Tesla CEO Elon Musk was not fooling around when he said that the electric vehicle maker is releasing a crucial Holiday Software Update. Tesla began pushing the massive update a couple of days earlier with the latest voice commands, text message reading, and new Autopilot visualization. The CEO also said that Tesla vehicle owners would have a sneak peek at the Full Self Driving feature, and thanks to this popular YouTuber, we now have our first look at the latest Holiday Software Update from the electric vehicle maker.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk teased earlier that the Holiday Software Update arriving in Tesla owners would include a sneak preview at Full Self Driving, new video games, and several other things. Those 'other' things are actually the essential features that most Tesla vehicle owners are waiting for. Based on the release notes, Tesla introduced some phone improvements, which include the ability to read and send text messages through the voice command of the Tesla vehicle.
This is something that was lacking among Tesla vehicles and something which most owners have been requesting from the electric vehicle maker over the years, considering that Tesla does not have Android Auto or Apple Carplay. The Tesla update note reads:
You can now read and respond to text messages using your right scroll wheel button. When a new message is received, press the right scroll wheel button to have your text message read out loud and press again to respond by speaking out loud. You will also be able to view messages as they come in via the 'Cards' section of the touchscreen.
To view messages that have been received while your phone is connected via Bluetooth, tap the Application Launcher > Call > Messages. You can read and reply to a message by tapping an entry in the Messages list. To enable this feature, tap the Bluetooth icon on the top of the display, and enable 'Sync Messages.' Once enabled, you can also choose to play a chime whenever a new text message is received by enabling 'Chime on New Message.
Meanwhile, Tesla Model 3 owner and popular YouTuber Raj shares the very first look of the Holiday Software Update version 2019.40.50 in action. The new update introduces enhanced Driving Visualizations, a more solid Tesla Theater, Voice Commands, and Camp Mode, among other things. You can check out the latest video below.
Additionally, the latest Holiday Software Update provides Autopilot Hardware 3, which is the preview of the upcoming Full Self Driving capabilities. It highlights a more intelligent Tesla Neural Net that can identify and show multiple traffic lights, and stop signs as well as garbage cans on the touchscreen of the vehicle. It also paves the way for the upcoming feature-complete Full Driving Suite of Tesla.
