By Nehal Malik
Tesla has just pulled the curtain back on its massive Spring 2026 update, and it is packed with features that fundamentally change how owners interact with their vehicles. From the long-awaited wake word for xAI’s Grok to a new self-driving app, this update is one of the most significant updates in recent memory.
In an official announcement on X, the automaker confirmed the update is “rolling out shortly,” bringing a suite of technical and quality-of-life improvements to the fleet.
New Self-Driving App
One of the headline additions is a dedicated Self-Driving app designed for vehicles equipped with AI4 (Hardware 4) computers. This app lets you subscribe to FSD, look at FSD usage over days or months, and even lets you watch tutorials on how to use certain aspects of the FSD.
It brings the robust “FSD (Supervised) Stats screen that recently debuted in the Netherlands. Owners will be able to see their FSD usage percentage, track multi-day usage streaks, and view bar charts of their usage over time, all on the same screen. This level of transparency is a huge step forward in showing owners exactly how much value they are getting from the software.
“Hey, Grok” Wake Word
Elon Musk first teased a “Hey, Grok” wake word last summer, and it is finally live. Owners can now launch the xAI-powered assistant simply by saying “Hey Grok.” Beyond general questions, Grok can now even set location-based reminders, such as “remind me to pick up milk when I’m near home.”
While we are still waiting for Grok to be able to control FSD directly and replace the voice command system, this is a good step forward.
Pet Mode
Tesla is officially moving beyond its canine-centric “Dog Mode.” It sounds like Tesla is renaming Dog Mode to Pet Mode. Tesla will allow owners to choose between a dog, a cat, or a hedgehog to display on the screen while they are away.
You can even customize the display with your pet’s name. It is a cheeky nod to the diversity of Tesla-owning pets and a fun UI touch that makes the car feel more personal.
New “More Apps” Icon
The App Launcher has also received a subtle tweak; the “More Apps” icon has changed from three dots to a folder-style icon, bearing a striking resemblance to how iOS displays folders.
Higher-Quality Car Visualizations
Tesla is introducing higher-quality vehicle models on the vehicle’s parked screen. This is a surprising change as the models were already pretty high quality.
Tesla says that this feature is for the new Model 3 and Model Y, meaning the redesigned versions, however, we expect this to also support the Cybertruck and other Model 3 and Model Y vehicles with AMD processors in a future update.
Trip Stats and Energy Tracking
Tesla is also introducing graphs for the trip meters. Tesla appears to be replacing the old Trips card that used to live next to the media player. Tesla says the new Trip Stats feature allows you to create multiple trips to track energy across different drives. Owners can quickly access consumption data by swiping left on the media player, and it seems like you’ll now swipe vertically to cycle through “Since Charge,” “Current Drive,” and other saved trips. This will likely be exclusive to the Model 3, Model Y, and Cybertruck, but Tesla didn’t specify.
It sounds like you’ll also be able to access the new screen via the App Launcher > Energy > Trips.
Customization for Model S and X
Tesla is finally rounding out its fleet-wide customization options. Model S and X owners will now be able to personalize their in-car avatars with window tints, custom wraps, and license plates. This follows the 2025 rollout for the Model 3 and Y and the original 2024 launch for the Cybertruck.
You can play around with the customization options in App Launcher > Toybox > Paint Shop or by tapping the paint or license plate button in Controls > Software.
Blind Spot Warning Accent Lights
The ambient accent lights found in the Cybertruck, “Highland” Model 3, refreshed Model Y, and the 2026 Model S/X units are getting a safety upgrade. These wrap-around lights will now turn red when an object is in your blind spot while the turn signal is engaged. They will also flash red to prevent “dooring” accidents when an approaching object is detected while the vehicle is parked.
Premium Immersive Sound
For the Model 3 and Model Y vehicles with Tesla’s premium audio stack, a new “Premium Immersive Sound” mode uses advanced sound extraction to create a detailed soundstage within what the company calls an “Immersive” space. The feature works with all streaming sources, including Spotify and Apple Music.
You can adjust this feature by going to Settings > Audio > Tone > Immersive Sound.
Sketchpad Improvements
The Spring 2026 update makes the Sketchpad much more interactive by adding full support for stickers and emojis.
The new interface allows users to drag and drop a variety of fun graphics onto their drawings, similar to the experience in the AMD-only Photo Booth app. You can also save your sketches directly to your car’s storage, which then syncs to the Tesla mobile app. This allows you to view your kids’ masterpieces on your phone later or share them directly to social media.
This is expected to arrive for all AMD-based vehicles.
Automatic Updates
Additionally, Tesla has added an “Automatically Install Updates” toggle, allowing the car to download and install new software releases overnight without any user input, ensuring you always wake up to the latest features.
While this is convenient idea, owners should remember that their vehicle is not driveable for about 45 minutes once an update starts installing.
Weather Map Improvements
The weather maps have been overhauled with better colors to distinguish between rain and snow and also differentiate between precipitation types, along with an “hour-back” history to see how weather conditions have been changing.
Dashcam Improvements
The Dashcam buffer has also been expanded from one hour to upto 24 hours, catching the rest of the world up to the change Tesla rolled out in China earlier this year. You can save any clip for permanent storage on your Tesla by going to App Launcher > Dashcam Viewer.
Easier Way to Queue Music
The Spring 2026 update also packs a variety of smaller quality-of-life improvements that refine the daily driving experience. Music lovers will appreciate new gesture controls across the car’s primary streaming platforms. You can now swipe right on any track in Apple Music or Spotify to instantly add it to your play queue.
Additionally, Tesla has added platform-specific shortcuts: in Apple Music, a simple tap-and-hold on a track allows you to quickly add or remove it from your Favorites, while Spotify users can now swipe left to manage their Liked Songs.
Rear Screen Maps
The update also brings more utility to the back of the car. Passengers using the rear touchscreen can now view and interact with maps while the vehicle is navigating a route. This allows rear-seat occupants to track the trip progress or explore the surrounding area without interfering with the driver’s main navigation display.
Hardware Compatibility
While the new Self-Driving app is restricted to AI4 hardware, some of these features will likely trickle down to older Intel-based cars, too. We expect Pet Mode, Energy Trips, automatic updates, and the weather/dashcam improvements to be compatible with older Tesla vehicles powered by Intel Atom processors. However, the new car visualizations and Sketchpad stickers (which are similar to those in the AMD-only Photo Booth) will likely remain exclusive to Ryzen-powered vehicles.
CarPlay, Where Art Thou?
Despite the massive list of new features, there is one glaring omission that continues to frustrate a specific subset of the Tesla community: Apple CarPlay. While this update brings Tesla closer to Apple’s ecosystem with improved Favorites management in Apple Music, it falls short of offering the full smartphone-mirroring interface that many owners have spent years begging for.
Interestingly, we know that Tesla is actually working with Apple on CarPlay integration. Rumors of a native CarPlay experience or an official partnership have been circulating for months, but this major Spring release contains no mention of it.
While Tesla’s native software is arguably the best in the industry — especially with new additions like Grok and the Self-Driving app — the lack of CarPlay remains a point of contention. Whether the Apple partnership bears fruit in a later 2026 update remains to be seen, but for today, CarPlay remains elusively out of reach.
While Tesla’s recent updates have been small, this Spring Update is huge and similar to a holiday update. Tesla stated that this update is scheduled to be released to owners soon. However, as with other updates, expect a gradual rollout.
By Nehal Malik
Tesla is officially rolling out Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in Europe, and as the first wave of public testers begins to use the software, we are getting a look at some exclusive interface changes. Following the historic approval in the Netherlands last week, Tesla has introduced a dedicated “FSD (Supervised) Stats” screen that is currently only available on European builds.
The new dashboard is a notable detail in footage shared by the first Dutch Tesla owners to try out FSD in the country, including Kees Roelandschap (@KRoelandschap). While owners in North America have had a basic version of these stats since last fall (available in Settings > Autopilot and the Tesla mobile app), the European implementation — specifically on version 14.2.2.5 — is a much more robust and visually engaging experience that truly gamifies the self-driving journey.
A New Way to Track Your Drive
The new FSD Stats screen provides a comprehensive breakdown of how much the car is actually driving itself. The most prominent feature is a large circular gauge showing the percentage of total kilometers driven using FSD. Below that, owners can see a direct comparison between “Self-Driving” distance and the “Total” distance traveled.
Perhaps most interesting is the new “Daily Streak” and bar graph. The interface tracks how many consecutive days you have used the system, similar to a fitness app or a language learning streak. The bar graph provides a monthly overview, allowing users to see exactly how their usage fluctuates over time. It is a cool addition for a region that has been waiting years for this technology to arrive, giving early adopters a way to “prove” how much they are relying on the new tech.
Onboarding and On-Screen Learning
Before Dutch owners can even see this stats page or engage the system, they must complete a much more rigorous onboarding process than their North American counterparts. To comply with strict European safety regulations, owners must watch a dedicated tutorial video and pass a short safety quiz to confirm they understand that they are still responsible for the vehicle.
The stats page itself even includes quick-access tiles at the bottom for information about features like “Autopark,” along with a prominent link to the FSD tutorial. This education-heavy approach is likely part of the deal Tesla struck with the Dutch RDW to ensure drivers do not become complacent while the car navigates complex city streets.
Is the New Stats Screen Coming to North America?
While this refined stats screen is currently a European exclusive, there is hope it could eventually make its way to FSD users in other regions. Tesla’s leadership, including Ashok Elluswamy, has noted that the Dutch approval is likely the first domino to fall in a global expansion strategy.
As Tesla continues to roll out FSD across the continent, this new UI will serve as the primary hub for owners to monitor the value they are getting from the software. Whether you are aiming for a 100-day streak or just trying to hit a 99% self-driving ratio, the new FSD Stats screen makes the transition to autonomy feel more like an interactive experience than ever before.
By Nehal Malik
The regulatory dam has officially broken in Europe, and the ripple effects are expected to reach far beyond the borders of the Netherlands. Following the historic approval and subsequent rollout of Full Self-Driving (Supervised) to Dutch owners last week, Tesla’s leadership is signaling that this is just the beginning of a global expansion.
Tesla’s Vice President of AI, Ashok Elluswamy, took to X to highlight the significance of the Dutch RDW’s decision. “The European regulation is followed by a lot more countries than just the ones in EU,” he noted. This suggests that the technical validation performed in the Netherlands could serve as a “gold standard” for regulators in European countries outside the bloc, Asia, the Middle East, and other regions that typically mirror the EU’s automotive type-approvals.
The RDW’s Push for EU-Wide Approval
The Dutch vehicle authority (RDW) is not stopping at its own borders. According to a report from Reuters, the RDW has officially notified the European Commission of its plan to seek Union-wide approval for Tesla’s FSD system. Bernd van Nieuwenhoven, the general manager of type approvals at the RDW, stated, “If it is good enough for the Netherlands, it is good enough for Europe.”
The process is moving quickly, with the Netherlands expected to present its case to the relevant EU technical committee in May. If a majority of member states support the application, it would pave the way for an implementing act that allows for an EU-wide rollout. In the meantime, the RDW is already holding bilateral conversations with other regulators, offering its technical findings as a reference point for individual countries to grant their own approvals.
A Stricter, More Supple European Build
While the software is functionally similar to what North American drivers use, the European version has been specifically modified to meet local safety demands. Van Nieuwenhoven noted that the Dutch-European version features “stricter monitoring of whether drivers are paying attention to the road.”
Early public testers in the Netherlands have confirmed this increased scrutiny. “The driver monitoring is strict, but supple,” noted Tesla owner Kees Roelandschap, who was among the first to get the FSD update and try out the feature. He mentioned that simple actions like picking up a phone or even wearing a hat with a visor that blocks the camera’s view of the driver’s eyes can trigger warnings. Despite the strictness, the car is reportedly handling narrow, bike-heavy Amsterdam streets with impressive confidence.
The Domino Effect
The success of this rollout is vital for Tesla’s pivot toward an AI-first business model. Elluswamy, who is also set to lead the MACROHARD joint venture between Tesla and xAI, is overseeing a software stack that must now prove itself in the world’s most complex regulatory environments.
With roughly 100,000 eligible vehicles in the Netherlands alone, the potential for high-margin subscription revenue from Europe is massive. If the May vote within the EU committee passes, the “domino effect” will likely turn into a landslide, bringing FSD (Supervised) to millions of drivers across the continent by the end of the year.
