A closer look at the Tesla V10 software update’s fun and useful features

Tesla’s V10 software version is the single largest set of features rolled out to its vehicles in it 10+ years of production history — even bigger than the last year’s V9 update that included new video games, improvd UI for climate controls and more, later on more features like the Navigate on Autopilot, Dog Mode, and Sentry Mode were deployed to the entire fleet.

Looking at the new Tesla V10 update features, it is clearly visible that Tesla this time has focused more on the ‘in-car entertainment’ stuff except for the Smart Summon, but…

Smart Summon

Version 10’s most awaited feature has been ‘Smart Summon’ that also caused some delays to the entire update process but it finally went mainstream just last week — the primary function of Smart Summon is calling the car from a private parking space to your location but now some users are having fun with it.

Like the Tesla Model S owner from E for Electric in the following video took his car as a pet for a walk, he even attached a leash to the side mirror of the car to fully enjoy it like a pet.

If you’re serious to know how Smart Summon works, we have the release notes and some demonstration videos that actually show the testing of the feature.

After United States, Canadian Tesla owners have also started getting the V10 firmware version on the weekend but the Smart Summon feature is missing as Transport Canada’s approval is pending.

One of the first ones to receive the V10 update in Canada was our co-author Ian Pavelko, he reported this with joy, although there is no Smart Summon, some owners are reporting the Simple Summon can now be performed from a greater distance than before.

Tesla Theatre

Most Tesla owners originally expected YouTube to be the only video streaming service to be included in the V10 Software update, but in the Tesla Early Access V10 release notes the Netflix option was also revealed, in the final V10 release Tesla included Hulu as well.

Release Notes:

Tesla Theater lets you watch movies and videos when your car is in PARK and connected to Wi-Fi. To launch the Tesla Theater, tap the new ‘Entertainment’ Icon in the Application Launcher and select the Theater tab.

Note: We have temporarily enabled the ability to stream videos over cell.

You can also send videos to play in the Tesla Theater from your mobile phone for supported theater sources. Simpley “Share” the video link with the Tesla mobile app while your car is in PARK.

Enjoying Tesla Theater after getting the V10 update, Ian experienced a new level of in-car entertainment that he recorded for us and explained “And suddenly the interior of my car has been transformed into the cockpit of a Mk1A Spitfire…”

Cuphead – Tesla Edition

The classic run and gun video game Cuphead finally makes it to the Tesla V10 software release as Elon Musk had unveiled at the E3 2019.

The final release notes for Cuphead are same as the early access beta ones but we have found the following video with around 40 mins of gameplay in a Tesla Model 3.

This surely is a fun game and since the Model 3 vehicles have the newer Media Control Unit (MCU/GPU) coupled with the Full Self Driving Computer (FSD/Hardware 3) shows no lag or sluggish performance, also the Netflix and YouTube video streaming is smooth as silk as we can witness in videos above and below (List of compatible Xbox, PlayStation controllers).

Close and Vent car windows from the Tesla Mobile App

If your Tesla car’s windows have been left open you can remotely close the windows from the Tesla mobile app and if after the windows are closed, the ‘Close’ button turns into the ‘Vent’ button that allows the windows to crack open slightly to allow air ventilation inside the vehicle.

The ventilation feature comes very handy in case the temperature outside the parked Tesla Model 3, S, or X is high.

The other V10 updates such as Spotify, Caraoke, Autopilot and New Driving Visualizations are covered handsomely by Andy Slye in his latest video on the V10 software update review, the release notes for these features are unchanged from beta release (read the detailed V10 software release notes here).