- Tesla’s spring update brings a lot of changes with it
- A new self-driving app is arguably 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 across the globe.
Alongside smaller things such as a voice prompt to wake the Grok and an innovative use of interior lighting to act as a blind spot warning system, Tesla has announced a new dedicated Self-Driving app that will act as a hub for any information surrounding its highly autonomous Full Self-Driving (Supervised) system.
The new app, which looks like a smart TV home page, allows owners who didn’t specify FSD at the time of purchase to subscribe to the feature with the push of a button.
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There are also tutorial videos and the ability to adjust several FSD settings from within the app.
Eagle-eyed Tesla fans have noticed that the UX looks like it’s preparing for the potential introduction of a pay-per-mile or short-term full self-driving subscription package.
This could potentially allow customers to ‘rent’ the technology for a road trip or even 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 much time the vehicle has spent in ‘Self-Driving’ mode, as well as tracking multi-day usage streaks.
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 autonomous driving functionality to keep customers engaged and generate new business.
Analysis: Not everyone is happy
A number of disgruntled owners have taken to the various comment sections, social media and subreddits to air their grievances over Tesla’s decision to make this new app only available to cars with Hardware 4 (HW4) – the latest models, in other words.
Some customers have claimed that despite their vehicles being only two years old, they are unable to make the most of the new Full Self-Driving app or future improvements to the technology, while the clever use of interior accent lighting is only available on the updated “Highland” Model 3 and Model Y, as well as the Cybertruck.
“And now HW3 owners have been relegated to the crap heap, just like all the previous car owners,” commented one Reddit user.
Others quickly jumped in to criticize the fact that most of Tesla’s “major” updates haven’t added many truly useful features. “In the four years I’ve owned my Model S, the only update I found useful was when they enabled the blind spot cameras in the driver display,” added one Reddit user.
Skeptics could easily argue that this update follows a similar pattern, with minor additions to grab headlines. These include the ability for customers to select an animal when the car is in ‘Pet Mode’, including a dog, a cat and a new character called Cyberhog (it’s a hedgehog, of course).
Apparently, many cars will also receive improved graphics on the in-car visualizations, as well as minor improvements to the weather maps and Sketchpad app.
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 run the latest hardware.
This is a far cry from Elon Musk’s original promise that every Tesla produced since 2016 will be capable of Full Self-Driving — a fact it backtracked on last year.
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