Tesla will airdrop more safety to owners this Christmas

Tesla is helping its owners celebrate the holiday season, with an incoming over-the-air update that’ll boost safety and tech across its range of EVs.

You’ll also be able to turn your car into a virtual Santa sleigh and give your passengers the gift of gas this Christmas.

The US electric vehicle maker has announced it will soon launch its 2024 Holiday Update for the Model 3, Model Y, Model S, Model X, and Cybertruck ute, bringing both onboard safety and tech, across the range.

Available from next week, the headline list of improvements include the addition of cross-traffic alert that warns if another vehicle or pedestrian is approaching while the Tesla is reversing.

When reversing, audio volume will be automatically be lowered to reduce distraction.

Promised as far back as 2020 by the car-maker's outspoken boss, Elon Musk, the new feature will be available across its entire range.

The recently upgraded Model 3, meanwhile, will get a new 'Autoshift' feature that sees the sedan automatically shift from Reverse to Drive (or vice versa) if the driver turns the steering wheel and depresses the brake pedal.

Autoshift only happens if the vehicle detects it is parking and was designed for owners missing the physical gear selector that was deleted and replaced by a digital selector in the infotainment screen.

Post update, the owner can access clips recorded by both the Tesla's dash cam and Sentry mode via their Tesla App to pass onto authorities if the car is involved in an accident or damaged while away.

Other welcome improvements include a new function that allows the driver to set their preferred battery charge level for their arrival at their destination. This is said to help reduce the anxiety felt by some when charge levels fall below 10 per cent.

The update also includes tweaks to the navigation system, allowing users to search locations along the route and calculate estimated detour times.

Before you arrive, you can view the weather at your destination thanks to new precipitation maps, while updates to the Tesla App will now see it work with Apple Watch, allowing owners to use their wearable smart watch to open the frunk, set the climate control or check up on the vehicle charge.

In some vehicles, the driver will now be able to adjust the passenger seat using the infotainment system.

Hoping to inject some festive cheer into owners’ lives the updates brings a new Santa Mode that changes the vehicle's avatar to Santa's sleigh, while a new Boomerang Fu game has been added to the infotainment.

Less useful – but entertaining for kids and the young at heart – is a new Fart on Contact feature designed to prank unwitting passengers as they lower themselves into their seat.

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