Tesla's annual holiday software update for its electric car lineup has arrived. It includes useful driving features like automatic access to the car's blind spot camera, as well as fun add-ons like a new game built into the Tesla arcade, support for the TikTok app, and a feature that makes electric cars "dance to a choreographed light show." The update is version numbered 2021.44.25 and should be available in the coming days.
Perhaps the most useful thing about the update is its blind spot camera feature, which automatically displays a real-time camera view of the car's blind spot whenever the driver activates the turn signal. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the feature was already in development in July 2020, but now its presence (hopefully) will make maneuvers like changing highway lanes a little safer.
Other practical improvements include adding multiple waypoints to a journey in a simpler way, and simplifying the control of access to the car's primary controls. It's now also possible to drag and drop your most frequently used apps to customize your car's menu bar, and the heaters for the front seats can now adjust the temperature based on the temperature inside the car.
There are also some less important but more interesting things in this update. TikTok videos can now be viewed directly from the car's touchscreen through the Tesla Theater, and the Tesla App Store has updated new games like Sonic the Hedgehog (announced earlier this month) and Sudoku. It's important to note that it's best to leave these games to play while the car is stationary, although controversially, passengers can also play these games while the vehicle is in motion.
Finally, there's the "light show," a feature that appears to be on all Tesla cars after being shown on the Model X in 2015.