Get ready for Teslas to make some strange noises as they pass you on the street.
Nick Miotke / Roadshow
Just in time for Christmas morning, Tesla’s 2020 Holiday Update, Firmware 2020.48.25 has arrived and, in addition to some fun new features expected, Elon Musk and Co. has released a couple of changes to the user experience, more games and some previews updates. A specific new feature, however, is likely to be somewhat controversial – and not just for Tesla owners.
Even if you don’t drive a Tesla, you’ll soon receive features enabled by the update’s new “Boombox” mode, which allows Tesla drivers to personalize their Model S, Model X, Model 3 or Model Yhorn of. That’s right, now you can make your Tesla’s horn sound like a goat, applause, La Cucaracha or a fart, among a number of other sound effects. You can even add up to five custom sounds using a USB key. Musk himself praised the update of the sound effect on his Twitter account on Friday afternoon:
Change the sound of the horn to 🐐, 🐍🎷, 💨 or vacation jingles with the latest Tesla software update!
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 25, 2020
The Boombox also allows your Tesla to emit different EV steering sounds while in motion, whether you are behind the wheel or your vehicle is being parked or pulled in summons mode. In other words, it probably won’t be long before you’re walking down the street and hear a Star Wars TIE fighter approaching or Clydesdale, only to turn around and realize that it’s someone passing in a Model Y. While we can see this feature being momentarily fun for Tesla owners and observers, it’s also easy to predict that the Boombox will quickly become annoying or distract pedestrians, cyclists and other drivers.
To get the most out of Boombox mode, your Tesla will need to be a newer model equipped with an external speaker. It is also important to note that the Boombox feature comes with an on-screen warning to “check local laws before using in public spaces”. If you want to check out the update and hear all the new sound effects for yourself, the Tesla Owners Online YouTube channel has a solid step-by-step update that you can watch below:
The Boombox is located in the Toybox menu of the infotainment system, which also contains the many games on the system. A trio of new games, including The Battle of Polytopia, Cat Quest and Solitaire, the latest of which some Tesla owners report, can be used while the car is in motion (presumably for the passenger benefit) on Reddit.
In more sober but substantive developments, the Christmas Update includes updated driving views that support the optional Driving alone technology. (Mandatory roadshow safety note: despite the misleading name, Tesla does not yet offer autonomous driving technology.) The new views should give the driver a clearer view of what’s going on around his vehicle when the technology is active, and other features have been moved on the screen for easy access, including one-touch access to the backup camera. and cleaners.
Improvements have also been made to the system’s scheduled start feature, which can now precondition the vehicle’s cab and battery even when disconnected, as well as a streamlined menu displaying Supercharger training.
Tesla’s firmware update 2020.45.25 is being released to owners of the company’s entire electric car and SUV family across the country via over-the-air update right now.