Every December, Tesla has a feature-packed update for its customers, and 2023 is no different. This year's Holiday Update (or X-Mas Update) is already tested by Tesla employees who had to sign an NDA before getting access. Early information indicates that Tesla is preparing a massive install wave, with over 10,000 vehicles in the first update round.
Tesla was the first carmaker to start updating its vehicles remotely, which wowed everyone in the automotive industry. These updates not only fix issues and eliminate bugs but also bring new features. This helps keep Tesla EVs fresh and relevant years after the car rolled off the production line. It's easy to understand why Tesla owners love over-the-air updates and why other carmakers have copied this feature with varying degrees of success.
Every December in the past five years, Tesla has delivered a special update in time for holidays. This has always been an early Santa for Tesla owners, with many new features added to the vehicles. You can consider it the most important software update of the year. In 2018, the first Model 3's Holiday Update included a web browser and the foundation to FSD Beta with Navigate on Autopilot, Autosteer, Auto Lane Change, and Blindspot Warning.
In 2019, Tesla enhanced the entertainment system with Tesla Theater and brought Smart Summon. The in-car game offer widened in 2020 with three new games and the arrival of Boombox. One year later, Tesla allowed owners to use the side cameras as blind spot cameras and added three more games. It was also when the Light Show and Car Wash Mode appeared, as well as the automated seat heaters.
Finally, last year brought us Steam gaming, allowing users to access over 50,000 high-quality games. The update also included Apple Music, MyQ Garage door opener, and Zoom. The Model Y Performance also got a Track Mode, improving performance and handling. This brings us to the 2023 Holiday Update, which is already rolling out to Tesla employees.
Photo: @GoodladAndrew via X
Tesla wants this year's update to be a major surprise, so it made testers sign a draconian non-disclosure agreement (NDA). This is why we have very limited information about what the update might bring. The update comes as software version 2023.44.25, which should go to the entire Tesla fleet when released. Software trackers like TeslaFi and Teslascope report that the update was also installed on cars in Europe, so this will be a significant update wave.
Tesla has narrowed down its software, but it still maintains three branches, currently 2023.27.12 for mainstream FSD Beta users (FSD V11.4.8.12), 2023.38.10 for cutting-edge FSD testers (FSD V12), and 2023.44.1 for the rest of the fleet. However, the Cybertruck was seen rocking software 2023.44.8 and FSD V12, which might indicate that the Holiday Update will mark the transition to a unified build. This has been something that Tesla wanted to do a long time ago, but it hasn't happened yet.
Based on previous reports, the 2023 Holiday Update should bring a significant update to how cameras are used. Dubbed "Octa View Live Cam," this will add the left and right pillar cameras to the Live Cam feature. It's unclear whether this is the 360-degree or bird's-eye view that Tesla owners wanted. Another rumored update is Waze-like reporting of speed traps and red-light cameras inside Teslamaps.
Teslascope got info about the update from Tesla employees who installed it but decided to withhold sharing details for the moment. Still, word is out that this year's update is even better than the 2022 Holiday Update, which should say a lot. It also appears stable, meaning it might go wide very soon, likely in the next 24 hours.
Within the last two minutes, we have been contacted by another previously-verified employee who said it’s better than last year’s holiday update and another who received it on their Model 3 (Highland) near Berlin.
This update is going out to most in Wave1 (10,000+ vehicles).
After his childhood dream of becoming a "tractor operator" didn't pan out, Cristian turned to journalism, first in print and later moving to online media. His top interests are electric vehicles and new energy solutions. Full profile
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