Tesla has started rolling out its initial V10 update to members of its Early Access Program. Based on release notes that have been gathered from EAP members, it appears that Version 10 is primarily focused on making Tesla’s electric cars one of the “most fun things” that anyone can purchase, bar none.
Following are some key features that are included in the V10 update.
Tesla Theater
Tesla Theater allows vehicles to stream video content provided that they are in Park and connected to WiFi. So far, Tesla Theater includes three streaming options: Netflix, YouTube, and Tesla Tutorials. The feature is accessed through the new “Entertainment” icon on vehicles’ V10 Application Launcher.
“Tesla Theater lets you watch movies and videos when your car is in PARK and connected to WiFi. To launch the Tesla Theater, tap the new ‘Entertainment’ Icon in the Application Launcher and select the Theater tab,” the company wrote in Tesla Theater’s release notes.
Interestingly enough, Early Access Program members have reported that Tesla Theater currently works with their vehicles’ cellular data connection. Perhaps such a feature would be enabled after V10’s initial rollout, similar to Navigate on Autopilot’s unconfirmed lane changes, which were also immediately accessible to EAP users and disabled on V9’s initial release.
- Tesla Theater release notes. (Credit: Tesla Owners Online)
- Tesla Theater in the V10 Update. (Credit: Tesla Owners Online)
- Netflix on Tesla’s V10 Update. (Credit: Tesla Owners Online)
- A YouTube video playing in full screen on Tesla’s V10 Update. (Credit: Tesla Owners Online)
Tesla Theater in the V10 Update. (Credit: Tesla Owners Online)
Caraoke
Caraoke is one of those fun features that could end up resulting in a new wave of viral videos on YouTube. The new feature allows users to sing along to their favorite track, though lyrics will only be visible on the vehicles’ display while cars are on Park. Caraoke tracks are playable while driving, though lyrics will not be displayed on the screen.
“Sing karaoke to your favorite songs and artists in your car. You can select ‘Caraoke’ from the Media menu. Tap the microphone icon to adjust whether the vocal track plays while you sgn along. Displaying the karaoke lyrics requires the car to be in PARK,” Tesla wrote.
Cuphead – Tesla Edition
Cuphead is arguably the most ambitious game to be ported on Tesla Arcade to date. The game, which features vintage cartoon art in a run and gun setting, will allow single or two-player campaigns. That being said, Tesla’s release notes for the new title suggests that the current edition of the game in V10’s initial release will only include the game’s full first Isle. Considering that the full Cuphead game features three Islands, upcoming updates from Tesla will likely expand the title even further.
“Cuphead is a classic run and gun action game inspired by cartoons of the 1930s and heavily focused on boss battles. For the Tesla Edition of Cuphead, enjoy the game’s full first Isle as you play as Cuphead or Mugman (in single-player or in local co-op). Traverse strange worlds, acquire new weapons, learn powerful super moves, and discover hidden secrets while you try to pay your debt back to The Devil!”
“As with all Tesla Arcade games, your car must be in PARK to play. To access Cuphead, tap the Application Launcher, tap Entertainment icon > Tesla Arcade, then select from the menu. Note: A USB controller is required to play Cuphead. Game controller behavior may vary depending on make and model,” Tesla wrote.
- Cuphead — Tesla Edition release notes. (Credit: Tesla Owners Online)
- Tesla Arcade welcomes Cuphead. (Credit: Tesla Owners Online)
Tesla Arcade welcomes Cuphead. (Credit: Tesla Owners Online)
Yet another feature that was borne from CEO Elon Musk’s Twitter conversations, (I’m Feeling) Lucky or Hungry provides a fun, randomized angle to Tesla road trips. Tapping the “Hungry” button will give drivers directions to a local restaurant, while “Lucky” will provide directions to a “surprise adventure to a nearby attraction.” This particular feature gives a certain spontaneity to the Tesla ownership experience, and will likely provide a helpful boost to local businesses that have Destination Chargers installed.
“Feeling lucky or feeling hungry? Go on a surprise adventure to a nearby attraction by tapping Navigate > Lucky or get directions to a local restaurant chosen by your Tesla by tapping Navigate > Hungry. We have also updated the place popup to include easy access to a website associated with the location if one exists,” Tesla wrote.
Joe Mode
Yet another feature that was suggested by a Tesla owner on Twitter, Joe Mode makes a vehicle’s alerts less disruptive to passengers. This feature would most definitely be helpful for parents taking road trips with small children, who could easily wake up when vehicle alerts are engaged at full volume during a drive.
Joe Mode is the best mode https://t.co/UyvCSTEvNp— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 15, 2019
“Enabling Joe Mode reduces the volume of your Tesla’s chimes. The quieter chimes continue to alert the driver effectively and minimize disruption to passengers (e.g. Joe’s kids). To enable Joe Mode, tap Controls > Safety & Security > Joe Mode,” Tesla noted.
Sentry Mode, Maps, Automatic Lane Change, and Driving Visuals Update
Tesla’s V10 update allows Sentry Mode to save video clips in a separate folder on a USB drive to make them easier to review and manage. Older Sentry Mode clips will also be automatically overwritten once there is no more space on the USB drive. As for the Maps update, destinations that are keyed in will now include the distance to each suggested locations, which would make navigation easier. Visualizations have also been revamped with V10, as could be seen in the adjacent lane being highlighted blue and the target car destination being outlined in white during automatic lane changes, and more detailed visuals being included for surrounding vehicles.
- Sentry Model improvements in Tesla’s V10 Update. (Credit: Tesla Owners Online)
- Driving Visualizations are updated in Tesla’s V10 Update. (Credit: Tesla Owners Online)
Conclusion
One could immediately see that these V10 update release notes are primarily focused on extra, fun features on Tesla’s vehicles, and not their core functionalities such as Autopilot and highly-anticipated Full Self-Driving capabilities such as Smart Summon. Reports from the Tesla community suggest that these features are also included in the V10 release to members of the Early Access Program, though no release notes on these new capabilities have been shared online as of writing.
We will update this article accordingly once new information is available.
H/T Tesla Owners Online, Vincent Yu, Tesletter, and Sandeep Patel.
Firmware
Tesla mobile app shows signs of upcoming FSD subscriptions

It appears that Tesla may be preparing to roll out some subscription-based services soon. Based on the observations of a Wales-based Model 3 owner who performed some reverse-engineering on the Tesla mobile app, it seems that the electric car maker has added a new “Subscribe” option beside the “Buy” option within the “Upgrades” tab, at least behind the scenes.
A screenshot of the new option was posted in the r/TeslaMotors subreddit, and while the Tesla owner in question, u/Callump01, admitted that the screenshot looks like something that could be easily fabricated, he did submit proof of his reverse-engineering to the community’s moderators. The moderators of the r/TeslaMotors subreddit confirmed the legitimacy of the Model 3 owner’s work, further suggesting that subscription options may indeed be coming to Tesla owners soon.
Did some reverse engineering on the app and Tesla looks to be preparing for subscriptions? from r/teslamotors
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite has been heavily speculated to be offered as a subscription option, similar to the company’s Premium Connectivity feature. And back in April, noted Tesla hacker @greentheonly stated that the company’s vehicles already had the source codes for a pay-as-you-go subscription model. The Tesla hacker suggested then that Tesla would likely release such a feature by the end of the year — something that Elon Musk also suggested in the first-quarter earnings call. “I think we will offer Full Self-Driving as a subscription service, but it will be probably towards the end of this year,” Musk stated.
While the signs for an upcoming FSD subscription option seem to be getting more and more prominent as the year approaches its final quarter, the details for such a feature are still quite slim. Pricing for FSD subscriptions, for example, have not been teased by Elon Musk yet, though he has stated on Twitter that purchasing the suite upfront would be more worth it in the long term. References to the feature in the vehicles’ source code, and now in the Tesla mobile app, also listed no references to pricing.
The idea of FSD subscriptions could prove quite popular among electric car owners, especially since it would allow budget-conscious customers to make the most out of the company’s driver-assist and self-driving systems without committing to the features’ full price. The current price of the Full Self-Driving suite is no joke, after all, being listed at $8,000 on top of a vehicle’s cost. By offering subscriptions to features like Navigate on Autopilot with automatic lane changes, owners could gain access to advanced functions only as they are needed.
Elon Musk, for his part, has explained that ultimately, he still believes that purchasing the Full Self-Driving suite outright provides the most value to customers, as it is an investment that would pay off in the future. “I should say, it will still make sense to buy FSD as an option as in our view, buying FSD is an investment in the future. And we are confident that it is an investment that will pay off to the consumer – to the benefit of the consumer.” Musk said.
Firmware
Tesla rolls out speed limit sign recognition and green traffic light alert in new update

Tesla has started rolling out update 2020.36 this weekend, introducing a couple of notable new features for its vehicles. While there are only a few handful of vehicles that have reportedly received the update so far, 2020.36 makes it evident that the electric car maker has made some strides in its efforts to refine its driver-assist systems for inner-city driving.
Tesla is currently hard at work developing key features for its Full Self-Driving suite, which should allow vehicles to navigate through inner-city streets without driver input. Tesla’s FSD suite is still a work in progress, though the company has released the initial iterations of key features such Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control, which was introduced last April. Similar to the first release of Navigate on Autopilot, however, the capabilities of Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control were pretty basic during their initial rollout.
2020.36 Showing Speed Limit Signs in Visualization from r/teslamotors
With the release of update 2020.36, Tesla has rolled out some improvements that should allow its vehicles to handle traffic lights better. What’s more, the update also includes a particularly useful feature that enables better recognition of speed limit signs, which should make Autopilot’s speed adjustments better during use. Following are the Release Notes for these two new features.
Green Traffic Light Chime
“A chime will play when the traffic light you are waiting for turns green. If you are waiting behind another car, the chime will play once the car advances unless Traffic-Aware Cruise Control or Autosteer is active. When Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control is activated, a chime will play when you can confirm to proceed through a green traffic light. To enable, tap Controls > Autopilot > Green Traffic Light Chime.
“Note: This chime is only designed as a notification. It is the driver’s responsibility to observe their environment and make decisions accordingly.”
Speed Assist Improvements
“Speed Assist now leverages your car’s cameras to detect speed limit signs to improve the accuracy of speed limit data on local roads. Detected speed limit signs will be displayed in the driving visualization and used to set the associated Speed Limit Warning.
“As usual, to adjust Speed Assist settings, tap Controls > Autopilot > Speed Limit.”
Footage of the new green light chime in action via @NASA8500 on Twitter ✈️ from r/teslamotors
Amidst the rollout of 2020.36’s new features, speculations were abounding among Tesla community members that this update may include the first pieces of the company’s highly-anticipated Autopilot rewrite. Inasmuch as the idea is exciting, however, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has stated that this was not the case. While responding to a Tesla owner who asked if the Autopilot rewrite is in “shadow mode” in 2020.36, Musk responded “Not yet.”
Firmware
Tesla rolls out Sirius XM free three-month subscription

Tesla has rolled out a free three-month trial subscription to Sirius XM, in what appears to be the company’s latest push into making its vehicles’ entertainment systems more feature-rich. The new Sirius XM offer will likely be appreciated by owners of the company’s vehicles, especially considering that the service is among the most popular satellite radios in the country today.
Tesla announced its new offer in an email sent on Monday. An image that accompanied the communication also teased Tesla’s updated and optimized Sirius XM UI for its vehicles. Following is the email’s text.
“Beginning now, enjoy a free, All Access three-month trial subscription to Sirius XM, plus a completely new look and improved functionality. Our latest over-the-air software update includes significant improvements to overall Sirius XM navigation, organization, and search features, including access to more than 150 satellite channels.
“To access simply tap the Sirius XM app from the ‘Music’ section of your in-car center touchscreen—or enjoy your subscription online, on your phone, or at home on connected devices. If you can’t hear SiriusXM channels in your car, select the Sirius XM ‘Subscription’ tab for instruction on how to refresh your audio.”
Tesla has actually been working on Sirius XM improvements for some time now. Back in June, for example, Tesla rolled out its 2020.24.6.4 update, and it included some optimizations to its Model S and Model X’s Sirius XM interface. As noted by noted Tesla owner and hacker @greentheonly, the source code of this update revealed that the Sirius XM optimizations were also intended to be released to other areas such as Canada.
Interestingly enough, Sirius XM is a popular feature that has been exclusive to the Model S and X. Tesla’s most popular vehicle to date, the Model 3, is yet to receive the feature. One could only hope that Sirius XM integration to the Model 3 may eventually be included in the future. Such an update would most definitely be appreciated by the EV community, especially since some Model 3 owners have resorted to using their smartphones or third-party solutions to gain access to the satellite radio service.
The fact that Tesla seems to be pushing Sirius XM rather assertively to its customers seems to suggest that the company may be poised to roll out more entertainment-based apps in the coming months. Apps such as Sirius XM, Spotify, Netflix, and YouTube, may seem quite minor when compared to key functions like Autopilot, after all, but they do help round out the ownership experience of Tesla owners. In a way, Sirius XM does make sense for Tesla’s next-generation of vehicles, especially the Cybertruck and the Semi, both of which would likely be driven in areas that lack LTE connectivity.
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