Image: Tesla
Tesla is rolling out a small but genuinely useful quality-of-life upgrade for owners in North America with software update 2026.2.3. The update introduces a new way to stop charging and release a plugged-in charging cable — using nothing more than the rear left door handle.
The feature was first spotted by longtime Tesla watcher Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt), who noted it quietly appeared in Tesla’s release notes as the update began rolling out earlier today. According to Tesla, drivers can now stop charging and unlatch the cable by pulling and holding the rear left door handle for three seconds, as long as the vehicle is unlocked or a recognized key is nearby.
As Tesla explains in the release notes:
Charging can now be stopped and the charge cable released by pulling and holding the rear left door handle for 3 seconds, provided the vehicle is unlocked or a recognized key is nearby. This is especially useful when the charge cable unlatch button does not work or a charging adapter is stuck in the charge port. You can still release the cable using the vehicle touchscreen or the Tesla app.
While this may sound minor, it solves a very real pain point for many owners. Charge handles and adapter buttons don’t always cooperate, especially in colder weather, and having a physical fallback method built into the car itself is a welcome addition. While drivers can still use the vehicle touchscreen or Tesla app to achieve the same result, the new gesture gives them another way out when the usual unlatch button fails, or an adapter gets stubbornly stuck, without having to pull out their phone or get inside the vehicle.
Interestingly, this feature isn’t brand new to Tesla globally. Owners in Europe have had access to it for some time and have consistently praised it for being simple, intuitive, and reliable. With 2026.2.3, Tesla is finally bringing the same functionality to vehicles in North America.
Aside from this change, the rest of the update’s features mirror Tesla’s 2025 Holiday Update, which began rolling out last month. That release introduced additions like Grok with Navigation Commands, Tesla Photobooth, and several other software refinements that continue to expand Tesla’s in-car experience.
As with many Tesla updates, it’s a small tweak that quietly makes daily ownership easier. For drivers who’ve ever wrestled with a stuck charging cable, this one will likely feel long overdue.
