Tesla has officially announced its 2025 Holiday Update, continuing its annual tradition of releasing a bundle of new features and improvements in December. While this year’s update leans heavily on playful additions rather than massive platform shifts like previous Steam integrations, it introduces significant practical improvements to navigation and vehicle interaction.
The update is currently rolling out to vehicles, bringing a mix of entertainment and utility to the driving experience.
What is new at Tesla 2025 Holiday Update?
Grok takes the wheel for navigation
The most notable functional addition involves Grok, the AI chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s xAI. Previously limited to a chat interface on the center screen, Grok can now directly interact with the vehicle’s navigation system. When set to the “Assistant” personality, users can issue natural language commands to add stops, edit destinations, or modify their route entirely hands-free.
New entertainment: In-car Photobooth and SpaceX Simulator
Tesla continues to expand its “Toybox” with features designed for when the car is parked.
- Tesla Photobooth: This feature turns the car’s cabin camera into a selfie station. Users can apply filters, stickers, and emojis to photos taken inside the vehicle and share them directly through the Tesla app.
- SpaceX ISS Docking Simulator: A new addition to the Arcade, this game allows users to simulate docking a rocket with the International Space Station using controls based on actual NASA interfaces.
- Santa Mode & Light Show: The festive Santa Mode now includes 3D snow effects and a lock chime, while the Light Show gains a new “Jingle Rush” sequence that can sync across multiple vehicles.
Dog Mode gets a Live Activity upgrade
For iPhone users, Dog Mode has become significantly more informative. When active, the feature now supports “Live Activities” on the iOS lock screen. This provides owners with a real-time feed of the cabin temperature, battery status, and periodic snapshots from inside the vehicle, offering peace of mind without needing to open the app repeatedly.
Smarter charging and navigation
The update includes several quality-of-life improvements designed to streamline daily driving and charging routines.
- Charge Limit per Location: Drivers can now set specific charge limits for different locations, such as home or work. The car will automatically apply these settings whenever it parks at those coordinates, eliminating the need for manual adjustments.
- 3D Supercharger Maps: Navigation now displays 3D layouts of select Supercharger stations, showing stall availability and site arrangements to help drivers plan their arrival better.
- HOV Lane Routing: The navigation system can now automatically select High-Occupancy Vehicle lanes if the car meets the criteria based on passenger count and local regulations.
Safety and personalization
A new “Phone Left Behind Chime” utilizes UWB (Ultra-Wideband) technology to alert drivers if they leave their phone in the cabin or on the wireless charger after exiting the vehicle. Additionally, Dashcam clips now save with expanded metadata, overlaying speed, steering angle, and self-driving system status directly onto the footage for better context during incident reviews.
Finally, users can personalize their vehicle’s digital avatar on the screen with custom wraps, window tints, and license plates, matching the digital display to their real-world modifications.
