Tesla Model S
Life With a Dash Cam in Your Tesla Model S

A while ago I wrote about reasons for installing a dash cam in your Model S and then followed up with instructions on how to install one yourself. This post will discuss the basics of how I use the dash cam in my everyday life.
Capturing the moment
Whether you have a permanent 12V supply to your dash cam or switched power, you will want to preserve interesting moments soon after they happen such as this encounter I had with deer in NJ.
Most dash cams will recycle space on the memory cards leaving you with just enough space beofore it gets overwritten. A 32GB card will generally capture a day’s worth of video during a “normal” day. I say normal because the depending on how you configure the BlackVue dash cam – whether it’s set to turn on automatically through its motion and sound sensing capabilities – the amount of recording time can vary depending on what takes place during idle time.
Memory Cards
You’ll want to have a second memory card for your dash cam and keep that handy within the car. Make sure that it is formatted for your dash cam. The easiest way to set up a new card if you still have an old one is to copy the old card to the new card. Another option is to make a backup to your computer. Either way, I recommend testing the new card before using it.
The micro SD card that the BlackVue uses is extremely tiny and can easily be lost if not careful. To prevent from losing my back up memory card, I’ll have it inserted into the card reader that comes with the card and plugged into the one of the USB ports in my Model S.
Capturing the moment
Once something interesting is caught on dash cam, the process over downloading it is fairly simple. You’ll have many hours of video that can be captured before your special moment is overwritten but it helps to remember the time the event happened. A good time to do a swap is at a Supercharger stop or when you reach a particular destination. The memory is small and fiddling with it while the car is moving isn’t very safe.
First power down your dash cam by unplugging the power cord. Wait about 15 seconds for it to finish powering down then flip open the little door protecting the memory before popping it out by pressing down on the memory card.
Swap the card with the spare memory card that’s temporarily inserted in the Model S USB slot and power back up your camera.
Downloading Video
Once I’m off the road and near a computer, I take the card reader containing my media and plug it into the computer’s ESB port. If I don’t have time to process and view the videos, I simply copy all videos under the “Record” folder from the memory card to a location on disk that I can access later.
The best way to find the video footage you want is to use your dash cam’s software. The BlackVue viewer also serves as a means for changing camera settings. Select preferences from the file menu when your memory card is loaded.
Click the folder icon on the right of the screen and browse to the proper media source to get started.
Pick an event time that is just before the moment you want to preserve and double click to start playing. I typically use the speed selector and play the video at max speed as most of the footage will likely be monotonous. Each video clip defaults to being a minute long. As you click through each video segment, find the ones that are interesting to you and drop them into a video editor as a way to add some movie magic to them. On OS X that’s iMovie.
Editing Video
Using iMovie, I select File, Import Movies and create a new event to put the clips into. From here you use iMovie to trim, add titles, speed things up etc:
I typically upload my edited video to YouTube as a way to share interesting moments with my buddies.
Once all is said and done with the USB card reader, be sure to insert it back into the Model S USB port as backup to the primary card that’s running on the dash cam.
Summary
Capturing great vacation moments or events from your favorite Tesla Superchargers is simple with a dash cam.
While the instruction manual recommends periodic reformatting of cards, I find that completely unnecessary. I have a low maintenance car and fortunately the cameras are low maintenance too!
Check out my dash cam videos on YouTube to get a perspective on the quality taken by the BlackVue. Feel free to share your best dash cam moments by leaving a link in the comments below!
News
Tesla teases new color while testing refreshed Model S, X
Tesla teased a new color that could be coming to the United States with the new Model S and Model X.

Tesla appears to be teasing a brand new color while it was testing the refreshed Model S and Model X, which was spotted last week in California.
Tesla currently offers six paint options in the United States, but they are all pretty basic. This has not been a problem for owners as wrapping the vehicles is a common practice, but some people would likely see more versatility from Tesla in terms of their standard paint colors.
This is especially relevant as Europe has been able to have both Midnight Cherry Red and Quicksilver, which were, at one time, exclusive to the market.
Quicksilver made its way to the United States, and Tesla did release a new Red last year with “Ultra Red,” but Midnight Cherry Red never made its way outside the walls of Gigafactory Berlin.
Last week, as the first spy images of the new Model S and Model X were taken and released by The Kilowatts, there was a very noticeable difference with the vehicle, as other changes seemed to be relatively underwhelming: a new paint color.
New factory blue, coming soon to a Model X near you pic.twitter.com/3CuN4j1ipq
— The Kilowatts 🚗⚡️ (@klwtts) May 22, 2025
Many believed this was simply a wrap, but Ryan Levenson of The Kilowatts, a former Tesla employee, dispelled that rumor after several questions about it.
He said that this is absolutely a factory paint color and not a wrap:
New color too! If you know what you’re looking for you know that this is factory paint and not a wrap. pic.twitter.com/jBYrimZIQT
— The Kilowatts 🚗⚡️ (@klwtts) May 22, 2025
More images were shared by @supergeek18 on X:
New paint color for Model S/X 🤩 pic.twitter.com/Pb27JruhXs
— Henry (@supergeek18) May 24, 2025
Tesla released a new color earlier this year, but it was just a revision to Black, now called “Diamond Black,” featuring speckles that give a reflection and refraction of light as a diamond would.
However, this new color is certainly quite different than anything Tesla has previously offered in the U.S. before. It is relatively similar to Glacier Blue, a color Tesla launched in Asia. Earlier this year, Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla’s Chief Designer, talked about bringing the color to the U.S.:
“Glacier Blue is just a color that we’ve been talking about with our team — the team is like right through that window by the way — and we were looking at the impact of silver, how do we get pigment into silver and really add a little bit of personality to it. If you look at our palette, you know it was either darks or white, and so we were looking for something in between. Blue is always a fairly popular color.”
It would be a refreshing addition to the options Tesla currently offers, and a breath of fresh air for those who have been wanting a different look altogether.
News
Tesla’s new Model S and X spotted, but they leave a lot to be desired
The Model S and Model X testing mules spotted by The Kilowatts have few minor visual changes.

Tesla has been hinting for a few months now that the flagship Model S and Model X would be getting some attention in 2025 as the vehicles continue to be sold in extremely low volumes.
Both models seem to be under the knife, especially as their newest versions were spotted in California earlier this week.
However, images of the vehicles seem to show that Tesla is not planning a major overhaul, which begs the question: why even do it in the first place?
Tesla makes a decision on the future of its flagship Model S and Model X
The Model S and Model X are grouped with the Cybertruck in Tesla’s quarterly delivery releases, and Q1 saw just 12,881 units of the three cars delivered. The Cybertruck likely made up the majority of this number, as some outlets reported around 6,400 deliveries of the all-electric pickup in Q1.
This is unconfirmed.
The Model S and Model X have stuck around for “sentimental reasons,” according to CEO Elon Musk, who said back in 2021:
“I mean, they’re very expensive, made in low volume. To be totally frank, we’re continuing to make them more for sentimental reasons than anything else. They’re really of minor importance to the future.”
However, the cars seem to be in need of a serious refresh. As Tesla changed up the exterior aesthetic on both the Model 3 and Model Y, recent images captured of the Model X by The Kilowatts seem to show this is not the strategy with the Model X or Model S:
— The Kilowatts 🚗⚡️ (@klwtts) May 22, 2025
As we can see, the overall aesthetic of the X, if this is what Tesla plans to release, has literally no changes from a purely visual standpoint. There is the addition of the front bumper camera, which was first implemented on the Cybercab unveiled in October 2024, and then on the new Model Y this year.
There are some new 20″ wheels, and the interior has been fitted with ambient lighting.
The Model S looked to be relatively the same, other than these few hardware changes, including a rear diffuser on this Plaid that was spotted:
Tesla is definitely doing some things 👀 pic.twitter.com/qchMiAWEoT
— The Kilowatts 🚗⚡️ (@klwtts) May 22, 2025
While these changes are welcome and should be beneficial, they don’t seem like they will encourage major sales growth, which might be something Tesla is okay with.
Admitting the two cars are low volume and not contributors to the company’s long-term goals, Musk is likely willing to just upgrade things to make these more compatible and better functioning with the Full Self-Driving suite.
Earlier this year, VP of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy said the S and X were not going anywhere and would get “some love” before the end of 2025:
“Just give it a minute. We’ll get there. The upgrade a couple of years ago was bigger than most people thought in terms of architecture and structure of the car got a lot better, too. But, we’ll give it some love later this year and make sure it gets a little bit…you know, with the stuff we’ve been putting in 3 and Y. Obviously, with 3 and Y, the higher volume stuff, you’ve gotta focus there.”
It seems these strategies have held true — the S and X appear to be getting what the 3 and Y got with the ambient lighting and front bumper camera (at least on the Model Y).
Elon Musk
President Donald Trump buys a Tesla at the White House – Here’s which model he chose

U.S. President Donald Trump was greeted by a convoy of Tesla electric vehicles today at the White House after he said last evening he would be buying one of the company’s cars in support of Elon Musk.
A variety of Tesla EVs, including the Model S, Cybertruck, and Model Y, all arrived in Washington on Tuesday around lunch time where the President sat in, examined, and mulled over which car he would choose. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters today that President Trump would be paying “full market price” for the vehicle.
CEO Elon Musk was alongside Trump to help make his decision:
Which Tesla did President Trump Choose?
After mulling the decision for several minutes, President Trump seemed to have gravitated toward the Tesla Model S Plaid in Deep Red, the company’s quickest and most luxurious offering, suitable for the leader of the U.S.
Trump said:
“The one I like is that one (Model S). And I want that same color. I’m going to give [Tesla] a check. I don’t want a discount.”
According to images shared from Washington, it seems Musk brought two Model S vehicles — one in Deep Red and another in Deep Blue Metallic — knowing that the President would probably choose that vehicle, but was unsure about the color.
Tesla makes a decision on the future of its flagship Model S and Model X
President Trump’s Comments on Tesla and Elon Musk
President Trump has truly gained a meaningful working relationship with Musk, who he has called “a genius” and “brilliant” on several occasions. Regarding Tesla, the President said:
“Tesla’s a great company; They’re American cars, it’s American made. He employs thousands of people. He has the most modern plants in the world.”
In regards to the Tesla lineup, President Trump said:
“I know people that have these cars; It blows them away. They love them.”
When talking about the polarizing design of the Cybertruck, he said:
“In terms of imagination, and I think I have a pretty great imagination, who else but this guy would design this and everybody on the road is looking at it. As soon as I saw it, I said, ‘That’s the coolest design.’ You gotta give him (Elon) credit.”
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