Tesla Version 9.0: all new features based on your Model 3, Model S, or Model X generation

Tesla is currently rolling out its new version 9.0 software update to early access owners.

Now we are taking a look at all of the new features you get depending on what vehicle (Model 3, Model S, or Model X) and what generation of those vehicles you have, as well as where the vehicle is located.

As a note, things could change, but this is our best understanding based on all the different release notes that we have seen on various cars with the new update. H/T to /u/110110 and /u/y2kbaby2 on /r/TeslaMotors for helping organize these and Marc Benton for the pictures of V9 above. (Update: original source credit should to nemSoma on TMC for the release notes.)

As usual, keep in mind that Tesla gradually pushes its software updates to its fleet. It can take days or weeks to make it to everyone.

Tesla Version 9 Features

Navigate on Autopilot (Beta)

For Model 3, and Model S and Model X with Autopilot HW 2.0+ (~Oct 2016 to present) – apparently U.S. only for now.

Tesla wrote about the feature in the release notes:

“Our newest Autopilot convenience feature, designed to get you to your destination more efficiently by guiding your car on and off the highway. Navigate on Autopilot intelligently suggests lane changes to keep you on your route in addition to making adjustments so you don’t get stuck behind slow cars or trucks.

When Navigate on Autopilot is active, a single blue line indicates the path ahead, keeping your car in the lane. Gray lines highlight lane changes for a more efficient driving route. Navigate on Autopilot will also automatically steer toward and take the correct highway interchanges and exits based on your destination.

You can enable Navigate on Autopilot by going to Controls > Autopilot and first enabling Autosteer. For each route where Navigate on Autopilot is available, you have the option of enabling the feature by pressing the button located in the Navigation Turn List.”

For the same cars, you also get an updated Autopilot UI.

Dashcam feature with Autopilot Cameras

For Model 3, and Model S and Model X with Autopilot HW 2.5+ (~August 2017 to present).

Tesla wrote about the feature in the release notes:

“You can now record and store video footage captured by the car’s forward facing camera onto a USB flash drive. Note that you must manually add a base level folder in the flash drive called “TeslaCam” (without quotation marks) before it can be used for Dashcam. Refer to the owner’s manual for details on how to use Dashcam.”

For more details about it, here’s how Tesla’s new dashcam feature using Autopilot cameras works.

New Blindspot Warning

For Model 3, and Model S and Model X with Autopilot HW 2.0+ (~Oct 2016 to present).

Tesla wrote about the feature in the release notes:

To improve safety and increase confidence when changing lanes, the lane line on the instrument panel now turns red when your turn signal is engaged and a vehicle or obstacle is detected in your target lane.

Mobile App Integration

Seemingly available with all Tesla vehicles: Model 3, Model S, or Model X regardless of the onboard computer.

Tesla wrote about the feature in the release notes:

“With this car software version, you can now do even more with your vehicle from the mobile app.

You can now start navigation in your car by using the share button in your favorite phone apps. In iOS, you can enable sharing to your vehicle by opening up the app you want to share from, tapping the More button in your sharing menu, and then scrolling to the right until you find your vehicle.

You can also allow your passengers to quickly control the media, Play/pause, previous/skip, and cycle through your media favorites. Note: You can disable this feature by going to Media Setting > Allow Mobile Control.”

Atari Games

Seemingly available with all Tesla vehicles: Model 3, Model S, or Model X regardless of the onboard computer.

Tesla wrote about the feature in the release notes:

“Play Atari games in your Tesla. Tap the Atari logo in your easter egg tray which can be found by touching the Tesla “T” (top center of the touchscreen). To play, select a game from the menu, enter some quarters and press Start. You can also play in full screen mode while in PARK.”

Obstacle-Aware Acceleration

For Model 3, and Model S and Model X with Autopilot HW 2.0+ (~Oct 2016 to present).

Tesla wrote about the feature in the release notes:

Acceleration is automatically limited if an obstacle is detected in front of your vehicle while driving at low speeds. Obstacle-Aware Acceleration can be enabled or disabled in Controls > Autopilot.

User Interface changes

This is where things get more complicated. As we previously reported, the biggest UI change with version 9.0 is that Tesla is bringing the Model 3 UI design to Model S and Model X.

For the most part, it appears to be the case for all Model S and Model X vehicles, but there are a few different changes depending on car.

Model 3

• Calendar, Web Browser, and Energy applications are now all available in the Model 3, like they already were in Model S and Model X.
  • Calendar: The Calendar app allows you to view your phone’s calendar for the current and next day. The Calendar is conveniently integrated with Phone and Navigation so you can dial into a meeting or route to your next meeting with a single tap. For events to appear, you must connect your phone to your car via Bluetooth and allow calendar access by enabling Calendar Sync in the Tesla mobile app settings.
  • Web Browser: The Web browser app allows you to access the internet. Navigate to your desired website by entering the URL in the address bar. Easily return to your favorite sites by adding them to your Favorite using the heart icons.
  • Energy App: View energy consumption in real time for your Model 3. When there is an active navigation route, touch the Trip tab to view the projected energy consumption for the trip.
• Application launcher: those apps are now available through a new application launcher
  • Located at the bottom of your touchscreen, the new application launcher brings all your apps together in one place, including your Calendar, Energy, Web Browser, Rear View Camera, Phone and Charging apps. You can also access your last-used app by swiping upward.
• Navigation
  • Directions have been moved to the left side of the screen, and simplified to display relevant upcoming information—including highway exits, when applicable. Tap or pull down to see additional details in the full Trip Overview. Navigation settings including voice guidance volume can easily be adjusted by tapping the settings icon on the touchscreen map.

  • The traffic view has been restyled to further highlight problematic areas. Roads experiencing slower speeds or delays will be emphasized with red and yellow outlines.

  • To improve Navigation’s ability to provide relevant instructions, you can now select whether or not your vehicle is eligible for high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes. When enabled, Navigation will route you though HOV lanes. When disabled, Navigation avoids routing you through HOV lanes. Tap the settings icon on the bottom corner of the map then enable or disable Use HOV Lanes as desired.
• Climate Control
  • It’s now easier to direct airflow where you want it with the new Model 3 Airwave visualization. When you’re done, you can now simply swipe the Climate panel down to dismiss. The temperature settings on the bottom bar can now be controlled with a simple swipe: swipe to the left to lower the setting, or to the right to raise it. Tapping or pressing and holding the control will continue to work as before. As before, if you’d like to have different passenger and driver temperatures, simply unsync to reveal two temperature settings.
• Media
  • On the radio, you can now tune directly to a station using Direct Tune. For example, enter “88.5” while you’ve selected FM and you can listen immediately.
  • In Media Settings, the Options tab allows you to turn off explicit lyrics with the Explicit Content setting. The DJ commentary button for hearing music news on Streaming stations has also moved to Media>Settings.

Model S and Model X

• Application launcher: Model S and Model X already had all the new apps introduced in Model 3, but now it also get the app launcher.
  • Located at the bottom of your touchscreen, the new application launcher brings all your apps together in one place. You can also access your last-used app by swiping up on the application launcher icon.
• Navigation
  • Navigation on your touchscreen now provides more information about upcoming turns—including highway exit information, when applicable. Tap or pull down the turn-by-turn list to see additional details in the full Trip Overview. In addition, Navigation settings, including voice guidance volume, can be quickly accessed by tapping the settings icon directly on the bottom corner of the touchscreen map.

  • The traffic view has been restyled to further highlight problematic areas. Roads experiencing slower speeds or delays will be emphasized with red and yellow outlines.

  • To improve Navigation’s ability to provide relevant instructions, you can now select whether or not your vehicle is eligible for high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes. When enabled, Navigation will route you though HOV lanes. When disabled, Navigation avoids routing you through HOV lanes. Tap the settings icon on the bottom corner of the map then enable or disable Use HOV Lanes as desired.

• Climate Control

  • Climate has been redesigned to be more compact and easier to use

  • All of your controls for Climate have been moved to one place. Touch the seat icon to access controls for all seat heaters, steering wheel heater, and wiper heater.

UI Media changes for Model S and Model X

These are different based on the region and the onboard media computer.

The US and Canada

• Model S and Model X with MCU1
  • The Media Player now allows for three different views: the Miniplayer with simple controls and more space for viewing your map; Recent & Favorites with your favorites and listening history; and Browse, for discovering something new. You can easily hide or show the Media Player by dragging the window up or down. To switch sources, tap on the desired icon at the bottom of the Media Player.
  • In Media Settings, the Options tab allows you to turn off explicit lyrics with the Explicit Content setting. The DJ commentary button for hearing music news on Streaming stations has also moved to Media>Settings.
• Model S and Model X with MCU2 (from ~February 2018 to present)
  • The Media Player now allows for three different views: the Miniplayer with simple controls and more space for viewing your map; Recent & Favorites with your favorites and listening history; and Browse, for discovering something new. You can easily hide or show the Media Player by dragging the window up or down. To switch sources, tap on the desired icon at the bottom of the Media Player.
  • On the radio, you can now tune directly to a station using Direct Tune. For example, enter “88.5” while you’ve selected FM and you can listen immediately.
  • In Media Settings, the Options tab allows you to turn off explicit lyrics with the Explicit Content setting. The DJ commentary button for hearing music news on Streaming stations has also moved to Media>Settings.

Outside of the US and Canada

• Model S and Model X with MCU1
  • The Media Player now allows for 3 different views: the Miniplayer when you want just the basics; Recent & Favorites when you might want to quickly change what you’re listening to; and Browse, for when you’re looking for something different. You can easily hide or show the Media player by dragging the window up or down.
  • To switch sources, tap on the icons on the bottom of the Media player.
  • Similar to other apps, use the tabs on the left to navigate the Media Player, where you can find your saved Favorites or look for more content.
• Model S and Model X with MCU2 (from ~February 2018 to present)
  • The Media Player now allows for 3 different views: the Miniplayer when you want just the basics; Recent & Favorites when you might want to quickly change what you’re listening to; and Browse, for when you’re looking for something different. You can easily hide or show the Media player by dragging the window up or down.
  • To switch sources, tap on the icons on the bottom of the Media player.
  • Similar to other apps, use the tabs on the left to navigate the Media Player, where you can find your saved Favorites or look for more content.
  • On the radio, you can now tune directly to a station using Direct Tune. For example, enter “88.5” while you’ve selected FM and you can listen immediately.