Image: Tesla
Tesla has officially revealed its 2025 Holiday Update, and this year’s release is shaping up to be one of the most feature-packed yet. The company detailed the update in a post on X, outlining new navigation smarts for Grok, UI refinements, fun Toybox additions, upgraded safety features, and more. As always, Tesla didn’t specify exactly when the update will begin rolling out, but based on previous years, wave-one employees should receive it for testing in the coming days before a wider release shortly after.
Notably absent, however, is Apple CarPlay — which, as we reported last month, Tesla has been actively working to bring to its vehicles. It would have been the perfect Christmas gift for owners, but it doesn’t appear ready for this year’s Holiday Update. Still, Tesla is known for keeping surprises under wraps in early previews, so a curveball feature isn’t off the table when the update lands.
Image: Tesla
The star of this year’s update is Grok’s new ability to add, edit, and manage navigation stops using natural language commands. Set Grok’s in-car personality to Assistant, and it becomes a hands-free co-pilot. You can add multiple stops in one command, making trip planning easier than ever. Grok support remains limited to AMD-equipped vehicles in Canada and the U.S.
Image: Tesla
A new Toybox addition turns your Tesla into a rolling photobooth. With the cabin camera, owners can snap selfies, dress them up with stickers and filters, and send them right from the Tesla app.
Image: Tesla
iPhone users will now see a Live Activity when Dog Mode is active, complete with periodic cabin snapshots, temperature readings, state-of-charge updates, and local climate info.
Dashcam clips now display overlays showing speed, steering angle, accelerator and brake pressure, and whether Autopilot or Full Self-Driving (FSD) was engaged. This is a major upgrade for transparency and incident review.
Image: Tesla
Santa Mode gets a festive refresh this year with new snowmen, trees, snow effects, and a themed lock chime. The 3D visual update applies across the lineup, though some older Intel-based vehicles may see simplified visuals.
The new Jingle Rush light show can now be scheduled up to 10 minutes ahead and synced across multiple Teslas. Owners can also customize interior lighting and extend the show length.
Image: Tesla
Toybox’s Paint Shop now supports custom wraps, window tints, and license plates for the vehicle icon across all models. You can use built-in designs or upload your own via USB.
Favorites can now be reordered, and Home or Work locations can be set by dropping a pin anywhere on the map. Tesla is also adding suggested destinations based on your recent habits.
Image: Tesla
Certain Superchargers — a total of 18 sites at launch — now include a detailed 3D site map that appears upon arrival, complete with stall occupancy info (Available/Occupied/Down) for easier parking and charging.
Navigation can now automatically select high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes when eligible, based on passenger count, time, and local restrictions.
Your Tesla will now alert you if your phone key is left behind in the cabin or if a phone is detected on the wireless charger. UWB-enabled devices are required for this feature.
You can now save a location-specific charge limit so your preferred settings automatically apply the next time you plug in at that location.
Image: Tesla
A new Arcade game lets you dock a Dragon capsule with the International Space Station (ISS) using controls modeled after real NASA interfaces. Available for AMD-equipped vehicles.
Smaller additions round out the update, including the option to enable or disable wireless phone charging pads, improved Spotify browsing and queue management, rainbow accent lighting during Rave Cave, and new Lock Sound options, including the popular Light Cycle chime from Tron. As always, availability varies by region and vehicle hardware.
Tesla often hides surprise features until rollout, so we may see even more additions once the 2025 Holiday Update begins making its way to customer vehicles. Stay tuned — we’ll be tracking everything new as it arrives.
