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Tesla Model S Wish List Items

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After 10,000 miles of ownership, it’s time to compile my Tesla Model S wish list items.

It’s been four months and 10k miles of pure joy since taking delivery of my Model S, but that’s not to say that there aren’t some items that I wish Tesla would have included and/or done better on.

I focused on those areas that can be augmented through a Tesla software update. Many of the things I’d like to see are also in the global wish list being tracked at the Tesla Motors Club but I have my own tastes and priorities, so here goes.

The items in bold below were available on my 2007 Acura MDX which I sorely missed.

Navigation

  • Tesla-Firmware-6-0-Crowd-Source

    Tesla firmware version 6.0 sneak peek

    Waypoints

  • Multiple route options (shortest, shortest time, etc)
  • Traffic-based re-routing (reportedly coming in 6.0)
  • Better map caching – AT&T coverage is spotty and slow.
  • Show Map zoom level
  • Ability to organize favorites (folders)
  • Sort favorites by distance or frequency of use (vs random!)
  • Ability to show points of interest (POI)
  • Ability to set current location as a favorite
  • Ability to route to prior starting locations

USB Music

  • Shuffle
  • Folders need cover art
  • Fast scroll when in USB folders
  • Favorite ability for folders, artists, etc.

ALSO SEE: Playing Music from a USB Drive in the Tesla Model S

Settings

  • Remember rear seat heater settings (it does this for the front but not the rear) across power off/on. If a passenger gets out and the car starts traveling again turn off that passengers seat heater.
  • Ability to “pin” or lock a screen in a position – like NAV always on top so I can flip the bottom one but not lose NAV or have to do the press/drag thing.
  • Let me set % regeneration setting – not just 2 options.
  • Let me set max creep speed – 5mph is far too fast.
  • Show lifetime total/average energy somewhere so we don’t have to “reserve” trip B for this.
  • Let me control how long my headlights are on after I exit (its so long now I never use it).
  • When opening trunk, allow me to press the button to reverse direction.
  • Headlight flash is too long, shorten it or let duration be set.
  • Don’t allow car in drive if rear trunk is open. Or require special override.
  • Graphs always default to “instantaneous” which is basically useless. Default to average or remember the setting.

Service

  • Service reminders for tire rotations, annual service etc.
  • Show actual tire pressure settings for all 4 tires.
  • Provide full release notes on every software update.
  • Provide release notes prior to install for software updates.

Charging

  • Report on estimated time to complete charge to set level (in car and in app). Make this work right with non-linear charge rates at Superchargers etc.
  • Allow me to set desired charge end time (not start time).

Driving

  • Allow cruise control resume from stop (other vendors can do this).
  • Be smarter on regeneration when cancelling cruise control – its harsh.
  • If driver gets out of car (in park!) and passenger is still present don’t let the car go to sleep (or have a setting around this).
  • Using washer to clean windshield turns on lights. Be smarter about this.

Audio

  • Remember volume setting by audio source (book tapes from my iPhone are a different volume than music from Slacker)

Tesla-Browser-Optimized

Web Browser

  • Make it work with Google apps (cookies, sessions, mobile flavor, etc.)
  • Fix return/caps lock behavior.
  • Have the ability for it to report itself as a mobile browser for faster loads/better visibility.
  • Support tabs
  • Support favorite syncing with desktop/mobile devices.
  • Allow organization of favorites including some kind of sorting.
  • Make window scrolling smoother/more obvious.
  • Make it faster/more standard (Chrome/Firefox/Safari like).
  • Fix web browser time zone setting/function – many sites think I’m in PST based on IP address.

Slacker

  • Allow display of lyrics.
  • Support custom playlists.
  • Fix car stop/start while a song is playing resulting in a partial song resume.
  • If you cant play/find the searched song, offer to do nothing.

RELATED: Slacker Internet Radio on the Tesla Model S

iOS App

  • Show internal temperature (without requiring me to turn on climate control first).
  • Receive all alerts/warnings that car shows.

That’s a long wish list in 4 months and its not even Christmas yet. I love the car even if I didn’t have any of these wish list items, but imagine what the Model S would be like with all these (very possible) improvements.

What I find interesting is that there are news reports that Tesla is hiring up to 30 hackers to make security improvements to the Model S. Security is important and they should definitely invest in that area. But 30 decent programmers focused on the list above could knock out most of that in 6 months or less. How many programmers do they have now and what are they doing? Did all the resources get diverted to supporting new international markets? Is Tesla still investing in the software layer for the Model S or are all investments going into the Model X?

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I’ll be tracking this list over time to see if and when the Tesla team delivers on it.

What’s on your Tesla Model S wish list?

"Rob's passion is technology and gadgets. An engineer by profession and an executive and founder at several high tech startups Rob has a unique view on technology and some strong opinions. When he's not writing about Tesla

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Elon Musk

Trump’s invite for Elon just reshuffled Tesla’s big Signature Delivery Event

Tesla rescheduled its final Model S farewell to May 20 after Musk joined Trump in China.

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Tesla has rescheduled its Model S and Model X Signature Edition delivery event to Wednesday, May 20, 2026, after abruptly calling off the original May 12 celebration. The event will take place at Tesla’s factory at 45500 Fremont Boulevard in Fremont, California, the same location where the Model S first rolled off the line in 2012. Invitees received a follow-up email asking them to reconfirm attendance and download a new QR code ticket, with Tesla noting that all travel and accommodation expenses remain the buyer’s responsibility.

The reason behind the original cancellation came into focus the same day it was announced. President Trump invited Elon Musk, Apple’s Tim Cook, BlackRock’s Larry Fink, Boeing’s Kelly Ortberg, and executives from Goldman Sachs, Blackstone, Citigroup, and Meta to join his trip to China this week for a summit with President Xi Jinping. The agenda covers trade, artificial intelligence, export controls, Taiwan, and the Iran war, following weeks of escalating friction between Washington and Beijing over AI technology, sanctions, and rare earth exports. Trump wrote on Truth Social, “I am very much looking forward to my trip to China, an amazing Country, with a Leader, President Xi, respected by all.”

Tesla launches 200mph Model S “Gold” Signature in invite-only purchase

The vehicles at the center of all this are the last Model S and Model X units Tesla will ever build. Priced at $159,420 each, the 250 Model S and 100 Model X Signature Edition units come finished in Garnet Red with a one-year no-resale agreement, giving Tesla right of first refusal if the owner decides to sell. As Teslarati reported, the Model S defined Tesla’s early identity as a serious luxury automaker, and the Fremont factory line that built it is now being converted to manufacture Optimus humanoid robots.

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Musk’s inclusion in the China delegation drew attention given his very public relationship with Trump, and the invitation signals the two have moved past and past grievances. Trump originally brought Musk on to lead the Department of Government Efficiency following his inauguration, and despite a sharp public dispute in mid-2025, the two have appeared together repeatedly in recent months. A seat on the China trip, the most diplomatically consequential visit of Trump’s current term, puts Musk back at the table on U.S. economic policy at a moment when Tesla’s China revenue remains one of the company’s most important financial pillars.

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Lifestyle

Tesla Semi hauls fresh Cybercab batch as Robotaxi era takes hold

A Tesla Semi was filmed hauling Cybercab units out of Giga Texas for the first time.

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A Tesla Semi loaded with Cybercab units was recently filmed leaving Gigafactory Texas, marking what appears to be the first documented delivery run of Tesla’s autonomous two-seater. The footage shows multiple Cybercabs secured on a flatbed trailer being hauled by a production Tesla Semi, a truck rated for a gross combination weight of 82,000 lbs. The location is consistent with Giga Texas in Austin, where Cybercab production has been ramping since February 2026.

The sighting follows a wave of Cybercab activity at the Austin facility. In late April, drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer spotted approximately 60 Cybercabs parked in two organized groups in the factory’s outbound lot, the largest concentration observed to date. Units being staged in an outbound lot is a standard pre-delivery step, and the Semi footage is the logical next frame in that sequence.


This is not the first time Tesla has used its own Semi to move Tesla products. When the Semi was unveiled in 2017, Musk noted it would be used for Tesla’s own operations, and over the years Semi prototypes were spotted carrying cargo ranging from concrete weights to Tesla vehicles being delivered to consumers. In 2023, a Semi was photographed transporting a Cybertruck on a trailer ahead of that vehicle’s delivery launch.

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The Cybercab itself was first revealed publicly at Tesla’s “We, Robot” event on October 10, 2024, at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, where 20 pre-production units gave attendees rides around the studio lot. Musk stated at the event that Tesla intends to produce the Cybercab before 2027. The first production unit rolled off the Giga Texas line on February 17, 2026, with Musk posting on X: “Congratulations to the Tesla team on making the first production Cybercab.”

Tesla’s annual production goal is 2 million Cybercabs per year once multiple factories reach full design capacity, with the company targeting a price under $30,000 per unit. Tesla has confirmed plans to expand its robotaxi service to seven cities in the first half of 2026, including Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Las Vegas, building on the unsupervised service already running in Austin. Musk has said he expects robotaxis to cover between a quarter and half of the United States by end of year.

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Elon Musk

Tesla owners keep coming back for more

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Tesla has taken home the “Overall Loyalty to Make” award from S&P Global Mobility for the fourth consecutive year, reinforcing Tesla owners’ willingness to come back. The 2025 awards are based on S&P Global Mobility’s analysis of 13.6 million new retail vehicle registrations in the U.S. from October 2024 through September 2025. The complete list of 2025 winners includes General Motors for Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer, Tesla for Overall Loyalty to Make, Chevrolet Equinox for Overall Loyalty to Model, Mini for Most Improved Make Loyalty, Subaru for Overall Loyalty to Dealer, and Tesla again for both Ethnic Market Loyalty to Make and Highest Conquest Percentage.

Tesla’s streak in this category started in 2022, and the brand has now won the Highest Conquest Percentage award for six straight years, meaning it keeps pulling buyers away from other brands at a rate no competitor has matched. Tesla’s retention among Asian households reached 63.6% and among Hispanic households 61.9%, rates that significantly outpace national averages for those groups. That breadth of appeal across demographics adds a layer of significance to a win that some might dismiss as routine.

The timing matters too. After several consecutive quarters of decline, Tesla’s share of U.S. EV sales jumped to 59% in Q4 2025. That rebound, arriving just as competitors were flooding the market with new models and incentives, suggests Tesla’s loyalty numbers are not simply the result of limited alternatives. Buyers are still choosing it when they have plenty of other options.

What keeps Tesla owners coming back has a lot to do with the  and convenience of charging. The Supercharger network is the most straightforward example. With over 65,000 Superchargers globally, it remains the largest and most reliable fast-charging network in the world, and owners who have built their routines around it face a real practical cost when considering a switch. Competitors have made progress, but the consistency, speed, and availability of Tesla’s network is still the benchmark the rest of the industry is chasing.  Then there is the software side. Tesla has built a model where the car you own today is functionally different from the car you bought two years ago, through over-the-air updates that add continuous game-changing improvements such as Full Self-Driving that has moved from a driver-assist feature to an increasingly capable autonomous system. For many Tesla owners, leaving the brand means starting over with a car that will not get meaningfully better over time, and that is a trade-off fewer and fewer are willing to make.

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