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 Increases Price of Model S; Starts Offering Free Lifetime Supercharging

December 14, 2024

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

For the first time in quite a while, Tesla has increased the price of one of its vehicle offerings. The Model S Long Range and the Model S Plaid have both received a hefty price increase. However, not all is bad - as Tesla also added a new benefit for buyers.

Price Increase

The price increase for the Model S is $5,000 - currently only in the United States. This price increase will likely impact other markets, including Canada, in the coming days.

The Model S Long Range now starts at $79,990, while the Model S Plaid now starts at $94,990. The Model S and Model X now have the same starting price. Interestingly, that’s also the same pricing point for the Cybertruck AWD and Cyberbeast Trimotor non-Foundation Series.

The vehicle configuration does not appear to have changed, so the new pricing is simply an increase rather than the addition or removal of features. Tesla previously cut the price of the Model S and Model X by 15% in 2023, so this could simply be an adjustment to ensure that the vehicle pricing stays in line with inflation and other factors.

Free Lifetime Supercharging

For those on the fence about ordering a Model S, Tesla has brought back Free Lifetime Supercharging when you order a new Model S on or after December 13, 2024. As always, Free Lifetime Supercharging is restricted to the buyer’s Tesla account and to that specific vehicle. It cannot be transferred to another vehicle or another owner after ownership transfer. It’s worth noting, that it also doesn’t exclude the owner from receiving Supercharger idle fees or congestion fees. There is currently no end date for this promotion.

There are currently no changes to the Model X, neither a price increase nor the addition of Lifetime Superchargering. However, when Tesla makes changes to one of their premium vehicles, it usually affects the other one as well. So be on the lookout for potential changes to the Model X offering in the coming days.

We’ve seen Tesla value Lifetime Supercharging at $5,000, so this falls in line with the price increase we’re seeing. It’s possible that Tesla will begin to bring back Lifetime Supercharging as a perk for buying into their more premium Model S and Model X cars, or this could be another temporary promotion to get buyers who are on the fence to go ahead and make their purchase while this promotion lasts.

Tesla’s Optimus Robot Learns to Walk Without Vision [VIDEO]

December 13, 2024

By Karan Singh

Optimus Falls - but catches itself!

Not a Tesla App

Tesla recently showed off a demo of Optimus, its humanoid robot, walking around in moderately challenging terrain—not on a flat surface but on dirt and slopes. These things can be difficult for a humanoid robot, especially during the training cycle.

Daily walks help clear your mind pic.twitter.com/dUsW58trS6
— Tesla Optimus (@Tesla_Optimus) December 9, 2024

A Look Behind the Curtain

Most interestingly, Milan Kovac, VP of Engineering for Optimus, clarified what it takes to get Optimus to this stage. Let’s break down what he said.

Optimus is Blind

Optimus is getting seriously good at walking now - it can keep its balance over uneven ground - even while walking blind. Tesla is currently using just the sensors, all powered by a neural net running on the embedded computer.

Essentially, Tesla is building Optimus from the ground up, relying on as much additional data as possible while it trains vision. This is similar to how they train FSD on vehicles, using LiDAR rigs to validate the vision system’s accuracy. While Optimus doesn’t have LiDAR, it relies on all those other sensors on board, many of which will likely become simplified as vision takes over as the primary sensor.

Today, Optimus is walking blind, but it’s able to react almost instantly to changes in the terrain underneath it, even if it falls or slips.

What’s Next?

Next up, Tesla AI will be adding vision to Optimus - helping complete the neural net. Remember, Optimus runs on the same overall AI stack as FSD - in fact, Optimus uses an FSD computer and an offshoot of the FSD stack for vision-based tasks.

Milan mentions they’re planning on adding vision to help the robot plan ahead and improve its walking gait. While the zombie shuffle is iconic and a little bit amusing, getting humanoid robots to walk like humans is actually difficult.

There’s plenty more, too - including better responsiveness to velocity and direction commands and learning to fall and stand back up. Falling while protecting yourself to minimize damage is something natural to humans - but not exactly natural to something like a robot. Training it to do so is essential in keeping the robot, the environment around it, and the people it is interacting with safe.

We’re excited to see what’s coming with Optimus next because it is already getting started in some fashion in Tesla’s factories.