A leak of release notes for Tesla’s Autopilot V10 surfaced over the weekend, but seem to be missing the most important updates.
It’s been known for some time that version 10 of Autopilot would include several new features, such as the ability to watch Youtube and Netflix when parked – an apparently important addition for those happy to sit and wait while plugged into a destination or Supercharger.
It was understood that after a trial by Tesla owners on the Early Access Program, V10 would become widely available to all owners of Tesla vehicles by the end of August.
That date has been missed and it seems somebody on the EAP program has peaked too early and let some – but perhaps not all – of the release notes out of the bag.
Tesla’s V10 software update started to rollout for the owners in the early access program. $TSLA #Tesla #V10 pic.twitter.com/mghEdrUDGG
— Vincent (@vincent13031925) September 15, 2019
On viewing the now widely published partial release notes, it appears that only information about gaming, streaming and other various improvements including the ability to delete old Sentry videos and turn down the volume of vehicle alerts (a valuable addition for parents with sleeping children in the car).
It’s great to get inside information on these features – the unique ability of Tesla vehicles to offer lots of different features via “over-the-air” updates to make driving a less arduous and tedious experience is a big drawcard for owners of these vehicles.
Who wants early access V10 screenshots because I got tons of them! See them all here:https://t.co/wEp5Q2IMfv pic.twitter.com/qbzXefByTW
— Tesla Owners Online (@Model3Owners) September 15, 2019
But notes on higher level features, such as Smart Summon, viewing Sentry videos and improved intersection recognition, that were confirmed for the V10 release by CEO and founder Elon Musk in July, are absent from the leaked notes.
Yes, V10 will include several games & infotainment features, improved highway Autopilot, better traffic light & stop sign recognition & Smart Summon
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 28, 2019
This is a shame, but for now we will have to content ourselves with the notes (republished below), which nevertheless will whet the appetite of the many Australians who have either recently received delivery of their Model 3s and even more who are still keenly awaiting a delivery date.
Tesla Theater
Tesla Theater lets you watch movies and videos when your car is in PARK and connected to WiFi. To launch the Tesla Theater, tap the new ‘Entertainment’ Icon in the Application Launcher and select the Theater tab.
Caraoke
Sing karaoke to your favorite songs and artists in your car. You can select ‘Caraoke’ from the Media menu. Tap the microphone icon to adjust whether the vocal track plays while you sing along.
Cuphead (Tesla Edition)
Cuphead is a classic run and gun action game inspired by cartoons of the 1930s and heavily focused on boss battles. For the Tesla Edition of Cuphead, enjoy the game’s full first Isle as you play as Cuphead or Mugman (in single player or in local co-op). Traverse strange worlds, acquire new weapons, learn powerful super moves, and discover hidden secrets while you try to pay your debt back to The Devil!
Feeling Lucky or Hungry
Feeling lucky or feeling hungry? Go on a surprise adventure to a nearby attraction by tapping Navigate > Lucky or get directions to a local restaurant chosen by your Tesla by tapping Navigate > Hungry. We have also updated the place popup to include easy access to a website associated with the location if one exists.
Joe Mode
Enabling Joe Mode reduces the volume of your Tesla’s chimes. The quieter chimes continue to alert the driver effectively and minimize disruption to passengers (e.g. Joe’s kids). To enable Joe Mode, tap Controls > Safety & Security > Joe Mode.
Improved Driving Visualisation
The driving visualization has been improved to display additional types of objects and lane lines around your car in more environments.
Additionally, you can drag and pinch the driving visualization to temporarily adjust view angles and zoom. After a short of inactivity, the visualization will return back to the default position.
Automatic Lane Change Visualisation
The automatic Lane Change visualization has been improved to highlight where in the adjacent lane your car is planning to move to. When Automatic Lane Change is initiated, the adjacent lane is highlighted blue and the target car destination is outlined in white.
I promise my hand was on the steering wheel ???? #Model3 pic.twitter.com/DF9rSzdKNX
— ???? (@steezyysosa) September 4, 2019
— Tesla Life of Deenchik (@dollarn9ne) September 4, 2019
Maps Improvement
We have improved maps to make it easier to find and navigate to where you want to go. When searching for a destination, the autocomplete search now includes the distance to each suggested place. Also, you can now directly tap the labels on the map to quickly view the associated place details and navigate to that destination.
Sentry Mode Improvement
Sentry Model video clips are now saved in a separate folder on your USB drive to make them easier to review and manage. Also, the older Sentry model video clips will now be automatically deleted if there is not enough space on the USB drive and Sentry Mode clips are using more than 5 Gigabytes of space.
Software Update Improvement
The software update experience now has more style and grace. You will now know which software update version is being downloaded and to be installed. Also, once the software update has been initiated, you can view the install progress when the touchscreen is on.
App Launcher
The application Launcher has been reordered to make it easier to launch the Phone App. We have also replaced the Tesla Arcade with Tesla Entertainment. (Ed note: Pressing Tesla Entertainment then brings up Tesla Arcade and Tesla Theater)
Aside from more information on Smart Summon, hopefully the ability to view Sentry Mode videos (in, and better traffic light and stop sign recognition, we are interested to see if there are also improvements made to text message integration, something many owners have noted they are keen to see.
Still, no doubt it will not be long until the EAP program is concluded and the general Tesla-owning public gets a closer look at new features offered by the latest version of Autopilot.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.