Tesla's 2025 Holiday Update: A Festive Feast with a Few Missing Ingredients
Tesla has just unwrapped its 2025 Holiday Update, a bundle of new features designed to sprinkle some extra joy into your driving experience. From practical enhancements to fun novelties, there's a lot to explore. But what exactly is included, and what did we not get? Let's dive in!
What's New and Exciting:
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- Tesla Photobooth: Get ready to capture some memories! The Toybox now features a photobooth, letting you take selfies inside your Tesla. Add fun filters, stickers, and emojis, and share them directly from the Tesla app.
- Dog Mode Live Activity: Keeping your furry friend comfortable is now even better. Dog Mode will share periodic snapshots of the cabin, along with live updates on temperature, battery, and climate conditions. You can check on your dog in real time.
- Dashcam Viewer Update: Dashcam clips just got a whole lot smarter. Each clip now includes details like speed, steering wheel angle, and Self-Driving state, giving you more context in case of an incident.
- Santa Mode: The holiday spirit is alive and well! Enjoy new graphics, festive trees, and a special lock chime.
- Light Show Update: A brand-new Light Show called "Jingle Rush" is ready to dazzle.
- Custom Wraps and License Plates in Colorizer (Paint Shop): Personalize your Tesla Avatar with window tints, custom wraps, and license plates. While preloaded designs are available, you can also use your USB Flash Drives to create one that suits your style.
- Navigation Improvements: Changing the order of your destinations is now easier with a new "Favorites" tab. You can also set Home and Work by dropping a pin. Plus, "Suggested Destinations" will learn from your recent trips and habits.
- Supercharger Site Map: This is a game-changer! Tesla is adding a 3D view of select Superchargers. You'll see the site layout, live occupancy, and nearby amenities when navigating to a location with this capability. Drivers can also choose which stall to Supercharge. This feature is expanding to more Superchargers.
- Automatic Carpool Lane Routing: Navigation will now include the option to utilize carpool lanes, automatically choosing the carpool lane when eligible.
- Phone Left Behind Chime: Forgetful? Your Tesla has you covered. If the in-car occupant detection system doesn't see anyone in the car and a phone key is present, or if a phone is left inside, your Tesla will chime a few seconds after the doors close.
- Charge Limit Per Location: You can now save a charge limit for the current location while parked, and it will be applied automatically the next time you charge there.
- ISS Docking Simulator: In a SpaceX collaboration, Tesla has added this game to its in-car Arcade: "Become an astronaut and prove your skills by docking with the International Space Station. Control & guide the rocket in this 3D docking simulator game using a set of controls based on actual interfaces used by NASA astronauts.”
- Additional Improvements:
- Enable or disable wireless phone charging pads in Controls > Charging (S3XY) or Controls > Outlets & Mods (Cybertruck)
- Add Spotify tracks to your queue right from the search screen & scroll through large Spotify playlists, albums, podcasts, audiobooks & your library seamlessly, without paging
- Take the vibes up another level with rainbow colors during Rave Cave. Accent lights color will change along with the beats of your music. App Launcher > Toybox > Light Sync
- Lock Sound now includes Light Cycle from Tron Mode. Toybox > Boombox > Lock Sound
What's Missing?
But here's where it gets controversial... a few highly anticipated features didn't make the cut.
- Banish Feature: Tesla has been teasing the "Banish" functionality for years. This feature would allow your car to find a parking spot and park itself after you exit the vehicle at your destination. Unfortunately, it's not quite ready yet.
- Apple CarPlay: Despite rumors and even evidence of Tesla working on CarPlay integration, it's not included in this update. Tesla's in-car UI is significantly better, at least in our opinion.
- Parking Spot Selection: One of the biggest gripes about the new Arrival Features with Full Self-Driving v14 is that choosing a set parking spot is not available. This is especially frustrating for Tesla owners who rent or live in townhouse neighborhoods or apartment complexes with assigned parking.
Final Thoughts:
The 2025 Holiday Update is packed with exciting new features, from Grok integration to the Supercharger Site Map. While some anticipated features are missing, the additions are still impressive.
What do you think of the update? Are you excited about the new features, or disappointed by what's missing? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
