Tesla Update Increases Vehicle Power, Adds Nav Feature, And More

Tesla has begun to roll out an update for its EVs that adds more power to the vehicles at no charge. Tesla says that the update will give the vehicles approximately 5% more power for improved acceleration and performance. The power bump is thanks to Tesla learning how to optimize motor control via software.The software update does more than add power for Tesla owners. The update also adds a long-requested feature that allows users to schedule vehicle charging and preconditioning. The Scheduled Departure feature will enable users to plug in their car at any location and specify a time to have the car charge complete before peak electric rates begin to reduce energy costs.

The feature will also automatically start the climate control to get the cabin to a comfortable temperature for the set departure time. Scheduled Departure can be set for the current location in the Charging – Schedule, then select a Depart At departure time. Users can choose Scheduled Departure to apply all week or only on weekdays. Users can choose to precondition the cabin on weekdays only if they have a departure time for every day of the week.

The feature won't precondition the car if the battery pack is at less than 20% charge. Another new feature that the update ads is Automatic Navigation. This feature starts a route to a likely destination when you get into your car. It works with upcoming calendar events and can take you to work when leaving home on weekdays and at home when leaving work.

Tesla has stated that the new update will be rolling out over the coming weeks. Some owners have already said they are getting the update now. It will impact different models and model versions differently.