Lifestyle
Book Review of ‘Owning Model S’ 2nd Edition
Owning Model S is exactly what it sounds like: a complete book that breaks down everything a potential Tesla owner should know. It is, in my opinion, a must have book for those considering buying a Model S and a should have book for those awaiting delivery. (Or Model X, really, because this book does a great job of explaining the overall points of the vehicle.) It will explain, in clear and concise terms, everything you need to know to make an educated and informed decision about whether or not to buy, what to expect, which options to order and how to feel confidant getting ready for that first drive home. I also really liked it as an experienced owner, even already knowing the majority of what is covered because it goes into some really great detail, providing data or graphics where required, to provide clear explanations. I still recommend it if you’ve been enjoying your car a while as the book will remind you how exciting the car is.
The book is easy and quick to read yet comprehensive. It is intelligently written yet still accessible. It does not shy away from complexities where needed yet does not require an engineering degree to decipher. It is also a very pleasing physical size that lends itself to ease of packing as a travel read and storing in your Tesla once you own one.
Things I learned or re-learned as an owner
No matter how many times I read things like the following statement, I am amazed by it. I tend to shake my head and my eyes widen as I vaguely grasp how massively huge this car company is:
The goal (at least for Elon) was not to build a successful car company per se, but to prove to the large auto makers that it was possible to create a successful, sustainable, electric car company, thereby spurring them to enter the market more aggressively than they would otherwise do.
Starting on Page 19, the book also does an excellent job of explaining drag in a way that is easily understood. To summarize, a car’s mass has to push the air’s mass out of the way as it moves. That’s no easy task but every inch of the Model S is intended to help with it.
Regenerative braking is carefully discussed early in the book. The description definitely reaffirmed how awesome the technology is and reminded me of the science behind it. (Spoiler alert: magnetism!)
A bit later in the book, on page 53, there is a fantastic explanation of full torque at 0 revolutions per minute (rpm) and why Tesla acceleration is so awe-inspiring. I often tout this feature to folks who ask about the car but never really have an explanation. Now I do! Plus, this section includes a really great comparison of the Ferrari Tom Selleck drove in Magnum, P.I. (Second spoiler: the slowest MS in the current lineup is 2 seconds faster to 60 mph.) This section also reminds us that published 0-60 times for other vehicles include professional drivers manipulating a clutch with expert care. The Model S just requires you to stomp your foot and hold on to the wheel. I won’t talk about how this section’s discussion of the complicated internal combustion engine reminded me that the entire auto industry is a sham.
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Things that would have been helpful before ordering
This book gives a very straightforward description of available options as well as the author’s opinion on each. It is comprehensive, if a little biased, but I still appreciate each part. For me, the panoramic moon roof is the must have and air suspension unnecessary. As the book will tell you, each option is very personal and you will be able to customize to your unique preferences.
The delivery checklist is arguably the most important part of this book. In fact, the book evolved from it. If nothing else, get the book for the checklist. It will prepare you for a delivery that will almost certainly be completely unlike any other car buying experience you’ve had.
Things that are helpful to new owners
Along with the delivery checklist there is a great guide on setting up preferences ahead of your first drive. Little tidbits like not programming your Homelink while at work are much needed, as your delivery will include so much information and excitement, some things will undoubtedly be lost.
Things I see a little differently
The beauty of a review is that it is an honest opinion. As I mentioned before, I think the options recommendations are a bit biased. But they should be! Nick J. Howe is an extremely knowledgable owner and his opinions on which options to order are as good as they get. Mine differ; some driven by cost, others by personal preference. To me, premium sound and air suspension are things you can leave behind. Yet as mentioned above, I find the pano roof to be one of the most beautiful parts of the Model S and an absolute must-have, only second to Autopilot.
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I also happen to disagree with his directives on care. Nothing he says is wrong and his wash methods are perfect. What I can’t get behind is the recommendation to wash the car weekly. Our Model S is our daily workhorse and since there are only 24 hours in a day, washing the car only rarely makes the cut. If you enjoy and have time to wash your car weekly, go for it!
Conclusion
Buy the book if you are considering getting a Model S and want to be informed. The 2nd edition has been nicely updated to include discussions on Autopilot and current offerings. While you wait for it to ship, go ahead and request a free chapter of the book, available for a limited time. I’d also recommend buying the book (or naming it the next time someone asks for gift ideas) if you are awaiting delivery or are already an owner but have not otherwise studied up on some of the more intricate details of how the car works.
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Firmware
Tesla unlocks in-car web conferencing to extend Google Meet, Teams and beyond
Tesla’s Summer Update lets owners join Google Meet, Teams, and Discord calls via cabin camera.
Tesla’s 2026 Summer Update, which just began rolling out to customer vehicles, now links the built-in web browser with the in-cabin camera feed and microphone input, thereby letting owners join video calls on nearly any browser-based service instead of just Zoom.
The change appears in Tesla’s own release notes for software version 2026.26 under “Web Browser,” which states that the vehicle can now use its interior camera and cabin microphone when a website requests access, with permission granted the same way a desktop browser handles it. As NotATeslaApp notes, this feature opens the door to Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Discord, and other webcam-enabled sites to activate the in-car cabin-facing camera. The feed automatically crops and zooms to center the driver in frame.
Tesla has offered in-car video calling before, but only through a dedicated Zoom app that launched at the end of 2022, a stripped-down browser preloaded with Zoom’s own web client and gated behind Premium Connectivity. Opening the full browser to any camera-requesting site removes that walled garden. Elon Musk first called video conferencing “definitely a future feature” back in 2020, when the pandemic pushed remote meetings into daily life, so this update effectively finishes something Tesla has been promising for six years.
Tesla Summer Update begins rolling out: a look at the new features
The feature keeps the same restrictions that applied to Zoom on Tesla vehicles. It only works while the car is parked; shifting into Drive disables the camera feed, according to the release notes. It is also limited to vehicles running Tesla’s AMD Ryzen infotainment hardware, meaning older Intel-based Model S and Model X units, along with early Model 3 and Model Y builds, don’t get it.
Turning the browser into a general entry point for the in-cabin camera, rather than routing everything through one local app, widens the number of third-party sites that can ask for access, even though Tesla’s permission prompt.
With the Summer update only days into its rollout, be sure to stay with us on TikTok and X to see the latest video demonstrations.
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Elon Musk escalated his monthslong feud with Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey this week, pledging that his own AI video tool will produce a competing version before the year is out. Responding to a fan-made, AI-generated clip of the ancient epic, Musk wrote on X, “Before this year ends, Grok Imagine will make a full-length movie of The Odyssey that is historically accurate and true to the art of Homer.”
In June, Musk quoted an xAI-shared trailer built entirely with Grok Imagine Video 1.5, a two-minute-plus reimagining of The Odyssey styled after a 1970s classical Hollywood epic, and predicted “full movies by the end of the year,” as Teslarati reported at the time. That trailer, built from 36 consistent shots by a single creator, was Musk’s proof of concept. This week’s pledge turns that prediction into a specific commitment, tied directly to Homer’s text rather than a generic demo.
Before this year ends, Grok Imagine will make a full-length movie of The Odyssey that is historically accurate and true to the art of Homer https://t.co/bVHzUmY9WN
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 22, 2026
When a fan separately proposed that Musk fund a live-action alternative, to “give Mel Gibson $100 million to film an Odyssey adaptation with painstakingly historically accurate ships, armour, weapons, and casting, with all dialogue taken straight from the original poem and delivered in Homeric Greek,” Musk replied with two words: “I’m down.”
The Grok Imagine pledge lands as the tool’s underlying infrastructure has changed hands. Grok is no longer a standalone product, it folded into SpaceXAI after SpaceX’s acquisition of xAI closed in February, meaning the compute behind any Odyssey production traces back to the same Colossus supercomputers now bundled into SpaceX’s pitch to investors. Musk has separately said SpaceX’s own engineering data is being fed into the next major Grok training run, a two trillion parameter model he’s called the “2T run.”
Whether Grok Imagine can sustain a feature length narrative, rather than a series of impressive individual shots, remains the open question.
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Cybertruck
Tesla Mobile App gets a new feature that wrap fans are going to love
Tesla’s Summer Update removes the USB drive step from customizing your car’s digital wrap design.
Tesla’s latest 2026 Summer Update quietly closes out one of the more tedious steps in personalizing a Tesla’s digital appearance. Uploading a custom wrap design used to require a USB drive. Now it doesn’t.
The feature is listed in Tesla’s release notes as “Send Custom Wraps from Mobile App.” The company described it plainly: “Skip the USB drive and upload a custom wrap of your car from the mobile app. Instructions for creating a custom wrap here: github.com/teslamotors/custom-wraps.”
The digital wrap tool has been around since Tesla’s 2024 Holiday Update, when it launched for Cybertruck owners first, as Teslarati reported at the time. Getting a design onto the car meant formatting a USB drive, creating a folder named exactly “Wraps,” dropping in PNG files sized between 512×512 and 1024×1024 pixels and under 1 MB each, then plugging the drive in and applying the wrap through Toybox. Tesla expanded the tool to other models and renamed it from “Colorizer” to “Paint Shop” with the 2025 Holiday Update, while also adding license plate and window tint customization alongside the wraps.
Custom wraps via mobile app https://t.co/5OydZ26g9p pic.twitter.com/uexU0ZePxu
— Tesla (@Tesla) July 22, 2026
The latest Summer Update removes the USB step from that process. Owners will be able to pull a design from wherever they saved it, whether that’s a download from social media or something built from Tesla’s own GitHub templates, and push it to the car directly through the app.
Tesla reveals 2026 Summer Update with crazy fixes to Nav and more
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It’s a small fix relative to the rest of this latest release, which also included expanded Grok voice commands, automatic navigation that learns regular routes, and self-driving stats inside the mobile app, all detailed in our rundown of the full Summer Update. The USB requirement was one of the more common complaints about Paint Shop since it launched. Tesla did not say when the wrap upload change would reach individual vehicles, only that the broader update is rolling out now in waves.
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