On Christmas Eve, Tesla released it’s much anticipated 2021 Xmas update. As you might imagine, there are a few quality-of-life enhancements as well as some of Tesla's customary gimmicky fun.
Let's go right to the practical stuff. A customized app launcher has been added to Tesla's in-car UI. This lets you to easily access your favorite applications by dragging and dropping them to the bottom of the UI. The most frequently used controls on the screen are then simplified. This puts a larger set of icons for things like wipers, navigation, and media in the center of the screen, so you don't have to tap around as much when driving.
Another handy addition is the automatic blind spot camera. When you engage a turn signal, this displays a camera feed of your blind spot. This feature has long been available on higher-end Kia and Hyundai cars, and it's really useful. Tesla will now allow you to simply reorganize your waypoints in navigation or add extra waypoints to a journey, and it will compute arrival times for you automatically. For example, food delivery drivers will find this useful.
Then there's the cabin preconditioning mode, which allows you to cool or warm up your Tesla's cabin before you get in, as well as automated seat heaters that adjust temperature according on your cabin temperature settings. There's also a new dark setting for the vehicle UI, which is a nice touch albeit conventional.
Fun Features
In terms of lighter fare, Tesla has integrated TikTok into its vehicles' software, allowing you to view TikToks while parked. It also includes a light show feature, which causes numerous lights to flash around the vehicle in sync to music. The Tesla arcade has also received several updates, including the addition of Sonic the Hedgehog to its Arcade service, as well as Sudoku and multiplayer support for The Battle of Polytopia.
Whether you think Tesla's Arcade (the function that allows you to play games on Tesla's enormous infotainment screen) is a cool and valuable tool or a huge waste of time, the business is sticking with it. Tesla is always adding games to the service, and it's done it again with Sonic the Hedgehog, a famous console classic. It’s the kind of game that would go down well in a Tesla while you're waiting at a charging station. To play it, you need a USB controller plugged into the car.
Sonic will be available on most Tesla models and will join games like Stardew Valley, CupHead, Fallout Shelter, and classics like Asteroid and Missile Command on Tesla's Arcade service.
The Tesla Light Show
Tesla unveiled the Tesla Light Show, which allows customers to create their own light shows to any music of their choice, as part of its latest festive update issued on Christmas Eve. Users must first download xLights, a free open-source software, in order to create a light show that can last up to five minutes. Users can save their light display to a USB and upload it to their car after finishing it in xLights. Tesla stated in their feature announcement that you may even download lightshows from other creators.
Light Show is compatible with any Tesla Model S and Model X vehicles manufactured after 2021, as well as any Model 3 or Model Y. However, you don't need a Tesla car to use the light show feature or xLights, according to Tesla, though it didn't say what other vehicles will be able to utilize the feature.
It may be difficult to visualize this new feature in action, so Tesla and “Santa” partnered up to demonstrate it on Instagram. It’s not entirely clear if the Santa in the video is Musk, though quite a few users on Instagram seemed to think it was. But it seems a bit tricky to get this feature to work as the Getting Started Guide on GitHub is quite a lengthy read. So, if you have time on your hands, this could be a great way to spend a few hours creating your very own light show.
