Tesla Holiday Update for 2021: What To Expect

Carlos Kirby
· 4 min read
Tesla
and Elon Musk can be a bit polarizing at times. While most would applaud the carmaker for popularizing electric vehicles, Musk has made some questionable decisions with the Tesla brand. Such is the case with the upcoming Tesla holiday update.
While the new update has some great new features that drivers will enjoy, some features may irk non-Tesla drivers. Here is what you need to know about the upcoming update. 
If you own a Telsa, there’s a new update arriving to enhance self-driving capabilities.

How Tesla pioneered software updates

First, let's just take a moment to realize how revolutionary Tesla was with software updates. While we are quite familiar with updates on our phones and computers, updating an automobile is new territory. 
Tesla was unique in offering a digital screen as an infotainment system in all their vehicles. While this is now commonplace on all new cars, Tesla was the first to have such a feature. 
Those of us of a certain age remember when screens in cars were only seen as a post-market customization option. Drivers of those cars often had to spend a significant amount of money to have a screen on the road. 
Since Tesla was the first to standardize in-car screens, they naturally were the first to offer software updates for these infotainment systems. Some have speculated that this leads to more
price hikes
, but it does keep the driving experience fresh on older cars.
Let Jerry find your price in only 45 seconds
No spam · No long forms · No fees
Find insurance savings

What's in the Tesla holiday update?

Initially, Musk joked that the new update warranted a single fire emoji worth of excitement. He has since upgraded that to double fire emojis. The excitement is warranted, as there is a dramatic increase in Tesla's Full-Self Driving technology. As self-driving tech improves, Tesla owners receive these improvements via updates for free. 
There are also some UI improvements, such as creating one-touch access to windshield wipers and the backup camera. Of course, not everyone is happy with the new update. 

Controversy in the Tesla holiday update

The new update includes a "Boombox" feature that gives drivers more control over the external speaker. Drivers can now customize the sound of their horn to not sound like a horn at all. Tesla owners can now upload five custom sounds for their car horns. 
They can also choose from one of four preloaded sounds for their horn: goat, applause, La Cucaracha, or a farting noise. While this does make the 13-year-old boy in all of us giggle, it does raise questions about safety. 
When driving on the road, we all know what hearing a screeching car horn means. But if we were to hear a load goat bah-ing, how would we react? It's fair to assume that these customizations will confuse drivers and pedestrians in an emergency.
The sound customization doesn't end with the horn. Drivers can also customize the in-motion noise. As EVs are naturally silent, they create artificial car noise through the speakers so they don't surprise pedestrians or bicyclists.
In the past, these sounds were limited to noises that you would expect from a combustion engine. But now Tesla drivers can customize this too. Popular choices so far have been TIE fighters or galloping Clydesdales. 
No matter what noise your car makes,
Jerry
can save you money on car insurance. If you want to save money on car insurance, the Jerry app is a good place to start. A licensed broker, Jerry does all the hard work of finding cheap quotes from the top name-brand insurance companies and buying new car insurance. Jerry will even help you cancel your old policy.

Easiest way to compare and buy car insurance

√
No long forms
√
No spam or unwanted phone calls
√
Quotes from top insurance companies
Find insurance savings