The spring update brings a variety of innovations to the vehicles

Tesla is known for providing its cars with frequent and fast updates. These include new functions that are sometimes more, sometimes less important, such as the recent dynamic high beam. After the big (annual) holiday update in December, the automaker is now announcing a variety of innovations as part of the spring update. Design varies by car model and model year (or equipment).

Visually, there is innovation for Model 3 or Model Y users with an AMD chip. As part of the update, there will be a new full-screen mode in the parking lot, which allows access to the car’s controls and displays a larger media player with quick access to recently played titles and favorites. In autopilot, a small map with route guidance is displayed in the upper right corner.

Model S and Model X from 2021 will have “Auto Shift”. This feature is still in beta and allows you to switch between Drive (D) and Reverse (R) depending on the environment. The function can be activated optionally and allows, for example, for the car to “engage in reverse” automatically if the car is parked in front of the garage in the opposite direction of travel. Pressing the brake is then enough to start the car.

It sounds migrates to the infotainment system as native media software. Spotify has also been updated. Here the queue can be synchronized across multiple vehicles and devices. You can also now adjust the playback speed in Spotify.

If you have set your smartphone as a car key and left it behind the trunk in a Model S or X from 2021 and updated Model 3, then the trunk should unlock automatically. This function is also optional (“Hands-free Trunk”) and may work on the basis of ultra wide band (UWB). So, the “updated Model 3” will surely also mean the revision (of the Highlander) from last summer (2023).

In terms of security, Tesla offers the option to completely monitor the car using a camera and send an alarm to a smartphone. If the alarm is activated, a preview is now sent to your smartphone in the form of a short clip. You should be able to see it by pressing and holding it (at least on iOS?). According to Tesla, this is only available in select countries, so we’ll have to wait and see.

Recovery has also been improved on Model S and Model X from 2021. This means that more energy can now be recovered at higher speeds. In addition, current travel data, time and temperature are sent to passengers in the rear seat via the rear touch screen. Of course this could also be something for the revised Model 3, which also has a rear-facing touchscreen.

As usual, updates like this are released in waves. Tesla has not yet submitted a version number. In any case, it is unusual for news to be rushed ahead of a major release – perhaps this, like a wave of layoffs, is being driven by the impending announcement of quarterly figures.

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