Tesla drivers around the world have high expectations of their vehicles, and the company responds by regularly providing updates and new features. In this article, we take a look at the most requested features Tesla owners want.

table of contents

1. external characteristics
2. bumper camera
3. rain sensors
4. Improved front license plate mount
5. interior
6. Better acoustic door damping
7. software features
8. Tesla App Features
9. Other functional requests
   

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1. External characteristics

Better puddle lighting

Tesla China already offers some gorgeous headlights as accessories. There's nothing stopping Tesla from making these headlights standard - it's simply a design built into the plastic of the headlight.

2. bumper camera

A camera on the front bumper would be extremely useful for most Teslas - and Cybertruck owners are already pointing out how useful it is when parking. We've heard the Model S and Model X will get it at some point, and the refreshed Model Y Juniper is also said to have it.

3. Rain sensors

Sentry Mode, a security feature that uses surveillance cameras, could be improved, according to Tesla owners. The focus here is on longer recordings, higher video quality and direct alarms on the smartphone.

4. Improved front license plate mount

Tesla owners appreciate in-vehicle navigation, but there is a desire for more options, such as alternate routes, more accurate traffic forecasts and more detailed charging station information.

5. Interior

Adjustable cup holders

This is a curiosity - why doesn't Tesla have properly adjustable cup holders? The rubber parts in the cup holders only adjust to the largest items - but we appreciate how big the cup holders are. It fits a 16-ounce cup, and that's a good thing.

6. Better acoustic door damping

Many vehicles use acoustic foam or insulation in the vehicle doors - especially those closer to the price range of the Model S, Model X, and Cybertruck. We would like to see Tesla fill the empty spaces in the doors with better acoustic dampening material. Some users we've heard from have filled the empty spaces in the doors of their Model Y or Model 3 and noticed a noticeable improvement in reducing road noise.

Motorized rearview mirror

When you get into a Tesla, it instantly adjusts to your user preferences while using a phone button. However, the only element that does not adjust is the rearview mirror. Some premium brands now offer motorized rearview mirrors or rearview mirrors that display a video image from the rearview camera. These would be fantastic features for Tesla to incorporate into its premium vehicles.

drain plug for the trunk

The trunk needs a drain plug. If the trunk fills with water, there are three options: you can vacuum the water out with a wet/dry vacuum, let it evaporate, or take the trunk apart quite a bit to remove and drain it. You can also use the trunk as a cooler where you can store ice and cold drinks without having to keep them in a separate insulated container.

Head-Up Display (HUD)
While this request is a bit ambitious, as Elon Musk has already rejected it, a head-up display for the driver does seem quite futuristic and high-tech. Modern fighter jets, commercial aircraft and even ships use this technology to display information right in front of the driver's eyes, and there are certainly use cases for it.

Some luxury brands have already started offering this as an option on their vehicles, and when I tried it in the Audi e-Tron, it felt seamless once you got used to where navigation, speed, and other important information is displayed.

return massage seats

Tesla once had massage seats in the Model S and Model X. This is a feature that many users now miss as Tesla continually tries to reduce the unit cost of its vehicles. Massage seats are another standard option for premium vehicles, and we would like to see them reintroduced at some point.

They would help close the luxury gap between the Model S and the Lucid Air or other luxury vehicles.

Improved wireless phone chargers

Tesla's wireless cell phone chargers - in each of its vehicles - have been commonly derided as phone heaters. Many modern phones can charge at 35 watts or more, so there's no reason for Tesla to skimp on relatively tiny 15-watt chargers in an electric vehicle. We'd love to see Tesla equip its vehicles with better cell phone chargers, and we know they're capable of doing so - the portable wireless charger available from the Tesla Store is already much better than what's included in every Tesla.

Musk has already said that Tesla will include the ability to turn off Tesla's wireless chargers when not in use.

Tesla is known for listening to user feedback and has implemented numerous features requested by the community in the past. This close relationship with customers makes Tesla a pioneer in the industry.

7. Software Features

altitude

Tesla has added more weather information and improved the maps with the 2024.32 update. Some users would like to see the current altitude of the vehicle displayed on the screen.

Bird's Eye View

Via: Not a Tesla App

YouTube/AI DRIVR

Tesla has mostly solved this feature request with the updated Park Assist, but we'd still like to bring some color and texture to the picture. It can help drivers pick out important information that is sometimes missed, even with the exceptionally detailed rendering that Park Assist provides.

Warning if phone is left on charger

A simple warning that a phone has been left on the charger - one for the driver and one for the passenger when the door is opened - would be nice for forgetful people. Chances are someone you know has left their phone on the charger when you dropped him off, or maybe you forgot your own.

Add more cameras to the camera view

The in-vehicle camera view currently only shows 3 cameras - the side repeaters and the rear camera. Tesla should allow all of the vehicle's cameras to be shown in the camera view, especially when the vehicle is not moving. The Cybertruck, which has a front bumper camera, can also switch between the front and rear cameras, but both cannot be shown at the same time.

Tesla App Store

Elon Musk once mentioned that Tesla vehicles would get an app store and developers could develop apps specifically for Tesla vehicles. Unfortunately, we have received nothing of the sort, and we only recently received additional music features such as Apple Music, YouTube Music, and SiriusXM streaming, which will also be available soon.

Even Zoom came as a vehicle update - but there are many users of other conferencing or communications software like Discord, Slack, Microsoft Teams or Google Meet that could be brought on board via an app store.

Advanced voice control/Grok support

Tesla's current voice control is very limited in functionality. You can do some basic tasks, but if you ask the device to compose a text message, you get something that isn't that useful. In addition, Elon has already mentioned in-vehicle support for Grok - and Grok will get voice support at some point. We would love to see this combined and have a proper AI assistant in-vehicle for voice tasks. Tesla has already launched a smart assistant in China, so we hope that will happen soon.

Kickdown in Chill / Casual

This feature is pretty simple. When the car is in Chill mode and you floor the accelerator, the car should "kickdown" and go to standard. For vehicles with 3 drive modes, the kickdown in standard mode should go up to Plaid, Insane, or Beast mode.


Battery preconditioning for third-party chargers

There is currently no way to manually precondition your Tesla's battery for faster charging at a third-party charger. Tesla currently automatically conditions the battery for Superchargers and select third-party chargers in Europe. It would make sense for Tesla to expand this feature to more regions and add an option to manually precondition the battery in certain situations. It may be that you navigate to a fast charger that is not shown on the map, or that the short drive to a nearby Supercharger is not enough to precondition the battery. If the user could start the preconditioning manually and earlier, they would save time at the charger.

Outside of Europe, you can trick the vehicle into preconditioning the battery via navigation to a nearby Supercharger charging station - you can navigate there, you just don't have to drive there. But other than that, Tesla doesn't offer an easy way to precondition the vehicle for DC charging. A simple button in the charging interface would solve the problem.

introductory music/bell

A selectable driveway music or chime would be great - another way to make your Tesla your own. We already have custom lock sounds, so why not?

facial recognition for driver and passenger profiles

Teslas already automatically detect the driver and automatically load vehicle profiles based on the cell phone closest to the driver's door. However, this sometimes doesn't work properly, especially if someone has a phone key set up and someone else is using a key card.

Facial recognition upon entry that automatically corrects and adjusts the driver and passenger profile would make this process more reliable and easier. Tesla already has a patent for facial recognition to load user preferences, so perhaps this is already in the works.

Setting the minimum battery at the destination

The ability to set the minimum battery upon arrival at a specific destination would be a useful feature - especially if you're driving somewhere and then planning to drive around or don't have a charger nearby. As it stands, Tesla's trip planner leaves you with a minimum amount of battery - just enough to get to the nearest Supercharger.

8. Tesla App Features

Watch Support

Via: Not a Tesla App

Official support for the Apple Watch and Android Wear would be great. Other manufacturers, even the legacy car manufacturers, are now supporting smartwatches and Tesla needs to catch up in that regard. The app doesn't need to do anything fancy, but the ability to start the air conditioning, unlock the vehicle or use the watch as a car key would be a huge addition. Musk has even confirmed that watch support is coming. Can we expect it as part of Tesla's 2024 holiday update?

Start light shows via the app

Currently, you can only start a Tesla light show from inside the vehicle itself. It is not currently possible to start a light show from the Tesla app. This would make it very easy to select a light show stored on the USB stick and admire it from outside without having to get into the vehicle. We would also love if you could repeat the light shows in a loop so the party keeps going once it's started.

button for preconditioning the battery

Similar to an in-vehicle preconditioning button for third-party chargers, the Tesla app should also have a battery preconditioning button. This will make it easier for users, especially those without a home charging station, to prepare their vehicles for DC fast charging before departure.

garage door controls

Tesla owners who equip their vehicles with HomeLink, or whose vehicles already have HomeLink, can control their garage door from inside the vehicle. While Tesla lets you open your first programmed garage door through the app, you're limited to the first door. It would be nice if you could choose which garage door you want to open when you press the HomeLink button. That would be a pretty useful tool - especially when combined with Smart Summon when it comes out.

FSD/AutoPilot functions

More FSD transmission options
Even though Elon previously stressed that the latest FSD transfer option is the last, we really hope Tesla continues to offer such options - especially when Hardware 3 becomes standard and AI5 is introduced. This is an excellent way to maintain customer goodwill.

Smart Summon range increase

At the moment, the Smart Summon's range is very limited. It's much shorter than the average parking space - only 210 feet, or 65m. Once the Smart Summon comes to market, we hope Tesla will increase the range, otherwise it will only be usable at certain times.

9. Other functional requests

Improving service times and expanding mobile service rangers

Tesla laid off a number of employees in early 2024, and Tesla Service was one of the hardest hit areas. Because of this, service is at a high capacity at many locations and it takes longer to see a vehicle. Tesla needs to focus on improving service hours and expanding its Mobile Service Rangers. This will help Tesla maintain its brand reputation.