Tesla’s annual year-end “Holiday Update” has been unveiled once again this year. The 2025 update is regarded as a significant evolution beyond mere feature enhancements, with the car itself now able to understand speech and make autonomous judgments.
The centerpiece of this update is Tesla’s AI assistant, “Grok,” developed in-house. Based on technology from xAI, an AI company founded by Elon Musk, Grok is integrated into the vehicle’s voice interface.
Drivers can now issue commands like “Stop by a charging station before going home” or “Add a second destination” without manually operating the navigation. Multiple destinations can be added with a single voice command. However, this feature is currently limited to vehicles equipped with AMD chips in the US and Canada, excluding those with Intel chips in this update.
Tesla has significantly revamped the navigation system, which often received complaints about inconvenience during driving. Users can custom-sort their favorites list and directly save locations like home or work on the map.
When parked, the car automatically recommends recently visited or frequently visited destinations, essentially offering a personalized movement pattern analysis.
Another practical improvement is the “Set charging limit by location” feature. For example, you can pre-set the car to charge up to 80% at home and 100% at work, so that the vehicle adjusts the charging limit automatically upon reaching these locations, eliminating the hassle of manual adjustments each time.
Additionally, the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane route settings have become smarter. Previously available only manually, the car now detects time, location, and the number of passengers to automatically utilize the HOV lanes.
Tesla has added a feature to display its Supercharger information in 3D. Upon selecting a specific Supercharger, a “View Site Map” button appears, which shows the charging station’s layout in a 3D map.
The screen also allows viewing real-time usage status by charging slot, enabling drivers to check which spots are available before arrival.
This feature requires graphic rendering, so it will be initially applied to vehicles equipped with AMD chips, with limited features planned for Intel-based vehicles.
A much-requested feature from user communities, the “Phone Left Behind Chime,” has finally been added. It triggers an alert if a smartphone is left inside the car after closing the door.
This feature detects the presence of devices left inside the vehicle using ultra-wideband (UWB) communication chips. Models supported include the Model 3 released after 2024, the 2025 Model Y, all Model S and X since 2021, and all Cybertrucks.
A new feature to toggle the wireless charging pad on and off is also introduced. This addresses previous complaints about excessive heating during wireless charging, allowing drivers to disable the charging pad manually.
The dashcam viewer has been upgraded to display driving data like speed, steering angle, acceleration and braking, and autonomous driving feature usage on top of the video. This allows for precise verification of the vehicle’s condition at the time based solely on online footage.
The Spotify music streaming service app has been improved as well. Users can now add new songs to the playlist without interrupting the current track playing, and scroll through long playlists seamlessly.
A “Photobooth” feature using the interior camera for taking selfies has been added. Drivers can add stickers to taken photos and instantly share them through the Tesla app.
Tesla’s traditional year-end feature, Santa Mode, has been newly revamped. New graphics such as snowmen, trees, and gift boxes have been added, with new sound effects applied to lock sounds. The car’s screen displays snow animations.
A new light show, “Jingle Rush,” has also been added. Enhanced lighting effects and interior light control allow users to create and enjoy a longer custom light show.
The Tesla Arcade now includes SpaceX’s space station docking simulator, developed based on interfaces used by NASA astronauts, allowing drivers to experience being a spaceship pilot.
Although Apple CarPlay was not included in this update, some analysts believe Tesla intentionally excludes external platform integrations to maintain its own ecosystem.
Tesla has named this update version 2025.44.25. It will first be distributed to some Tesla employee vehicles starting next week, and will expand to general users by year-end.
The 2025 Holiday Update is significant in that it represents a shift from simply adding features to a vehicle that learns and makes judgments on its own, actively providing drivers with needed information.
Tesla’s message this year is clear. “The car is now an operating system (OS).” The focus has shifted from hardware performance to software experience, with the AI assistant “Grok” at the center.