Tesla has started to push a new software update that is known as its “holiday update” with Apple Music, Mahjong, and more features.
Every year around the holidays, Tesla is known to push a bigger software update with some features that are generally more about fun than being functional.
Tesla regularly pushes new features to its fleet through software updates whenever they are ready, but it sometimes bundles them together for a bigger step change update, which people have been referring to as the “holiday update.”
Today, Tesla has started pushing the update (2022.44.25) to customers, and we get to see the release notes for the first time.
This year, the biggest new feature is an Apple Music app being integrated inside its vehicles – joining other music streaming apps already in the cars, like Spotify and Tidal.
Stream over 100 million songs and 30,000 playlists ad-free. Listen to your entire library, discover new music, and tune into live radio stations. To access Apple Music, tap the Apple Music icon in the Application launcher, scan the QR code with your mobile device, and login with your Apple ID.
Note: A Premium Connectivity subscription is required to stream Apple Mucis over a cellular connection
All of Tesla’s more data-heavy applications inside its vehicles require the $10/month premium connectivity subscription to enhance the included cellular connectivity inside Tesla vehicles.
Tesla has been regularly adding games to its “Tesla Arcade” entertainment platform inside its vehicles.
With the holiday update, the automaker is adding Mahjong.
Tesla wrote about the addition in the release notes:
The relaxing tile match game has been elevated with a clean modern design, smooth animations, and calming sounds. Match identical tiles. A tile is playable if it is open on the left or right and isn’t covered by another tile. Continue pairing tiles to clear the board and your mind! To access Mahjong, tap the Application Launcher > Arcade.
The update also brings an update to Dog Mode, which enables owners to safely leave their dogs in their vehicles with climate control on.
Tesla is sort of combining the feature with its remote live-view feature that launched last year.
The company wrote in the release notes:
View the interior camera from the mobile app while using Dog Mode or Sentry Mode. [To] enable Live Camera, tap Controls > Safety > View Live Camera via Mobile App.
Tesla notes that owners also need the latest mobile app update for this feature to work since remote viewing works through the app.
The update also includes improvements to Tesla’s “Light Show,” a feature launched during the holidays a few years ago, and enables Tesla vehicles to make a light show with its headlights matching music.
Tesla now enables you to schedule the light show:
Schedule the Light Show for up to 10 minutes in advance or watch a multi-car orchestra by setting them to start simultaneously. Celebrate New Year’s with the Auld Lang Syne show or create longer custom shows.
To access LIght Show, tap the Application Launcher > Toybox.
The holiday update also includes a bunch a smaller features and updates to existing features that are fairly self-explanatory. Here are all of them directly from the release notes:
Climate Control Fan Speed
Adjust fan speed intensity while remaining in AUTO climate by selecting ‘LO’, ‘MED’, and ‘HI’ from the fan intensity selector on the climate control popup.
myQ Connected Garage
myQ Connected Garage door openers are now supported.Monitor and control your garage door remotely using your vehicle’s touchscreen. To set up, tap Controls > Locks > myQ Connected Garage > Link Account, and follow the instructions.
Auto Turn Signals
Turn signals can automatically deactivate upon completing a lane change, fork, or merge. Tap Controls > Lights > Auto Turn Signals.
Confirm Phone Call Transfer
Active phone calls from a mobile device connected to the vehicle via Bluetooth will now request confirmation before transferring audio to the vehicle.
Contact Lookup
Search for contacts from a connected Bluetooth device. To access, tap the Application Launcher > Phone > Contacts > Search icon.
Media Controls Improvements
Media controls are closer to the driver for easy access. Swipe up to access ‘Recents & Favorites’ and ‘Sources’. Swipe left or right to also access trips and tire pressure information.
Emissions Testing Mode via Mobile App
Emission Testing Mode can now be used from the Mobile App. Long press any quick controls icon from the home screen and drag the ‘Fart’ icon to the top row.
Note: This feature requires Mobile App versions 4.15.0+
Always Rainbows
Allow your driving visualization to show Rainbow Road when Autopilot is active. To enable, tap the Application Launcher > Toybox> Rainbow Road > Always Rainbows.
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British oil and gasoline company BP (British Petroleum) signage is being pictured in Warsaw, Poland, on July 29, 2024.
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British oil giant BP on Tuesday posted slightly weaker-than-expected first-quarter net profit, following a recent strategic reset and a slump in crude prices.
The beleaguered oil and gas major posted underlying replacement cost profit, used as a proxy for net profit, of $1.38 billion for the first three months of the year. That missed analyst expectations of $1.6 billion, according to an LSEG-compiled consensus.
BP’s net profit had hit $2.7 billion a year earlier and $1.2 billion in the final three months of 2024.
The results come as the energy major faces fresh pressure from activist investors less than two months after announcing a strategic reset.
Seeking to rebuild investor confidence, BP in February pledged to slash renewable spending and boost annual expenditure on its core business of oil and gas.
BP CEO Murray Auchincloss told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Tuesday that the firm was “off to a great start” in delivering on its strategic reset.
“We had a great operational quarter. We had our highest upstream operating efficiency in history. Our refineries in the first quarter ran at the best they’ve run in 24 years. We had six exploration discoveries in a row, which is really unusual and we started out three major projects,” Auchincloss said.
For the first quarter, BP announced a dividend per ordinary share of 8 cents and a share buyback of $750 million.
Net debt rose to $26.97 billion in the January-March period, up from $22.99 billion at the end of the fourth quarter. BP had previously warned of lower reported upstream production and higher net debt in the first quarter, when compared to the final three months of last year.
Shares of BP fell 3.3% on Tuesday morning. The firm is down roughly 8% year-to-date.
Activist pressure
BP’s green strategy U-turn does not appear to have gone far enough for the likes of activist investor Elliott Management, which went public last week with a stake of more than 5% in the London-listed firm.
The disclosure makes the U.S. hedge fund BP’s second-largest shareholder after BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, according to LSEG data.
Elliott was first reported to have assumed a position in the oil and gas company back in February, driving a share price rally amid expectations that its involvement could pressure BP to shift gears back toward its oil and gas businesses.
BP’s Auchincloss declined to comment on interactions with investors when asked whether the firm was under pressure from the likes of Elliott to go beyond the plans announced in its February pivot.
Notably, BP suffered a shareholder rebellion at its annual general meeting earlier this month. Almost a quarter (24.3%) of investors voted against the re-election of outgoing Chair Helge Lund, a symbolic result that reflected a sense of deep frustration among the firm’s shareholders.
Mark van Baal, founder of Dutch activist investor Follow This, told CNBC last week that he hoped the shareholder revolt means Amanda Blanc, who is leading the process to find Lund’s successor, will look for a new chair who is “climate competent” and “will not respond to short-term activists so quickly.”
Lund is expected to step down from his role next year.
Takeover candidate
BP’s underperformance relative to industry peers such as Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Shell has thrust the energy major into the spotlight as a prime takeover candidate. Energy analysts have questioned, however, whether any of the likeliest suitors will rise to the occasion.
BP’s Auchincloss on Tuesday said that he wouldn’t speculate on whether the company is a takeover target, but confirmed the oil major had not asked for any sort of protection from the British government.
“What I will say is we’re a strong, independent company and we’ve got sector-leading growth. And if we can deliver the sector-leading growth, and the first quarter is a fantastic example of that, then I have no concerns. I think we’re going to do great,” Auchincloss said.
Murray Auchincloss, chief executive officer of BP, during the “CERAWeek by S&P Global” conference in Houston, Texas, on March 11, 2025.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Oil prices have fallen in recent months on demand fears. International benchmark Brent crude futures with June delivery traded at $65.19 per barrel on Tuesday morning, down more than 1% for the session. That’s lower from around $84 per barrel a year ago.
Asked whether weaker crude prices could put the some of the firm’s reset plans in jeopardy, Auchincloss said, “Not really. We have a balance of products that we think about that generate revenue for us. So, oil, natural gas and refined products as well.”
— CNBC’s Ruxandra Iordache contributed to this report.
Germany’s largest offshore wind farm under construction, EnBW’s He Dreiht, just hit a big milestone: The first enormous turbine is now up in the North Sea.
He Dreiht – which means “it spins” in Low German – is using Vestas’s massive 15 megawatt (MW) turbines, the first project in the world to install them. Just one spin of one of the rotors can generate enough electricity to power four households for an entire day.
When it’s finished, He Dreiht will have 64 mega turbines cranking out 960 megawatts (MW) of clean power – enough to supply around 1.1 million homes. And it’s being built without any government subsidies.
EnBW, one of Germany’s major energy companies, has been working in offshore wind for more than 15 years, but He Dreiht is their biggest project yet. “It will play a key role in helping us to significantly grow our renewable energy output from 6.6 GW to over 10 GW by 2030,” said Michael Class, who heads up EnBW’s generation portfolio development.
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The project is a win for Vestas, too. “With the installation of the first V236-15.0 MW, we have reached an important milestone for both the He Dreiht project and our offshore ramp-up, which helps Germany build a more secure, affordable, and sustainable energy system,” said Nils de Baar, president of Vestas Northern & Central Europe.
He Dreiht is located about 85 kilometers (53 miles) northwest of Borkum and 110 kilometers (68 miles) west of Helgoland. At peak times, more than 500 workers will be out at sea building the farm, using a fleet of more than 60 ships. EnBW’s offshore team in Hamburg is running the show.
The installation process is a major operation. The 64 foundations were already set in the seabed last year. Parts for the turbines are loaded onto the installation vessel Wind Orca in Esbjerg, Denmark, and shipped out in a 12-hour journey to the construction site. From there, the turbines are lifted into place. Meanwhile, crews are also working on internal wind farm cabling.
A partner consortium made up of Allianz Capital Partners, AIP, and Norges Bank Investment Management owns 49.9% of the shares in He Dreiht.
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Tesla has released a quick update about its Tesla Semi factory in Nevada. It says that it is on track for volume production of the electric semi truck in 2026.
The Tesla Semi was first scheduled to go into production in 2019, but it has faced numerous delays.
Now, it appears that there is finally some momentum to bring it to volume production.
For the last two years, Tesla has been working to build a new factory next to Gigafactory Nevada, where it builds the battery packs and drive units for most of its electric vehicles built in North America.
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Today, Tesla released a “progress update on the factory, confirming that it finished building and it’s now working on deploying the production lines:
Tesla had previously mentioned aiming for volume production by 2025, but it is now only talking about starting production toward the end of the year and ramping up next year.
The automaker reiterated its planned production capacity of 50,000 units.
They now expect to take deliveries of their first trucks later in 2026 and said that the price has increased “dramatically,” leading them to scale back their pilot program from 42 to 18 Tesla Semi trucks.
When originally unveiling the Tesla Semi in 2017, the automaker mentioned prices of $150,000 for a 300-mile range truck and $180,000 for the 500-mile version. Tesla also took orders for a “Founder’s Series Semi” at $200,000.
However, Tesla didn’t update the prices when launching the “production version” of the truck in late 2022. Price increases have been speculated, but the company has never confirmed them.
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