Owners can customise or create their own personal shortcuts as well.

According to media reports, Tesla is said to have started rolling out Apple Shortcuts integration in a new mobile app update.

The new update to its IOS mobile app now gives Tesla owners access to vehicle controls directly through the app. Apart from the shortcuts, the update now also allows owners to ask Siri to perform certain tasks like climate, activate/deactivate sentry mode, lock/unlock car and start/stop preconditioning; among others. Reports state that owners can customise or create their own personal shortcuts as well.

Apple stated, "Siri Shortcuts deliver a quick way to get things done with your apps with just a tap or by asking Siri. The Shortcuts app enables you to create personal shortcuts with multiple steps from your favourite apps."

While some of the features were previously accessible via third-party apps, Tesla has now officially integrated them into the IOS mobile app.

Source: Electrek

The update also brings a few other features like a warmer display tone that is soothing to the eyes.

BHPian mobike008 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

While I was away in California the entire last week, I got a pop-up message on my phone. New update available.

It's almost like candy is being offered each week by Elon Musk. LOL!

I promptly pressed- UPDATE

And when I got home I see these updates were made to the car.

Just highlighting a few key ones

Now we can charge the car on Solar- Musk is tempting me to go SOLAR.

Post that this car will become truly FREE to drive.

Headlights will come up automatically when you start your wipers.

This is an amazing update- 9 Cameras can be viewed at once via. phone app.

Warmer Display colors- Soothing to the eyes.

Again a nice feature- It will prompt if the destination you are driving to is "Closing Soon".

A few other insignificant updates.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

If I had driven my BMW X3 M40i for the same number of kilometres, I'd have spent around Rs 1.5 lakh.

BHPian mobike008 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Completed 8000 miles (13,000 kms) in exactly 9 months of ownership.

The past 9-months have been a revelation living with the Tesla. It's an absolute joy to drive.

Flawless, Silent, Powerful, Geeky, Breathtaking. Enough of the adjectives, I can go on and on but, I guess you get the drift. It's been an amazing journey with zero issues and just munches miles like they don't exist.

Ridiculously Fast (Yeah, a lot faster than my Bimmer) and handles like a sportscar and all of this at costs as described below.

8000 Miles completed and Tesla Screen Shows total energy consumed is 2428 KWH.

Tesla App shows a different number- 2912 KWH.

Why is there a delta between both screens? It puzzled me and I asked this question on Tesla Forum.

2428 KWH : This is the total energy consumed for driving 8000 miles.

484 KWH (2912 KWH- 2428 KWH) : Energy consumed for Aircondition, Entertainment, Keeping the Car at Desired Temperature on a daily basis.

Pretty neat numbers, eh?

Let's do the financial math now.

• Cost of Electricity in the area where I live : $0.10/KWH
• Cost for Driving 8000 miles : $243
• Total Cost of Driving the Tesla with other parameters included for 8000 miles : $291

Savings

If I had driven the BMW X3M40i for the same amount of miles the cost would be approximately as below

• Per Tankful : 350 Miles
• Cost Per Tankful : 15 Gallons X $5/Gallon : $75
• Approximate Cost : $1800

So you can save $1500 in gas by driving a Tesla. It's an eye-opening fact.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

If such hacks become common, then they could seriously affect a brand's long-term subscription model.

According to media reports, researchers at the Technische Universitat, Berlin, Germany, have found a way to enable all features in a Tesla car, previously locked behind a paywall.

The researchers stated that the hack isn't to exploit or allow remote parties to access the car but only enables owners to access features already present in the car that would otherwise need a subscription. One of the researchers stated that the hack was conducted on their own Tesla models, which unlocked rear heated seats, as they didn't want to pay $300 for them.

The researcher went on to explain how they hacked the car in simple layman's terms. He stated, "It all comes down to changing the voltage at the AMD processing unit of the infotainment system. “If we do it at the right moment, we can trick the CPU into doing something else. It has a hiccup, skips an instruction, and accepts our manipulated code. That’s basically what we do in a nutshell."

Once researchers have access to the vehicle, they can make changes required. This includes enabling heated seats, improving performance and even unlocking full self-driving tech. However, the hack isn't patchable unless Tesla upgrades the processor in the infotainment system.

Reports state that if such hacks become common, then they could seriously affect a brand's long-term subscription model.

Source: CarScoops

It’s simply mind-blowing to see the speed at which constant improvements via software updates are released by the EV maker.

BHPian mobike008 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I’m thinking of capturing some of the important software updates so I can also remember what's getting improved in my Tesla.

Every few days something gets improved and it’s hard to track what is getting better in the car without actually spending time to review it in detail. It's almost like Elon Musk is giving homework to its consumers each weekend.

I will try to consolidate a few software updates and pick only the features that I feel are either “cool” or “important”.

A simple way to understand how Tesla releases its software updates.

Taking the latest software as an example- 2023.20.9

• The first portion of the version number, 2023, is the year of the release.
• Second number-20, is the week of the year. Since Tesla has a history of releasing a major update every 4 weeks, you’ll almost always see this number in increments of 4.
• After the week number is the revision of the build-9.

As Tesla gathers fleet data and learns about any issues, they’ll make improvements and fixes to the release.

The next update will have a revision number, such as '.1'.

Revision numbers go up incrementally, although not always by 1.

For example, going from 2023.20.1 to 2023.20.2 would often indicate a smaller change than jumping to 2023.20.20.

It’s simply mind-blowing to see the speed at which the constant improvements via. software updates are released for a Tesla. This is probably better or equal to the best of the software companies out there like META, NETFLIX and Google who have broken the traditional cycle of once-in-a-month software releases a long time ago.

Here are some improvements from the last 3-4 software updates

• Tire Service - Now there is an option to get reminded when a tire service is required.
• Tire Rotation- Tire Rotation reminders is now enabled.
• Text Size- Now the text size of the entire information available on screen can be changed as per your desire- Great for old people with weaker eyes.
• Windshield Wiper Control- This feature has been added to the left scroll wheel button.
• Background- A few months ago, we got a bunch of awesome features where both scroll wheel buttons have features that previously required digging through into the screen options like - Acceleration Mode/HVAC Fan/Speed/Rear Camera/AC etc.
• Navigation Improvement- When searching for a destination, there are several Points of Interest (POI) with pictures also displayed. It will also give info if it will be open/closed by the time you reach the destination. Super helpful !!
• View all “9 Cameras”- that are around the car including the cabin camera- It gives a view of how Tesla is seeing things and keeps you safe. Amazing feature
• Search Improvement- Now instead of digging into menus, you can search the option directly from Home Screen. What a life savior.
• Gear Chimes- When shifting from “P” to “D” or “R’- there is a nice soft chime that comes on- Similar to when standing at a traffic signal and the light turns ‘GREEN”
• If a phone is used as the key (99% of Tesla users do that), now the name of the car shows up in the Bluetooth section of the iPhone. (Previously it was some random gibberish).
• Set PIN to Drive- Nice feature of curbing someone from using your car. It requires the driver to input a pin before the car can be driven.
• Passenger Climate Temperature- Screen will now only display the driver's climate setting if there is no one sitting in the passenger seat. If someone sits in the passenger seat, the passenger temperature setting will automatically appear.

Finally, the most important one…LOL. I haven’t "tracked" the car yet but, this is good to know.

Track Mode

With Track Mode, the changes implemented are:

• Reach a top speed of 200 mph.
• Monitor vehicle health at a glance with updated visuals on the instrument panel and touchscreen.
• Extract maximum track performance using adaptive suspension, torque vectoring and traction control systems, which have been updated to improve

A bunch of new improvements to the car.

Park Assist Improvement.

Click the left scroll wheel, a bunch of options come up to change on the fly. No more digging into the screen while driving. Superb!

Darn. Asking to become a test mule. But, then that's how Tesla will improve.

I accepted a few…

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

I choose the EV over my BMW on many occasions due to various reasons like the ease of driving and blistering speeds.

BHPian mobike008 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Fingers crossed, things are going great with Rosso Diablo and it has covered 7,500 miles (12,000 kms) in exactly 9 months of ownership.

Many factors (ease of driving, almost free driving costs and blistering speeds) make me choose the Tesla over the BMW on many occasions.

Last week, I noticed a pretty long and bad scratch (looked bad to me) which I don't know how it appeared on my rear right door.

It was not a coin scratch (checked my sentry videos) as it would be way deeper.

Check this video, the long scratch is clearly visible.

It disturbed me for a day or so. I immediately ordered this product from Amazon for $12 and wanted to see if it worked.

I used a wax pad and applied it and rubbed it hard for about 5-mins. I repeated this exercise with another coat on the scratch.

The scratch magically disappeared. Rosso Diablo is back to its glistening and unblemished self.

Super impressed with this product.

Unrelated: As mentioned in my review, my 2023 Tesla Model 3 Performance does not have any sensors. I struggled for the first few months.

Tesla released the "Vision Based Camera System" that allows you to visually view 360 degrees to see the objects before parking.

It was a little buggy initially but, now after a few software updates, it's pretty near accurate and allows you to park the car literally a "hair's length away" from an object.

This is how I park the car after the 'Vision Camera" system was enabled. This is driving fast into the driveway and parking this close to the garage door in one shot.

Lovin' it!

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

Elon Musk had mentioned about an Apple-like App Store back in 2019, but there has been no update since then.

Tesla could be working on officially offering support to third-party apps for its vehicles. This has led to speculations that the carmaker could launch a dedicated App Store.

According to reports, Tesla has talked on and off about releasing a software development kit to create a full third-party app ecosystem for quite a while now. There is said to be an unofficial API that enables a few very basic third-party apps. However, this is mostly used for mobile and browser-based apps rather than being a full SDK.

Over the years, Tesla has released new features like Tesla Theatre and Tesla Arcade, offering a bunch of streaming apps and video games. However, Tesla has been working directly with the companies to integrate them into the vehicle.

Elon Musk had mentioned about an Apple-like App Store back in 2019, but there has been no update since then.

Source: Electrek

Tesla is yet to start production of the Cybertruck, which has been delayed for multiple reasons.

During a recent interview, Ford CEO Jim Farley talked about the difference between the F-150 Lightning and the upcoming Tesla Cybertruck. Farley stated that he was not too concerned, as the Cybertruck and the F-150 appeal to very different demographics.

Jim Farley added that the Cybertruck is designed for the people of Silicon Valley, calling it a "cool high-end product parked in front of a hotel". He further added that Ford doesn't build such trucks and that the F-150 is "for real people who do real work".

While the Tesla Cybertruck and Ford F-150 Lightning are pure-electric pickups, they are still very different and are targeted towards different audiences. Also, while the F-150 is already on sale, Tesla is yet to start production of the Cybertruck, which has been delayed for multiple reasons. The company is yet to even announce the specifications of the final production-spec version of the Cybertruck.

Recently, Ford did announce that it had tied up with Tesla to allow its EVs to charge via its supercharger network. Talking about EV charging, Farley said, “I have no problem being opportunistic when it comes to advantaging my customers. Our team didn’t really hesitate because it’s good for customers.”

Source: CarScoops

The max range when I bought it was 303, I don't normally charge to 100%, I estimate this to be 280 now.

BHPian GustyGibbon recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

5 year update: I still have not had to do any maintenance at Tesla, or a repair shop. I replaced the cabin air filter, and windshield wipers myself. Got tires replaced at Costco. I wash the car in the driveway - once in a while and fill air - thats about it. The max range when I bought it was 303, I don't normally charge to 100%, I estimate this to be ~280 now. The hundreds of OTA updates mean that the car and driving experience has gotten significantly better over the 5 years I have had the car. But, for these few scary instances.

Had a blank screen on the freeway. Software crashed and restarted, takes a couple minutes - no speed info, no touch screen, no nothing. Brakes worked, accelerator worked, power windows also worked. It was scary, I filed a bug report immediately. No clue of status of bug.

Experienced phantom braking under a bridge, I have learned to expect this, I accelerated immediately.

This one time I went to the car in the morning, the screen was blank. I had done a SW update overnight, and it had failed. I had to do a Hard reset - and it never came back up. I was getting late to work, so I cursed Tesla and decided to work from home. I came back after 1 hour, and it had booted up, but with factory settings. I have connected mine to the cloud, so that I see the same settings on any Tesla that I drive - like my brother's car. So some of my settings were restored, not other drivers added locally to the car. Other settings like Home link for garage also had to be programmed. The phone keys stayed programmed. I think they store these in some Linux kernel Trust Zone/Secure memory area that is not reset. (My wild guess, I do not have domain expertise here). Some times I get the vibes of moving from a stable HP Unix with X11/X motif to Windoze 95 or 98. (Maruti 800 to Tesla Model 3) Enjoy all the UI features, but expect blue screens. I realize I am dating myself by talking about Windows 95.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

Last year, Airtel deployed a private 5G private network at Mahindra's Chakan plant

Reliance Jio is reportedly in talks with Tesla to build a captive private network, as the US-based EV maker plans to set up a manufacturing unit in India.

According to media reports, the captive private network will manage all critical operations at faster speeds. It will support connected car solutions and automated production processes among others. The private 5G networks enable companies to set up their own Wi-Fi and data network instead of taking the services from a telecom service provider.

It is said that the discussions between Reliance Jio and Tesla are still in their preliminary stages as Tesla is yet to confirm its plan to set up a production facility in the country.

Today, 5G technology is used in several sectors including automobile, healthcare and manufacturing. In December 2022, Airtel deployed a private 5G private network at Mahindra's Chakan plant, making it the first 5G-enabled auto manufacturing unit in India.

Source: Financial Express