- Tesla Spring Update Brings Many Changes
- A new self-driving app is undoubtedly the biggest
- However, the app will only work on cars with the latest hardware.
Tesla has revealed details of a massive spring 2026 update that will bring a host of new software features to vehicles around the world.
Alongside smaller elements, such as a voice prompt to wake Grok and an innovative use of interior lighting to act as a blind spot warning system, Tesla has launched a new dedicated autonomous driving app that will serve as a hub for all information regarding its highly autonomous fully autonomous (supervised) driving system.
Looking a bit like a smart TV’s home page, the new app allows owners who haven’t specified FSD at the time of purchase to subscribe to the feature with the press of a button.
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There are also video tutorials and the ability to adjust many FSD settings from within the app.
Eagle-eyed Tesla fans have noted that the UX appears to be gearing up for the potential introduction of a pay-per-mile or short-term subscription plan.
This could potentially allow customers to “rent” the technology for a road trip, or even for a day in the future – although Tesla has yet to confirm this.
Inside the new FSD app, there’s also a screen that crunches the numbers and shows how long the vehicle has spent in “Autonomous Driving” mode, as well as tracking usage sequences over multiple days.
Not a Tesla App notes that this shows owners “exactly how much value they’re getting from the software.” However, it also looks like a ploy to “gamify” its self-driving functionality in order to retain customers and generate new business.
Analysis: not everyone is happy
A number of disgruntled owners took to the various comment sections, social media sites, and subreddits to air their grievances regarding Tesla’s decision to make this new app only available for Hardware 4 (HW4)-equipped cars – the latest models, in other words.
Some customers have claimed that although their vehicle is only two years old, they are not able to make the most of the new Full Self-Driving app or future technology enhancements, while smart use of interior accent lights is only available on the refreshed ‘Highland’ Model 3 and Model Y, as well as the Cybertruck.
“And now HW3 owners have been delegated to shit, just like all previous car owners,” one Reddit user commented.
Others were quick to rush to criticize that most of Tesla’s “major” updates haven’t added many genuinely useful features. “In the four years I’ve owned my Model S, the only update I found useful was enabling the blind-spot cameras on the driver’s display,” one Reddit user added.
Skeptics could easily argue that this update follows a similar pattern, with minor additions to grab headlines. These include the ability for customers to choose an animal when the car is in “animal mode”, including a dog, a cat and a new character called Cyberhog (it’s a hedgehog, of course).
Apparently, many cars will also benefit from improved graphics on the in-car visualizations, as well as minor improvements to weather maps and the Sketchpad app.
However, the biggest change, which comes in the form of the new Self-Driving app, is designed to generate more business for Tesla’s automated technology, much of which won’t apply to anything that doesn’t use the latest hardware.
This is a far cry from Elon Musk’s initial promise that any Tesla produced since 2016 would be capable of fully autonomous driving – a fact he returned to last year.
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