Prepare for Teslas that will make some strange noises as you roll through the street.
Nick Myotke / Roadshow
Just in time for Christmas morning, Tesla’s 2020 Holiday update, firmware 2020.48.25 has arrived, and in addition to some expected fun new features, Elon Musk and Co. There have been changes to the user experience, more games and some supporting upgrades. Visualization. A particularly new feature, however, is likely to be a bit controversial – and not just for Tesla owners.
If you are not actually running Tesla, you may soon be receiving the updated features enabled by the new “Boombbox X” mode, which allows Tesla drivers to customize them. Model S., Model X., Model 3 Or Model YNo horn. That’s right, now you can make your Tesla’s horn honk sound like a goat, clap, la cucaracha or farat, in a range of other sound effects. You can also add up to five custom sounds of your own using the USB key. Kasturi requested a sound-effect upgrade on his Twitter account on Friday afternoon:
Change the sound of your horn into holiday jingles with the latest, 🐍🎷, નવી or the latest Tesla software software update!
– Elon Musk (elonmusk) December 25, 2020
The Boombox X enables your Tesla to make different EV-in-motion driving sounds, whether you’re behind that wheel or your vehicle is parked or pulled around in summons mode. In other words, it won’t take long until you walk down the street and hear Star Wars TIE Fighter or Clydale, just to turn around and realize that it’s being rolled by a single Model Y. While we may see this as a temporarily entertaining feature for Tesla owners and travelers, it’s also easy to guess that the Boombox quickly annoys or distracts pedestrians, cyclists and other motorists.
To take full advantage of the Boombox X mode, your Tesla will need to create a new model equipped with an external speaker. It is also important to note that the Boombbox feature comes with a public no-screen caveat “Please check local laws before using it in public places.” If you want to check out the update and hear all the new sound effects for you, the Tesla Honors Online online YouTube channel has a solid walk-through of updates that you can watch below:
Boombox is located in the infotainment system’s toybox menu, which also contains many of the system’s games. The trio of new games, including Polytopia, Cat Quest and Sol Liter, which some later Tesla owners are reporting are useful when the car is moving on Reddit (probably for the benefit of the passenger).
In a more solid but significant development, the Holiday Update includes updated driving visualizations that support the Tesla alternative Full-self-driving Technology. (Bound roadshow safety note: despite the misleading name, Tesla does not yet offer autonomous driving technology.) The new visualizations should give the driver a clear view of what’s going on around their vehicle while the tech is in operation, and other features have been moved around the screen for easier access, including one-touch access to the backup camera. Viper
The system’s scheduled departure feature has also been improved, which can now pre-condition the vehicle’s cabin and battery even when unplugged, as well as display a rational menu Supercharger Information.
Tesla’s firmware 2020.45.25 Holiday update is rolling out for the entire family of electric cars and SUVs across the country. Over the air update Right now.
