American Tesla owners will soon get the benefit of a new suite of safety features that have already been rolled out in Europe, including the long-awaited Adaptive High-Beam Headlights, InsideEVs reported.
This feature debuted in European models in 2024. It manually controls the individual pixels of a Tesla's headlights, brightening the ones not aimed at other cars or cyclists while dimming the ones that might interfere with the vision of other people on the road. This allows maximum visibility — and maximum safety — for everyone while driving at night.
Tesla sales have been struggling mightily in 2025 compared to the usual, with CEO Elon Musk's political activities being cited as a likely factor. It's still among the world's most popular EV brands, however, and these improvements will go out to drivers of new models and select existing ones.
The update will be part of the 2024.2 software version, which will be uploaded to existing EVs wirelessly this year. To meet the hardware requirements, the car needs to be outfitted with matrix headlights, so this feature will only be active in cars manufactured in 2022 and beyond with factory headlights.
|
If you were to install home solar panels, which of these factors would be your primary motivation? Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
Energy independence 
One Tesla EV is shipping with this feature already enabled: the Model Y.
"If your vehicle has the necessary hardware, you will see the setting under Controls > Lights > Adaptive Headlights," Tesla said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Watch now: How bad is a gas stove for your home's indoor air quality?
Another safety feature in this update for the Model S and Model X is the Blind Spot Camera on Driver Screen. This will activate a live video display of the car's blind spot when you turn on your indicator light so you can check for cars and obstacles in your blind spot.
Meanwhile, the Cybertruck is being updated with a new feature for Lane Departure Avoidance. On the digital display, when you cross a lane marker, it will now turn up in blue on the touchscreen to prompt you back into the lane.
Finally, the Cybertruck, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, and Model S will all receive a quality-of-life update allowing owners to set the height they want their trunk to open to, so that if they park in an enclosed space, the trunk door won't hit the wall or ceiling when opening. Tesla is also re-enabling the use of its EVs' 12-volt outlets when the car is locked, after backlash about the decision to disable them in a previous update.
The more improvements Tesla and other EV companies make to its vehicles, the easier it gets for drivers to make their next car electric. That's good for the planet, given how much pollution gas-powered vehicles produce compared to EVs, even after taking into account battery manufacturing and charging with dirty energy.
TCD Picks » Quince Spotlight
These best-sellers from Quince deliver affordable, sustainable luxury for all
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
