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Tesla’s Holiday Update arrives: Apple Music, Dog Mode improvements, Light Show upgrade

(Credit: that_tesla_life)

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Tesla’s Holiday Software Update is officially rolling out to owners, featuring the long-awaited arrival of Apple Music, improvements to Dog Mode, new features with the Christmas Light Show, and more.

Tesla has started deploying Software Update 2022.44.25.1, as Canadian owner James Locke shared the Holiday Package’s release notes via Twitter.

Apple Music

As we reported last week, Tesla will add Apple Music to its vehicles as a part of the Holiday Software Update. After it was spotted on a Tesla unit within an exhibit at the Petersen Automotive Museum last month, speculation seemed to indicate the automaker would finally add the feature. It has officially arrived.

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“Stream over 100 million songs and 30,000 playlists ad-free. Listen to your entire library, discover new music and tune into live radio stations. To access Apple Music, tap the Apple Music icon in the Application Launcher, scan the QR code with your mobile device, and login with your Apple ID,” Tesla wrote in the release notes.

Dog Mode Improvements

Do you wonder what your pup is doing in the car while you’re running a quick errand inside a store? The new improvements to Dog Mode will allow you to do so.

“View the interior camera from the mobile app while using Dog Mode or Sentry Mode. To enable Live Camera, tap Controls > Safety > View Live Camera via Mobile App.

Dog Mode has been widely popular amongst owners as it allows them to keep their pets in their car in a safe environment. The climate is set to a temperature desired by the owner, and a large message tells others that the vehicle is comfortable for the animal to avoid any confusion.

tesla dog mode

Tesla Dog Mode protects pets from hot interior cabins. (Credit: Tesla)

Scheduled Light Show

Everyone who has followed Tesla for relatively any amount of time knows about the Transiberian Orchestra Light Show with the Model X. Now, Tesla is taking the feature a step further with a scheduled light show, along with new, longer custom shows.

“Schedule the Light Show for up to 10 minutes in advance or watch a multi-car orchestra by setting them to start simultaneously. Celebrate New Year’s with the Auld Land Syne show or create longer custom shows.

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Tesla Model Y gets Track Mode

After numerous requests from owners to CEO Elon Musk, it appears Tesla’s Track Mode will also be included in the Holiday Update.

In November, Musk confirmed the feature would be added soon. Tesla owners have waited several years for the automaker to add Track Mode to the Model Y Performance.

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Top 10 Tesla Track Mode V2 features for the Model 3 Performance

Other Holiday Software Update Features

Tesla has added several other features in the Holiday Update, which are listed below.

  • Climate Control Fan Speed
    • Adjust fan speed intensity while remaining in AUTO climate by selecting between ‘LO,’ ‘MED,’ and ‘HI’ from the fan intensity selector on the climate control popup.
  • myQ Connected Garage
    • myQ Connected Garage door openers are now supported. Monitor and control your garage door remotely using your vehicle’s touchscreen. To set up, tap Controls > Locks > myQ Connected Garage > Link Account, and follow the instructions
  • Auto Turn Signals
    • Turn signals can now automatically deactivate upon completing a land change, fork, or merge. Tap Controls > Lights > Auto Turn Signals
  • Mahjong
    • The relaxing tile match game has been elevated with a clean, modern design, smooth animations, and calming sounds. Match identical tiles. A tile is playable if it is open on the left or right and isn’t covered by another tile. Continue pairing tiles to clear the board and your mind!
  • Confirm Phone Call Transfer
    • Active phone calls from a mobile device connected to the vehicle via Bluetooth will now request confirmation before transferring audio to the vehicle.
  • Contact Lookup
    • Search for contacts from a connected Bluetooth device. To access, tap the Application Launcher > Phone > Contacts > Search icon.
  • Media Controls
    • Media controls are closer to the driver for easy access. Swipe up to access ‘Recents & Favorites’ and ‘Sources.’ Swipe left or right to also access trips and tire pressure information.
  • Emissions Testing Mode via Mobile App
    • Emissions Testing Mode can now be used from the Mobile App. Long press any quick controls icon from the home screen and drag the ‘Fart’ icon to the top row.
  • Always Rainbows
    • Allow your driving visualization to show Rainbow Road when Autopilot is active. To enable, tap the Application Launcher > Toybox > Rainbow Road > Always Rainbows.

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Tesla’s Supercharger Diner probably just secured more locations

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tesla diner
Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s Supercharger Diner in Los Angeles dominated the company’s global usage rankings after just one year, proving the concept is more than just a one-off novelty location that will fade away.

The performance could incite the company to build more locations, something that CEO Elon Musk has hinted at for some time.

Tesla’s Supercharger Diner delivered 21.2 GWh of energy in its first year of operation, the company’s head of Charging, Max de Zegher, revealed on X. Of the top 10 most utilized Supercharger locations in Tesla’s global infrastructure, the Diner in Los Angeles was the most used by drivers, and it wasn’t particularly close:

On its launch day one year ago, nobody was too sure what the Tesla Diner would be about. It seemed like an interesting concept, and considering it had been in the works for years, it was a highly anticipated launch that many were looking forward to.

Based on its success, we could see additional Diners with Superchargers built throughout the United States, and potentially beyond. Musk has said on several occasions that the company would be willing to bring the Diner idea to more markets.

Tesla makes major change at Supercharger Diner amid epic demand

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Of the markets that Musk has mentioned, both Palo Alto and Austin have come to be perceived as ideal selections. However, there are no concrete plans as of now to build new Supercharger Diners anywhere; the location on Santa Monica Boulevard will remain the exclusive spot to pick up Tesla-inspired eats, at least for the time being.

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Investor's Corner

Tesla short sellers win big after shares fall after earnings

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A red Tesla Roadster driving around a turn
(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla short sellers won big following the company’s massive fall on Wall Street after it reported subpar Earnings on Wednesday.

Tesla short sellers collected about $4.12 billion in single-day profits on Thursday, according to BloombergShares fell as much as 15 percent during Thursday’s session. It closed as one of the worst days for Tesla on Wall Street in the past three years.

Investors sold off the stock after Tesla said it would aggressively direct its spending toward AI and its Optimus robot project. The company had record revenues, which were driven by one of the strongest quarters in terms of vehicle deliveries in company history.

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However, it missed EPS estimates by reporting just $0.33, a far cry from the $0.53 analysts expected.

S3 Partners reported that about 3 percent of Tesla’s outstanding stock is sold short. Managing Director at S3, Ihor Dusaniwsky, provided the short seller’s potential profit, as well as another figure: shorts have likely had paper gains of $8.92 billion this year, as Tesla shares are down 30 percent in 2026.

Tesla (TSLA) Q2 2026 earnings results: miss on EPS, beat on revenue

Tesla has burned short sellers many times in the past, but the company’s latest Earnings Call was a chance for those skeptics to taste some payback. Although the company gave some very transparent information regarding future projects, the rollout of Robotaxi, Optimus, and Semi, many investors took their profits on Thursday.

Notable short sellers like Michael Burry have been transparent about their skepticism around Tesla shares. Burry just revealed three weeks ago that he had opened up a new short on the stock, stating he shorted Tesla shares at $416.22. “Happy it jumped back to this level,” he said in a blog post.

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At the time of publication, Tesla shares were down about 3 percent and the stock was trading at $309.92.

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Tesla door handle saga gets its latest chapter and a big change is coming

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Credit: Tesla | Model 3 Owner's Manual

Tesla’s long-standing saga regarding its door handles and a manual release has entered its latest chapter, and as a result, a big change is coming.

On Friday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) denied Tesla’s petition that was seeking a defect investigation into roughly 180,000 Model 3 vehicles for an issue involving the emergency mechanical door release.

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NHTSA said that Tesla’s petition did not present evidence of a safety-related defect in the door handles or their emergency releases. Instead, the agency determined that it would rather solve the issue of the lack of labeling or location of emergency mechanical door releases and the federal safety rules that govern them.

Essentially, the NHTSA wants to create and enforce rules that would require automakers to make emergency door latch releases more clearly labeled in a car. Despite a Tesla having manual door releases on all four passenger doors, many people do not know they exist or how they work.

Tesla addresses door handle complaints with simple engineering fix

In recent times, Tesla has faced some criticism involving its door handles, specifically because some occupants have reported that they are unable to exit their vehicles after losing power. The door handles on a Tesla are electronically operated, but in the event that the 12V battery dies, there is a manual release that can be used.

The NHTSA only identified a single complaint involving the mechanical door releases: a 2022 Model 3 owner said the release was concealed and unlabeled after the vehicle lost power after a front-end collision. It has also already started to create a separate rulemaking process to make emergency door-egress systems more obvious.

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It should be noted that all Teslas have mechanical emergency door releases, but they are placed in various locations as the vehicles have aged and been redesigned from year to year. Refer to the safety manual for your vehicle if you have any confusion about where the emergency releases are and how they work.

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