How to find out what tires your Tesla has and which you need in winter

Model S

Model 3

Model X

Model Y

Tires, Winter Driving

March 30, 2021

By Nuno Cristovao

CAUTION: Please do your own research when it comes to best tires for your location.

How to know what Tires you have on your Tesla?

I have a Model X. I took pictures of the tires and I looked at the data sheet. With the data sheet I confirmed I had the "All Season" tires. With the picture of the tire I confirmed they are good in Mud and Snow. See the "M . S" symbol.

Do you need Winter tires?

Again, do your own research. But here are some things to consider.

If you have the Performance tires, do not expect they will take care of you in winter conditions.
If you do have or get Winter (Snow) tires, do not drive them during summer conditions. They will wear fast and have more road noise.
I have driven in Minnesota for over 50 years and never used Winter tires. Once Radial Tires and All Season tires became available, that was all I needed.
However, higher elevation with more snow days, areas with less traveled roads, or less plowing and salting of roads, you may very well be better off with Winter tires.
Winter tires are more pliable in cold weather so they can provide a smoother ride rather than stiffer, summer tires. Also being more pliable gives better traction with the road.

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Tesla’s Referral Program Launches in Europe

September 6, 2024

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

Following its recent launch in the United States and Canada, Tesla has launched their referral program in several European countries as well.

The program is available in Germany, Norway, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and possibly others. The program is almost the same as the one available today in North America, with rewards for each referral and a discount for those referred. The cap in Europe is also ten per year.

This program comes right on the heels of a 0% financing offer for the Model Y in Sweden and France. While referrals aren't currently available in Sweden, the 0% financing still is.

European Referrals

The European Referral program accounts for country and local currency, where applicable.

Country	Referral Discount	Referral Award
UK	£1,000	£500
Germany, France, Netherlands	€1,000	€500
Norway	kr11,500	kr5,750

The referral reward program is comparable to the one available in North America. After exchange rates, there is only an approximately 10% difference between the available rewards in the US and EU.

Other Countries

We expect this program to start rolling out to other European countries over the next few days or weeks, as Tesla continues to expand its referral program.

Tesla's Android App Lags Behind Apple's: The Missing Features

September 6, 2024

By Karan Singh

Maxim

Tesla has confirmed that they submit app updates for Android and iOS apps at the same time, but we often see the iOS app updates released first possibly due to a quicker app review process at Apple.

However, we often see features implemented on the Apple version weeks or months before they’re implemented on Android. Today, the Android app is missing several key features, and the gap is starting to become a bit glaring.

Delayed App Updates

The Android app just received update 4.36.6 last night, while the Apple update was available as of September 1st.

That might not seem like a big deal, but in order to use the updated Actually Smart Summon, you’ll need app version 4.36.6, so any Andriod users that received update 2024.27.20 with the new Summon, couldn’t use it until yesterday.

We’re sure Tesla is on it, but it’s disappointing to see that key feature updates take days or a week longer to receive on Android. Apple and Google both offer the ability to set a release date for an app update, so Tesla could coordinate releasing the apps at the same time.

Ultra Wideband Support

Unfortunately, there’s no Ultra Wide Band (UWB) support on Android yet, which is an interesting omission since it’s such a great feature. Most Android phones, flagships, and cheaper phones alike, all support UWB.

Without UWB support Android phones can’t use Tesla’s newest phone key, which is only available for devices that support UWB. The new phone key improves reliability for unlocking the vehicle and setting the correct Tesla driver profile. To support the new phone key, you need a compatible phone (iPhone 11 or newer) and a newer vehicle that supports ultra wideband.

Hands-Free Trunk

Tesla’s new hands-free trunk feature, which allows you to automatically open your trunk by simply standing behind it for a couple of seconds, also isn’t available on Android devices. Tesla’s Hands-Free Trunk requires UWB support too, and Tesla originally mentioned it was coming to Android in May 2024.

For now, those are the features we know of that don’t work on Android today, and we’re hoping that Tesla brings both UWB support, as well as simultaneous app updates to the Google Play and Apple App Store by leveraging each store’s publish date feature.