Tesla is adding the ability to unlock the car door from the app [video]

Tesla has updated its app for iOS to version 4.14, and with that comes two new features.

The first is iOS lock screen widgets. There are two widgets to choose from, both of which show the vehicle’s battery level. There’s a small circular widget that fills in based on the vehicle’s charge level, and there’s a larger widget that contains the vehicle’s name and a numeric view of the vehicle’s battery level, either as a percentage or in miles/km, depending what your app has set to.

The second feature is the ability to unlock the driver’s door via the app.

The Model 3 and Model Y door handles do not have power and with the right mix of water and cold weather, the door handle can sometimes freeze to the door frame.

The ability to unlock the door via the app means the door handle isn’t used at all and the door unlocks electronically, opening it just enough for you to grab the side of the door to open it fully.

Unlock the door in action

The ability to unlock the door is only available on Model 3 and Model Y and requires your vehicle to be on update 2022.36 or later, which currently accounts for approximately 350% of the Tesla fleet.

To unlock the door, you must add the new Unlock Door icon to the Quick Actions section of the Tesla app, which appears under the vehicle visualization.

Last update: 15.10., 17:20

Unfortunately, Tesla hasn’t added the ability to unlock the door in any other area of ​​the app, such as B. in the field of climate or control, but hopefully that will come in a future update.

Currently, version 4.14 of the app is only available for iOS, but we expect it to be available on the Google Play Store soon.

You can also view the Tesla app 4.14 release notes.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced on Twitter that the Full Self-Driving Beta will be released “next week” and potentially remove the geofence in Toronto. Ahead of AI Day 2 on September 30, Musk said 10.69.3 would come out shortly after the event.

With version 10.69.3, owners can expect a wide range of improvements, including better movement in tighter gaps, turn signal improvements, and speed matching to traffic. Tesla owner Silicon Valley’s Twitter account mentioned an observation he made to Musk that “sometimes it’s slow going.”

Tesla owner Silicon Valley also asked Musk when FSD Beta 10.69.3 is coming on Twitter. “Next week,” Musk replies.

Maybe with .3

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 13, 2022

The automaker rolled out FSD beta version 10.69.2.3 just last week. The update was a small bugfix release and did not contain any major changes.

Tesla FSD Beta 10.69 was originally going to be called FSD Beta 10.13, but Tesla decided to rename it for fun as there were big changes in this version and the beta performed much better. However, the name change has caused some confusion.

After releasing Beta 10.69, Tesla then released minor revisions of 10.69 with versions 10.69.1 and 10.69.2, leading to the assumption that 10.69.3 would also be a minor version.

However, beta 10.69.3 will be a big beta release with many improvements.

We speculate that version 10.69.3 will build on 2022.28, which introduced alternate routes, the ability to minimize Tesla Theater, and suggested destinations.

Last update: 15.10., 17:20

However, the 2022.36 update is now in a significant portion of the fleet, so Tesla may have started development outside of this branch or merged its features prior to the FSD Beta 10.69.3 release.

If you’ve met the eligibility requirements for joining the beta program but haven’t received the update yet, we would recommend not updating the older 2022.28 version just in case the next beta is based on that branch.

With version 10.69.3 releasing in a week at Elon time, we expect Tesla to start rolling it out internally to employees next weekend, the first few thousand beta testers hopefully a few days later, and a broad one soon after Publication.

Tesla hacker Greentheonly Tesla recently discovered that Tesla had included the names of various testing agencies in some of its development software, prompting an investigation by Euro NCAP, Europe’s government-backed organization that thoroughly tests vehicles for safety.

Tesla just added ANCAP support to its code. This is in addition to the already existing “I VISTA” (Chinese proving ground), Euro NCAP and Korea NCAP

Makes you wonder why you do this (they also give test houses one off builds with the test house in the name (with tweaked settings?)).

— green (@greentheonly) 09/10/2022

Green found that Tesla recently added ANCAP, Australia’s testing agency, to its software. I VISTA, Chinese proving ground, Euro NCAP and Korea NCAP have already been mentioned in the vehicle’s code. The addition of ANCAP to the software aligns with Tesla’s beginning sales of the Model Y in Australasia.

Although Green was able to find these references in Tesla’s software, he was unable to determine what they are used for as they run on Tesla’s FSD hardware, which has limited access.

No evidence of attempted fraud

Following Green’s tweet, Euro NCAP took a closer look at Tesla’s software and its test results and found no evidence that Tesla attempted to cheat in any of the agency’s tests.

“The integrity of the star rating system is of paramount importance to Euro NCAP and we will continue to do everything we can to ensure that the rating reflects the safety that consumers can expect from their vehicles,” said Aled Williams, Euro NCAP Program Director CNN business. “To date, Euro NCAP’s investigations have found no evidence of an attempt to ‘cheat’ Tesla’s testing.”

Euro NCAP tests

Tesla uses geofencing to enable and disable its Full Self-Driving software. Specifically, the company is doing this in Toronto, and the owners expect Tesla to remove the geofence in version 10.69.3.

“It is possible that GPS location will be used to identify that the car is on a specific test track,” Williams added. “It’s one of the ways we’re offering Tesla, and they absolutely deny it’s being done.”

Others speculate that adding agencies’ names to the code is likely for Tesla to include the data at those test sites. Tesla could collect test data so they can improve both their fleet’s hardware and software.

It’s important to note that the vehicle’s software cannot affect any of Tesla’s safety crash tests conducted by these agencies, as all of the vehicle’s sensors are covered before the crash tests are conducted.

The only tests that rely on the vehicle’s software are software-based tests such as Automatic Emergency Braking, Pedestrian Avoidance, Lane Departure Warning, etc.

Tesla would be risking too much if he tried to cheat during any of these tests. Their vehicles are already among the safest vehicles on the road, and they continue to improve their safety by improving seat belt tensioning systems and improving the vehicle’s hazard warning lights.