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Tesla has a second Model Y Easter Egg in the form of a ‘Skyrim’ meme

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In the lead up to this week’s highly anticipated Tesla Model Y unveiling, the company has embedded a second Easter Egg on its website that’s based on the popular video game The Elders Scroll.

If you already visited the Model Y web page and didn’t notice it, that’s normal. If you found it, you’re probably a seasoned Tesla site-snooper because there’s nothing obvious about the location.

Opening up the browser’s JavaScript console and one can see that Tesla put a “todo” placeholder with a link that suggests there’s a “reveal video.” Only, it’s not.

Tesla Model Y registration page for livestream updates.

Click that “todo:” link and one can find the opening scene from Bethesda Game Studios’, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

You’re waking up on a horse-driven cart after being caught by an imperial ambush, on your way to death via an axe-wielding executioner. It’s not clear whether you were driving your Model Y when ambushed or if it’s your escape vehicle.

Don’t worry. Right as your head is about to be forcibly detached, a dragon creates a ruckus, and you escape to eventually save the day, per the game’s plot. Is this a parallel to Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s SEC woes wherein the Model Y makes everything all better? Per the Skyrim dialogue, “Empire loves their damn lists.”

Probably not.

It might mean that Tesla’s journey after the Model Y launch will be epic and full of adventure. Or maybe driving the Model Y will elicit that sense of adventure. But, more likely than not, Elon Musk is just trying to deliver some laughs. Regardless, it’s fun to ponder for a moment.

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Followers of Musk’s Twitter account are, by now, quite familiar with his enjoyment of Internet memes as are Tesla owners and their Easter Eggs. It’s not the first bit of fun Tesla has had leading up to the Model Y announcement.

Recipients of the Model Y invitation were treated to the words “nice try” hidden in a teaser photo of the vehicle, preempting any clever attempts to adjust the brighten the image to reveal the car’s shape. Web video producer and social media personality Marques Brownlee shared a screencast video of his attempt to do just that on Twitter, to which Musk responded with a winking emoji.

The official Model Y unveiling will be livestreamed on March 14th from Tesla’s LA Design Studio. The all-electric crossover is expected to be similar in shape and style to the Model 3 as the two vehicles share about 75% of their components in common. Tesla expects to reach volume production of the Model Y by the end of 2020 from Gigafactory 1 in Sparks, Nevada, as detailed in the company’s fourth quarter and 2018 full year update letter.

Accidental computer geek, fascinated by most history and the multiplanetary future on its way. Quite keen on the democratization of space. | It's pronounced day-sha, but I answer to almost any variation thereof.

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Tesla Summer Update begins rolling out: a look at the new features

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has started to deploy the 2026 Summer Update to owners across its fleet, and among the biggest changes are improvements to Navigation, a new startup animation for the Model 3 and Model Y, Caraoke scoring, and new capabilities for Grok.

As the update has started making its way to some cars, we can now see a few of the features operating in real-time. We will show you what some of the new features look like in this article, along with some additional details on what changed.

Not all of the new features in the 2026 Summer Update have quite made an appearance, but some of them have, so we’ll show those here:

New Animation Screen for 3/Y

Tesla is rolling out a new startup animation for Tesla Model 3 and Model Y owners. This is present in Launch Edition and Performance Model 3 and Model Y, but other trim levels do not have anything like this.

Owners can adjust the color associated with the startup animation to suit their preferences. It is a surprise that more automakers do not focus on this animation for their vehicles; it can be a great first impression piece and make the car immediately feel more luxurious.

Tesla has included this on more premium trims, but it is nice to see it on the Model 3 and Model Y.

Grok Improvements

Grok can now adjust more things in the car outside of the Navigation system. Now, drivers can adjust anything from climate to driving settings by simply speaking to the AI assistant in the car:

You don’t even have to push a button, either. Instead, you can just say “Hey, Grok,” if you have it enabled. That feature rolled out with the 2026 Spring Update just a few months back.

This is a great feature, especially pertinent for the Robotaxi platform, as there will be no buttons inside the Cybercab when it eventually starts giving rides to the public. It also broadens Grok’s capabilities, which were relatively limited in terms of vehicle setting adjustments beforehand.

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Tesla briefly offered this Robotaxi part for your personal car

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Credit: @tpgoebel | X

Tesla briefly offered one Robotaxi part in its Parts Catalog for your personal car, only to remove it just a short time after it was first noticed.

Tesla’s Robotaxi camera washer apparatus was briefly available for purchase on the company’s Online Parts Catalog. The camera washer was first noticed on Model Y Robotaxi vehicles about six months ago in Austin.

First noticed by Not a Tesla App, the Camera Washer entries appeared for the new “Juniper” Model Y under a category called “Halo,” which has also now disappeared. Interestingly, Halo probably is related to Tesla’s internal “Project Halo,” which was a project that aimed to retrofit customer-owned Model Ys into functional Robotaxis.

This hardware addition would likely be required for the vehicle to operate as a Robotaxi, as the Camera Washer seems to be a non-negotiable part of the vision-based system Tesla utilizes for self-driving efforts.

However, this part has since been removed and is no longer visible on the EPC.

Now the true question lingers: Why would Tesla add this Camera Washer to the Model Y parts catalog? Is it planning to make it available for owners to utilize on their own cars for personal use, or will it become a prerequisite for Robotaxi operation in customer-owned cars?

While discussing the upgrade options for Hardware 3 vehicles during the Q1 Earnings Call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk had said that the company could establish small, satellite shops that would upgrade cameras and self-driving computers. Perhaps this same strategy could be utilized for vehicles that want to be included in Robotaxi but do not have the correct hardware.

AI4 is currently represented as capable of unsupervised self-driving, and the same was said about HW3 at one point, only for Tesla to admit last quarter that it would, unfortunately, not be possible. Perhaps AI4 vehicles might need this camera washer as a prerequisite, just as HW3 cars will need that camera and computer upgrade.

This could be the first hint of that’s where we are headed.

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Tesla Robotaxi gets sweeping but polarizing change

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has started rolling out a broader change to the ride experience for its Robotaxi fleet by silencing turn signals, but the change is certainly polarizing.

Tesla has generally made it clear that its purpose-built ride-hailing platform, Robotaxi, will cater to the rider in nearly every way possible. This includes having climate preferences, music, and other personal settings loaded up in the car as the rider enters.

But Tesla is taking it a step further by muting turn signal chimes altogether, a change that appears to be a way to make the ride more peaceful:

However, there are a handful of people who are not thrilled about this change. Turn signals are a conditioned part of the human mind for those who ride in a car regularly.

Taking a turn without one feels strange and odd, and not hearing it click while activated could set off some alarms for riders, who might use the noise as confirmation that other drivers know of their intention to turn.

Turn signal noises are still audible in customer cars, so if you use FSD in your personal vehicle, you will still hear the turn signal.

The move is certainly one that is unique, but not one that separates it from other ride-sharing services. In a normal car, the clicking sound confirms to the driver that the blinker is active. In a fully driverless Robotaxi, that feedback serves no purpose for passengers, other than peace of mind.

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