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Tesla Model 3 - Over-the-Air Updates, Acoustic Tires, and Aptera - The Most Efficient Electric Vehicle.
Report 13 by Carl Morrison, February, 1, 2021
Comments welcomed at: Carl@TeslaTouring.com
http://teslatouring.com/carl/TeslaL/

Driving Visualization Improvements in Over-the-air Software update 2020.48.26

In this software update (at night), the left side of the screen is larger with your car at an angle, showing if a door is open, even shows the headlights and turn signals. However, the right (map) side is smaller. There is a rumor that eventually the driver can select the size of the sections. The larger left side is said to be for eventual full self-driving, which I do not have, so I'd like the screen division like it was.

    The current Tesla Software update is 2020.48.26, the Holiday Update!

    The update includes three new games, visualization improvements, menu redesigns, and more!

One of this automaker’s many benefits is their ability to continuously improve and add to their vehicles through over-the-air update. The company is constantly looking to improve the safety of their vehicles, adding owner requested features, or simply making owning a Tesla more fun. With each Tesla software update your car feels new again. Here’s everything you need to know about the latest Tesla software update today along with release notes.

Latest Tesla Update:
2020.48.26

    Release Notes Improvements
    The Battle of Polytopia
    Cat Quest
    Solitaire
    Boombox
    Driving Visualization Improvements
    Scheduled Departure Improvements
    Supercharger Display Improvements
    Vehicle Information Improvements
    Previous – 2020.44

The Tesla software update today can be a little confusing. Not every vehicle is on the same version, updates are done in batches spontaneously, and not all features are available to all cars. With this guide, you can check out both the previous Tesla software update history and the newest Tesla software update release notes showcasing compatibilities and breakdowns.

After I learned how to turn it on, I turned on "Merry Go Round" as I backed out of the garage. I was in the middle of two other cars in our driveway, and could not see if anyone was coming down the sidewalk in front of our house. As I backed out where I could see down the sidewalk, a couple was standing, waiting for me to back out into the street. As I talked with them, they had stopped because of the music and asked if all Teslas came with it.

Another situation where the outside music was helpful was a day or so later, I had decided to have the music play as I backed out of the driveway from between two cars as above, but there was a lady walker ahead of me, in the street, with her dog on a leash. Way before I got near her she looked back at me then jumped up on the sidewalk where she should have been anyway, and I did not have to honk or silently pass her with the chance she would turn left right in my path.

I'm getting in the habit of driving through areas where pedestrians are likely to be with the outside speaker in action. Leaving the parking garage of Physical Therapy , I turned on "Merry Go Round" and when I got to the exit, there were some nurses having outside lunch (following COVID instructions.) One said, "I thought it was the ice cream man." Seems much better than blowing the horn to warn those up ahead on the road.

The instructions say you can play your own music, just put it on a thumb drive with folder named "Boombox". Perhaps this is to get beyond paying royalty on music already installed, so Tesla just lets the owner put on their own music, past the public domain tunes in this upgrade.

Another feature is, "Play current media." I start a piece I like then select "Driving Sound" before I back up and it playing what is onmy radio.

(Both images above are enlargeable by clicking them.)
Above left, from EVBRite.com, right, screen shot of Tesla 3 Screen by me.

You need to know three pieces of information to know which Tesla features you get: your Tesla model, what version Media Control Unit (MCU) you have (I have MCU 2), and what Autopilot computer (HW) you have ( I have HW 3).

The only improvement I am interested in, in this update, is:

Range Display (Model 3) First Noticed 2020.48.12 (December 2020) MCU 2+ AP 3+

Your car will now display a slightly higher range to more accurately reflect the capacity of the battery.

This update seems to only apply to owners with a 2021 Model 3. The newest iteration of the Model 3 received a small refresh which included a slightly increased battery size to 82 kWh and as such a higher range than the previous year. Keep in mind that this update is not actually a range increase, it’s just here to better hone in on your true range. Although, there have been reports of owners without the increased battery also reporting higher ranges, but nothing solid has been found at this time.

ALL these numbers above match my software update.

(Click any of the following images for a larger copy.)

Sounds like I might have to look into "the latest version of Navigation."

Does this mean "Autosteer" is the same as my "Autopilot."

I always wondered when the brake lights come on when I let off the accelerator for regenerative braking.

I haven't used this yet, so need to learn about it.

Conti-Silent on our Tesla 3 2020 19".

ContiSilent Information.

ContiSilent Illustrations

Car and Driver October, 2020, cross cut of an Acoustic Tire.

From What's Inside? Youtube channel.

The inside of a Tesla X tire.

The host of Jay Leno's Garage says he's seen Europe's electric vehicles, but they fall short against Tesla. He says Tesla CEO Elon Musk knew what he was doing and pursued EVs aggressively, making him one of the most successful CEOs in the space. He joins Shepard Smith to discuss. Subscribe to CNBC PRO for access to investor and analyst insights on Tesla and more: https://cnb.cx/2BT2E7y

Jay Leno said he thinks the genius of Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk is that “he was building the infrastructure as he was building the vehicle.”

“Even today, a lot of the major manufacturers build an electric car, but, oh, where do you charge it?” Leno told the “The News with Shepard Smith” during a Friday evening interview. “Elon was smart, when he started, he knew this idea would work so he built charging stations.”

Electric car maker Tesla will be the newest member of the S&P 500 on Monday at its full float-adjusted market capitalization weight.

2020 has been a monster year for Tesla, the sixth largest company in the world — its stock is up about 700% this year. The host of CNBC’s “Jay Leno’s Garage” said he was confident that Tesla would be able to sustain its dominance in electric vehicles and added that he’s seen electric cars from Europe fall short.

“They don’t have the range of the Tesla,” Leno said. “They don’t, because Tesla leads the field. We seem to have this inferiority complex that somehow things in Europe are better than things built here.”

Leno gave host Shepard Smith examples of superior American innovation, including General Motors’ Corvette, which he said rivals the Lamborghini and Ferrari and is only $60,000.

Highlighting America’s dominance in private industry, he pointed to Musk’s success when it came to the space industry.

“The fact that Elon can send a rocket into space and land it back on Earth for, what, a tenth of the price of the U.S. government?” Leno said. “Well, that’s what private industry is supposed to do — cheaper, faster, more efficient.”

Leno suggested that those who want to feel the “rumble of a car underneath them” should “buy another car.” He acknowledged that he loves Ferraris, Ford Cobra, and Lamborghinis on the weekend, but that they’re just not practical to sit in traffic and drive locally.

“If you’re in a quiet, electric vehicle, you’re not polluting and you’re saving,” said Leno. “When I want to have fun, I’ll take out my 1960 Triumph TR3 and bomb around, but in terms of everyday vehicles, you can’t beat it [the Tesla].”

Aptera - The world’s most efficient solar electric vehicle (sEV)

Interview with the Aptera Inventors: Click here. Many scenes seem to have been filmed in San Diego. The company may be located in Carlsbad, California.

Unlike Tesla who makes electric cars that look like gas cars, Aptera works from the ground up and designs an aerodynamic vehicle then powers this lightweight vehicle with electric motors with solar panels on the vehicle. It is licensed as a motorcycle, or Auto-cycle, but you do not need to pass a motorcycle drivers test to drive it.