scroll down until you see Cabin Overheat Protection and pick your preferred option.

You can also turn it on from your Tesla app by navigating to the Climate section and sliding up the bottom drawer for additional climate options, such as Dog Mode, Camp Mode.

In the app you can also choose to receive a push notification on your phone when COP is activated by going to Profile > Settings > Notifications.

COP is a nifty feature if you live in a warmer climate and dislike getting into a car that is excessively hot. It can also be life-saving if a small child or pet is ever forgotten in the car.

Cabin Overheat Protection will remain on up to a maximum of 12 hours after the car is parked, or until the battery reaches 20% of charge.

Look for this improvement and others in Tesla's upcoming update.

Tesla Is Now Offering Cybertruck Test Drives [List of Locations]

July 26, 2024

By Karan Singh

@brandonhd

Tesla has begun to reach out to customers in the United States and is offering demo drives of the Cybertruck on an invite-only basis. @brandonhd on X shared the first invite image, and it looks like it's going out quite quickly to multiple locations that have Cybertrucks on display.

Up until now, display vehicles have been for just that – looking, but no touching. Some Tesla delivery centers and showrooms have also allowed viewers to take a seat inside and open it up, but most are still locked away behind the velvet rope.

It’s exciting to see that Tesla has begun to demo them – and it can only be so long until demo drives open up to everyone.

Advisor-led Demo

This Demo Drive is led by a Tesla Advisor – while you’re driving, the advisor will be in the passenger seat, walking you through the experience. They’ll explain steer-by-wire, off-road controls, and will introduce new-to-Tesla buyers to all the features that are currently available.

Once FSD V12.5 comes to the Cybertruck, we’re sure they’ll be demoing its capabilities FSD capabilities as well.

Locations

The list of locations so far for demo drives appears to be fairly limited, but we will hopefully see demo drives roll out throughout the United States, and eventually Canada too. Here is the current list of city/state locations that have seen demo drive invites.

Manhasset, New York
West Covina, California
Los Angeles, California
Houston, Texas
Orlando, Florida
Westmont, Illinois
Tucson, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Delaware

Musk Confirms 'Actually Smart Summon' is Coming in a Revision of FSD V12.5

July 26, 2024

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

Actually Smart Summon, the successor to Tesla’s Smart Summon feature, has been confirmed to be coming as soon as next month as per Elon Musk. Colloquially known as “ASS”, Actually Smart Summon is supposed to improve on the regular Smart Summon capabilities, which have historically used ultrasonic sensors (USS) to navigate parking lots.

We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon, and we’re quite excited about what other features will be unlocked once it finally shows up at our doorstep.

Vision-based Improvements

ASS is supposed to bring Smart Summon to vehicles that don’t have USS – using Tesla Vision. Most recently, Tesla has brought Autopark to vehicles without USS, and Vision-based Autopark has been a huge success. It is faster, more reliable, and smoother than the older USS-based solution. It can also park and maneuver in tighter locations.

Just recently, Tesla returned the Model X’s self-presenting doors, using Tesla Vision. Vision has seen some fantastic improvements, and many people are waiting for ASS to bring forth these improvements to Smart Summon.

Smart Summon Today

Today, Smart Summon is sometimes useful at best, usually a party trick, or downright dangerous at worst. It’s excellent and best used in straight lines, where you have a clear line of sight of the vehicle, and can stop it if doesn’t see an obstacle.

I used Smart Summon today, just before writing this article – my 2022 Model Y (with USS) – did manage to show up just fine – in a straight-line location from where I was parked, after exiting the parking spot fairly cleanly. However, I’ve previously used Smart Summon and have had the vehicle turn towards obstacles, such as cart returns or curbs. Overall, it’s a sometimes-useful feature that has a lot of drawbacks right now.

Smart Summon is also restricted to a certain distance – and it's pretty small. The max distance is shorter than most parking lots, being only about 215 ft (65m). If you’re lucky enough to park close, it's very useful to bring your car right to you.

Actually Smart Summon

ASS will bring FSD V12-like capabilities to Smart Summon – the vehicle will primarily use Vision to drive toward you (or the location you’ve indicated). ASS has been supposed to be coming since about September 2022 and has seen many delays – we’re almost at the 2-year point today.

We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon being able to bring the vehicle – safely – right to you. ASS is also one of the key steps towards bringing some other cool features that Elon Musk has previously mentioned – Park Seek and Banish Autopark.

We’re also hopeful that Actually Smart Summon will increase the maximum range a vehicle can be summoned, because the current range is fairly small. Alongside Park Seek and Banish Autopark, we’re closing in on a Robotaxi-based future.

Park Seek and Banish Autopark

When the FSD v12.4 showed up, Elon also mentioned that going forward, vehicles would automatically park themselves when arriving in a parking lot – Park Seek – and that if you got out of the car at the entrance to a business, you could get it to automatically park itself in the parking lot – Banish Autopark. These are two features that are needed for Robotaxi to work – which itself is delayed to October 10^th of this year. We’re looking quite forward to them – as in combination with Actually Smart Summon, Tesla has reached the cusp of vehicle autonomy.

A vehicle that arrives, driverless, at the location you’re at, then drives somewhere, parks itself there, and waits for you – is the definition of a Robotaxi.

While we’re likely to have to wait for Banish Autopark and Park Seek just a bit longer, Actually Smart Summon being around the corner is exciting! Gone will be the days of having to run out to your car when you forgot your umbrella – your car will just come right to you instead.