Connect with us

News

Tesla app v4.7.0 update rolls out optimized Powerwall settings, hints at remote Camp Mode activation

(Credit: Tesla)

Published

on

Tesla started rolling out its mobile app’s v4.7.0 update, bringing new convenient features to S3XY model owners. A glance at Tesla’s documented changes for v4.7.0 hint that the update is focused on improvements for products like Solar and Powerwall batteries. However, upon closer inspection there is more to the new update than meets the eye.

Tesla Powerwall and Solar Settings

The Tesla mobile app’s v4.7.0 release notes indicate that users now have the ability to reorganize their Powerwall and Solar settings. The update includes additional information related to Storm Watch as well. The app also lists individual events and lets users opt-out of recharging their Powerwalls using energy from the grid.

Credit: Tesla via @Tesla_App_iOS

Undocumented Features

A few undocumented functionalities have been spotted in the update as well. Update tracking service Not a Tesla App noted that v4.7.0 gives users the capability to turn off or adjust the settings of their vehicles’ seat heaters. Users can disable seat heating and cooling and adjust seat temperatures manually.

Considering the updates to seat heating in v4.7.0, it was no surprise that users could also cool their Model S and Model X seats directly from the Tesla mobile app as well. Under the “Auto” setting, a vehicle’s seats would be cooled and heated as needed, but users could opt-out of this from the app and set their seats’ cooling manually instead.

A number of upcoming features are also hinted in v4.7.0’s code, including the option to engage features like Climate Keeper, Dog Mode, and Camp Mode directly from the app. The ability to access vehicle release notes directly from the Tesla mobile app was also teased as an upcoming feature.

Credit: Jack Massey Welsh | YouTube

Tesla’s 2022.8.2 Update

Apart from rolling out v4.7.0 for its mobile app, Tesla also recently released update 2022.8.2 for its vehicles. Just like the mobile app’s v4.7.0 update, 2022.8.2 featured both documented and undocumented changes. Documented changes for 2022.8.2 include improvements to charging time estimates, as well as climate control updates that allow vehicle preconditioning accessed through the Tesla mobile app to remain active for up to 30 minutes after a car’s door is opened.

Other changes rolled out for 2022.8.2 include new restrictions for Boombox, which is now only accessible when a vehicle is parked. The Boombox update was implemented after a Safety Recall Notice from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) argued that some of the sounds emitted by Boombox might be dangerous for individuals that rely on Tesla’s Pedestrian Warning System (PWS).

The Teslarati team would appreciate hearing from you. If you have any tips, reach out to me at maria@teslarati.com or via Twitter @Writer_01001101.

Advertisement
-
-

Maria--aka "M"-- is an experienced writer and book editor. She's written about several topics including health, tech, and politics. As a book editor, she's worked with authors who write Sci-Fi, Romance, and Dark Fantasy. M loves hearing from TESLARATI readers. If you have any tips or article ideas, contact her at maria@teslarati.com or via X, @Writer_01001101.

Advertisement
Comments

News

Tesla Roadster unveiling nears, and it will fly: The Information

Published

on

(Credit: Dami Kolz/Twitter)

Tesla is nearing its long-awaited unveiling of the all-electric Tesla Roadster, a new report from The Information claims, as the company has said several times this year that the event would take place “soon.”

Now, it appears there is movement on Tesla’s end regarding when it will happen.

The report says that Tesla will unveil the Roadster as soon as this month with a SpaceX version that will utilize cold-gas thrusters to help the vehicle float for a short period of time. This is something CEO Elon Musk has talked about with the Roadster for years.

Additionally, due to the delays, Tesla explored “a variety of designs” for the Roadster, potentially planning to abandon the design it showed off for the first time in 2017 and adopting an entirely new aesthetic.

According to The Information, Tesla considered utilizing a repurposed Model S Plaid and even wanted to upgrade the look to something like a Lamborghini Countach.

Elon Musk teases Tesla Roadster unveiling once again

We’ve heard all of these things before, including teases about the date and how “soon” the Roadster will finally be ready to be shown off to the world (for the second time). Musk said that the event would occur in April, then May, then Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen continued to say it would be coming “soon.”

We do expect to see the Roadster by the end of the year, and now with this new report swirling, it appears it could be sooner rather than later.

The wait has been incredibly long, but there is likely a good reason for it. Tesla’s desire to make the Roadster the craziest vehicle on the road was non-negotiable, and it likely took a lot of time and resources to develop and perfect into something that was safe and suitable for a vehicle like this.

Continue Reading

Featured

Tesla finally got its Nevada Robotaxi Permit but with a few catches hard to miss

Nevada granted Tesla’s robotaxi permit, but capped the fleet at just ten vehicles for now.

Published

on

By

Concept art of a Tesla Cybercab in Las Vegas Strip as rendered via Grok

Tesla has received its robotaxi permit in Nevada, more than two months after regulators closed the public comment period on the company’s application. News of the approval surfaced Wednesday night when Tesla investor and longtime company watcher Sawyer Merritt posted a copy of the interim order, and the Nevada Transportation Authority’s own carrier registry now lists the permit, AVNC Permit 002 under Docket 26-05015, as active for Tesla Robotaxi, LLC.

Tesla asked Nevada in June for authority to run up to 5,000 vehicles in Clark County within a year, however the permit the NTA issued is initially capping Tesla at ten fully autonomous vehicles and confines them to a defined geofence along the Las Vegas Strip corridor. Any expansion of that operating area, or any increase to the fleet size, requires the NTA’s approval first.

The order also sets rules that look more restrictive than what Tesla runs in Austin. Rides are barred on roads with posted speed limits above 45 miles per hour, pickups are off limits within a quarter mile of Harry Reid International Airport without separate authorization, and every vehicle has to carry visible “Robotaxi” markings while notifying riders before each trip that no one is driving. The order also requires “appropriate human supervision”, language that suggests Nevada isn’t ready to let Tesla offer the rides without a safety monitor that it has run in parts of Austin since January. As with standard protocol with robotaxi services, Tesla must report any accident, system failure, or vehicle that becomes stranded on a Nevada road within five business days.

Tesla is entering a market Nevada already knows well. Zoox, the Amazon owned robotaxi company, has run its own autonomous vehicle permit in the state since last year, building up to roughly 100 vehicles and 350,000 rides along the Strip. That history likely explains why the NTA started Tesla at ten cars rather than the fleet size the company asked for. The agency has a template for scaling a permit up once a company proves out its safety record.

Tesla’s Nevada application first surfaced in June, when the company filed for the permit alongside plans for a maintenance hub in southwest Las Vegas. The company has said it won’t meaningfully scale its robotaxi fleet anywhere until FSD v15 ships, expected in late 2026 or early 2027, which makes the ten vehicle cap less of a constraint today than it might look on paper. For now, Tesla has the legal right to start Nevada rides. Whether it starts before FSD v15 arrives is a separate question the permit doesn’t answer.

Continue Reading

Energy

Tesla launches Powerwall Lease for affordable home backup

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

Tesla Energy has introduced the Powerwall Lease in conjunction with Tesla Electric, making the service available in Texas. This new option delivers whole-home backup power using two Powerwall units for a net monthly cost of $35 after credits, accompanied by a low fixed electricity rate.

Under the lease terms, customers pay a one-time order fee of $100. The base lease payment for the two Powerwalls is approximately $122 per month during the first year, subject to a 3 percent annual escalator thereafter. Enrollment in a qualifying Tesla Electric Backup plan or Virtual Power Plant plan provides an $87 monthly credit.

This credit lowers the effective cost to roughly $35 per month plus applicable tax.

Installation of the standard system carries no additional charge. The package features Storm Watch for outage protection and allows complete management through a single Tesla application. The system supplies continuous whole-home backup capability.

The Powerwall system enables households to maintain electricity during severe storms that disrupt the utility grid. When outages occur, the batteries automatically provide seamless backup power to the home.

Tesla announces 100k Powerwalls are participating in Virtual Power Plants

Tesla Storm Watch monitors weather forecasts and ensures the units are fully charged ahead of anticipated severe weather events so that power remains available throughout the disruption, keeping lights, refrigeration, and other essential systems operating without interruption.

Availability is restricted to select Texas locations where retail electric choice exists. Participants must lease exactly two Powerwall units and maintain continuous enrollment with Tesla Electric. Solar panels cannot be included under this particular lease arrangement.

The monthly credit activates automatically once the system is installed, receives permission to operate, and enrollment is confirmed. To retain the credit, customers are required to stay enrolled in Tesla Electric and fulfill all program conditions.

Nonstandard installations that involve electrical upgrades or special permitting may lead to extra expenses and might impact eligibility for the credit, so be sure to check with either your installer or Tesla to ensure you will still qualify.

Continue Reading