Model S software/firmware changelog

- Jun 07, 2013 (.48)
- May 25, 2013 (.44)
- May 23, 2013 (.43)
- May 12, 2013 (.38)
See this comment on the TM forum. for the first known US delivery of the new SW - happens to be on a 40KWh car.

• New Features
  
  • Supercharger locations - You can view a list of supercharger locations by tapping the 'Places' icon in Maps and choosing 'Superchargers'. List shows city and state, plus approximate distance. List will be automatically updated. To go there, select an item on the list and hit 'Navigate'. You can also see all superchargers on the map by hitting the 'lightning bolt' in the upper right corner of the map.
  • Visited Chargers - any chargers you've visited will be added to the 'Visited Chargers' list on the 'Places' menu.
  • Charge Limit - Standard and Max Range have been replaced by a slider that let's you choose what % you want to charge the car to. For daily driving, choose between 50% and 90% to improve battery longevity. Anything above 90% is the equivalent of Max Range. 90% might give you a different range than 'Standard' used to.
• Enhancements
  
  • Maps - street names on 2x zoom use a larger, sharper font.
  • Contacts Sorting - phone contacts can be sorted by first or last name
  • Front Defrost Mode - front defrost button now has two settings. One tap is normal defrost (maintains cabin temp); two taps is max defrost. The old behavior was max defrost only.
  • Battery Support - if the car is plugged into the wall, not charging and needs power - e.g., to run climate or you are sat in it - it will pull power from the wall instead of the battery
  • Improved Battery Heating - when charging from low wall power, battery heating is improved so that it doesn't take more power from the battery than the battery is receiving from the wall.

- April 12, 2013 (.11)


New features

• Unknown - release notes just show 4.3 notes.

Forum thread

- March 29, 2013 (.45)
- March 23, 2013 (.40)
- March 13, 2013 (.35)

New features

• Enable scheduled charging mode.

Fixes:

• Improved range projects in cold climates
• Climate control tweaks (warmer)

See New Firmware V 4.3 | Forums | Tesla Motors

- March 5, 2013 (1.19.49)
- January 25, 2013 (1.19.42)
- January 17, 2013 (1.19.41)

Fixes:

• Pano Roof - fixes 'bug' requiring a double press to open the roof
• Wipers - as yet unspecified fix
• Key and Door Handle Function - as yet unspecified fix
• Regen Warning - new warning on the dash if regen is disabled/limited due to cold weather or full pack.
• Other - other unspecified bug fixes
  - Was told by Tesla Ranger that 4.2 Did a better job of maintaining 12V battery

Feature Changes:

• Sleep Mode - Sleep mode was removed. Will come back in a future version

No differences reported between .41, .42, and .49

- December 22nd, 2012

Maintenance release - reported here

- December 21st, 2012

Maintenance release (no new features)

- November 30th, 2012

Greets owners with "What's New in Release v4.0" and includes the following:

New Feature

• Vehicle Sleep - With this release. Model S will power off the display and vehicle electronics each time you exit, transitioning to a "sleep" state. when you return to Model S, you'll note a modest increase in the time it takes the touchscreen and instrument panel to wake from this energy-saving state. Model S will initiate the startup process the moment the key is recognized nearby. You can only begin driving once both displays are ready. If you would prefer to keep the displays powered so that they'll be instantly available each time you return, you can change the setting in Controls > Settings > Vehicle. Note that keeping the displays powered will reduce your car's range up to 8 miles per day when the car is not plugged in, and will also reduce the life of your 12V battery and vehicle electrical systems. If displays are set to power off, the displays will power off 2 hours after the rest of the car goes to sleep. The displays will also power off when the battery charge is low (or after 60 hours without use), regardless of the setting.
• App Launcher - With this feature, you can easily launch an app in the bottom app window (in addition to the current default behavior, where tapping an icon replaces the app in the top window). To try it, tap and hold an application icon. You'll notice a small pop-up indicating the top and bottom viewing panes. Drag the icon to your preferred location. Options: 1) Drag an app icon to the top or bottom portion of the pop-up; 2) Drag an app icon directly to the bottom viewing pane of the touchscreen. A single tap of any icon will place the app in the top pane; 3) If the app is already launched, a second tap will switch it between half-screen to full-screen display. (Note that only certain apps have a full-screen view).
• Release Notes - Release Notes will be displayed on the touchscreen right after the update and can always be accessed later by tapping the Tesla T in the status bar and tapping the Release Notes link
  located above your VIN number, next to the software version number.
• Voice Commands - You can now use your voice to easily navigate to any business or location, listen to music via the Internet, or dial a contact. Note:This feature requires connectivity. i. To issue a voice command, press and hold the voice button (upper right) on the steering wheel. 2. Wait for the tone and then speak your command while continuing to hold the button down. 3. Release the button when you're finished speaking. You'll be prompted through the process via onscreen messages at the bottom of the instrument panel (e.g., "Processing..." while your voice command is analyzed). Below is the supported syntax.
  
  Listen to Music
  You can use your voice to search for and play selections from the lntemet music service Slacker. Begin your command with "Listen to" or “Play,” followed by the name of an album, artist, or combination.
  
  • Listen to The Black Keys
  • Listen to Boogie Wonderland
  • Play Honkey Tonk Chateau by Elton John
  • Listen to Free Fallin by Tom Petty
  
  Once a selection is made, you can then listen to a custom radio station based on your search results. Note that providing multiple cues in your voice command, such as artist plus song name, will often improve the voice recognifion accuracy.
  
  Navigation
  To navigate or search within the Maps app. say 'Drive to," "Navigate to," or “Where is," followed by an address, business name, business category, or landmark.
  
  • Navigate to 3500 Deer Creek Road Palo Alto
  • Navigate to Starbucks on University Ave In Palo Alto
  • Drive to Starbucks on Homestead in Cupertino
  • Navigate to the French Laundry
  • Where is Stanford University
  
  Call a contact
  To place calls on a phone connected via Bluetooth, start your command with "Call" or “Dial,” followed by the contact's first and/or last names.
  
  • Call Jason
  • Dial Mike Phillips
  
  

New Controls/Settings

• Auto-Presenting Door Handles - Door handles now present automatically as you walk up to the driver's door with the key. This function works whether the car is locked or unlocked. This feature can be turned on or off via the setting in Controls > Settings > Vehicle
• Alarm - Model S alarm system will sound the horn if any door, trunk or frunk of a locked car is mechanically opened by a non-standard means. The alarm system can be turned on or off via the setting in Controls > Settings > Vehicle
• Metric Distance Unit - Your distance measurements can now be displayed in miles or kilometers. Go to Controls > Settings > Units and Format to adjust. Note that this setting will be saved as part of your driver profile. This setting will affect the following areas in the touchscreen and instrument panel:
  
  • Range
  • Speedometer
  • Energy chart
  • Trip meters
  • Google Maps results & turn-by-turn driving directions
  
  
• Range Driving Mode - Range mode conserves energy by reducing climate control power.
  
  • Climate control will be limited so Model S cabin heating and cooling may be less effective.
  • Seat heaters will turn on to compensate for the restricted cabin heating.
  
  You can access this setting at Controls > Settings > Vehicle.

Enhancements

• Synchronized Door Handles - All door handles now present and retract in unison. Previously.a handle ona particular door would retract soon after that door closed without retracting the other handles. Now, all handles will remain extended for one minute after the last door closes.
• USB Media Browsing - The Media app has been enhanced to display music files as they are organized and named on a USB drive. This is especially useful for large music collections explicitly org-anized by folder.
  
  • Connect a USB drive in the port located below the center console.
  • Select the Media app and navigate to “My Music & Devices.”
  • in addition to viewing content by Artists, Albums, and Songs, you'll now be able to access your media By Folder.
  
  
• Alphabetical Index - Lists in the Media and Phone apps now offer a handy alphabetical index to make it easier to find your favorite song, album, artist or key contact.
  Tap and slide your finger along the right side of the display. A grey bar with the index will scroll up and down highlighting individual letters to indicate your place on the list.
• Calling from Maps - Call functionality has been extended to the Maps application. When searching for a business, results that include a phone number will now offer a Call button for one-tap dialing.
  Note:A Bluetooth-enabled phone must be paired and connected to the touchscreen in order to make a call.
• Steering Wheel Controls - Fan Speed & Sunroof - The All-Glass Panoramic Roof and the Climate Control Fan Speed can now be adjusted via the rlght-hand scroll wheel.
  In addition, while you can continue to program the right scroll wheel to control your most frequently used function, you can now also easily access any individual function as needed. Just tap on the lower right steering wheel button. select "Customize," and select "All." With this selection each time you press or scroll the right wheel, you can pick a different function among climate control temperature, climate control fan speed, display brightness, sunroof, or music source.
• Location-Aware Homelink - Link controls are now location-aware, automatically appearing on the touchscreen when Model S approaches your garage door (or gate, etc.). The name of the corresponding programmed location will be highlighted in green. The control disappears when you drive away.
  Note: Current HomeLink locations will automatically become location-aware.
• Energy App - The Energy app on the touchscreen has been updated to visually highlight the connection between projected range and energy consumption by showing projected range directly on the energy chart. By default, it displays the “instant” projected range, which reflects consumption over the last tenth of a mile. You can also adjust the chart to see projected range based onaverage energy consumption over the previously traveled distance shown across the chart - either 5, 15 or 30 miles. When the car turns off, the projected range display will reset to the “instant” value.
  This enhanced Energy app replaces the Range "bar" (which showed projected vs rated range) on the instrument panel and on the touchscreen’s Controls window. Also, projected range is no longer a choice for the instrument panel's center dial. Rather, you can now choose between "Rated" and "Ideal" range, which is based on driving a steady 55 mph on a flat road.
• Throttle Response - Advancements in powertrain control now provide you an improved throttle response. These improvements simultaneously deliver torque even more rapidly than before while minimizing any harshness to the acceleration of your vehicle. Whether in stop and go traffic or overtaking on the highway, your Model S now has a smoother, crisper pedal feel for an even more enjoyable drive.

- November 30, 2012

Added cancel search button to Navigation

The update was for an erroneous Service Needed warning. Provided an enhancement to an algorithm that detects coolant flow.

Unsure what changed, but this seems to have triggered the error message:

• Car needs service
• Power reduced

Additionally, some owners also received a "Charge Cable Connected" error message as well.

When putting the car into gear (D) [which includes detaching the charging cable if attached], both errors seem to clear.

- October 19, 2012

"improved performance of the digital instrument panel, as well as components to facilitate access of our Supercharger network." from Tesla e-mail

- October 9, 2012

Driver Profiles (New Feature)
The Driver Profiles feature remembers and restores positions for the driver's seat, side view mirror, and steering wheel. It also tracks the preferences listed below.

Switch Between Saved Profiles
Model S will save up to 10 Driver Profiles and each will be available regardless of the key used to unlock and drive the vehicle.
To switch profiles, tap the Driver Profile icon in the status bar and select among the list of saved profiles.

Creep (New Setting)
When this setting is enabled, Model S will slowly move forward while in Drive or backward while in Reverse when the brake pedal is released, the same way a car with an automatic transmission does. You will find this setting in Controls > Driving. Note that the Creep setting can be adjusted only when the car is in Park.

Traffic Button in Maps (Functional Improvement)
A Traffic button is now available in the Maps app to make it easier to turn on/off traffic display.

Volume Modulation (Functional Improvement)
We've added more resolution to the volume control to give the driver greater command over audio levels.

Lock/Unlock Buttons (Functional Improvement)
The lock and unlock buttons have been separated to provide easier access to the function.

Mobile App Remote Access (New Setting)
This setting prepares Model S for communication with forthcoming mobile applications that will enable you to remotely check status and control some functions of your Model S. No apps are available yet. You will find this setting in Controls > Settings > Vehicle.

- September 24, 2012

Unknown deltas from v1.9.11

- September 23, 2012

Rated Range (Functional Improvement)
Your Model S provides two Range estimates to help drivers determine driving distance. These range estimates are called Projected Range and Rated Range.

The Projected Range estimate predicts the car's range based on the driver's current driving state. In other words, Projected Range predicts how far the car can travel if the driver were to continue driving in their current style. This number is calculated by looking at energy use over the last 30 miles and assumes consistent energy use until the battery is depleted.

The Rated Range estimate predicts the car's range based on standardized range metrics set by the EPA. When your Model S was delivered, the Rated Range was based on the EPA's 2-cycle test, which yields approximately 300 miles of range after fully charging in Max Range mode. With the new software release, Model S will begin using the EPA's more aggressive 5-cycle test to predict the Rated Range. After a full Max Range mode charge, your Model S will now display approximately 265 - 269 miles of Rated Range.

It is important to note that the energy storage and driving capabilities of your Model S have not changed. Your car is simply using a more aggressive algorithm to calculate Rated Range to match the EPA's 5-cycle test. In practice, this means your Rated Range will be easier to 'beat' with efficient driving and will be more accurate given spirited driving.

Customize Range Display (New Feature)
The available range of your Model S is displayed in three locations: on the Instrument Panel while driving, on the Touchscreen's charging screen and on the Instrument Panel's charging screen. Your car currently displays the Rated Range in all these locations. With the new software, you can now elect to display the Projected or Rated Range. To customize this setting, use the Touchscreen to navigate to Controls>Settings>Units & Format.

Vehicle Entry / Exit (New Feature)
When approaching a parked Model S, the Instrument Panel screen and Touchscreen will turn on when any door is opened and the Media Player will begin playing whatever content was previously selected. The volume will be low until the driver enters the car and closes the driver's door. The volume will then ramp up to the previously set level. On exit, the volume ramps down when the driver door is opened and both screens remain on until the last door is closed. When all doors are closed, the Media Player stops and the screens turn off.

- Early Signature deliveries September, 2012

The beginning of time!