The conversation around Tesla’s upcoming v8.0 software update has revolved around the improved Autopilot, and rightfully so with the new radar processing technology to be introduced with it. But for many the biggest change will be the entire UI overhaul.
Today we take our first exclusive look at the new UI ahead of the wide release of v8.0, which is expected to be pushed to Model S and X owners later this week, thanks to new pictures from an anonymous source.
We were able to confirm independently from a separate source that we’ve indeed located pictures from the latest version of Tesla 8.0.
While the Autopilot update is great for every Tesla owner since the end of 2014 – when Tesla introduced the Autopilot hardware in every new car, the new UI affects every Tesla owner since the launch of the Model S in 2012.
So there’s something interesting for everyone here.
With this said, some of the most interesting UI upgrades actually only affects Tesla vehicles with Autopilot. It’s something we mentioned in our original report about the first beta build of v8.0, but now we finally get to show you.
Tesla upgraded the Autopilot visualisation on the dashboard to now enable the rendering of the cars in the correct angle relative to the Tesla instead of just in parallel to the trajectory of the Tesla:
As you can see, Tesla also changed the icons for the Autosteer and TAAC features of the Autopilot.
The speed setting for TACC is now inside the icon. As for the the Autosteer icon, it is still a representation of the steering wheel, but now it’s inside a blue circle when engaged, which makes it much more visible.
The icons also blink at times in the new update.
Here’s a before and after v8.0:
Now to a few new design features that every owner can enjoy – even without Autopilot.
The most noticeable is probably the ability to remove the menu bar from the top in order to gain some screen real estate for the applications on Tesla’s 17-in touchscreen. Instead of the fix menu bar, some of the icons hover over the application.
It looks particularly awesome with the navigation app:
The media app received a complete overhaul. You get shortcuts to your favorite radio and streaming stations. They also improved the search with filters for artists, albums, and songs.
Under the current build, the streaming app is still Slacker for US and Spotify in Europe, but as previously reported, it looks like we are closer than ever to a Spotify app integration in the US too.
Here’s what the new media app looks like in v8.0:
As you can see, while slightly updated, the other icons and controls remain mostly the same. The focus was really on the media app.
Another surprise in v8.0, Tesla improved its regenerative braking software. The automaker warns that you may experience “slightly stronger deceleration”:
It should translate to more energy being recuperated.
That’s the bulk of the new user interface. We also explained some other features unrelated to the UI changes in our original v8.0 report.
As CEO Elon Musk said last week, Tesla is aiming for a wide release of v8.0 on Wednesday.
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