Model S (2021 and newer): Touchscreen, App & Media

Model S has five USB ports. Two in the front console compartment charge devices and play audio from a USB drive; two below the rear touchscreen only charge; and one in the glovebox holds the Dashcam and Sentry Mode drive. They give up to about 27 W, varying by build date. Tesla recommends USB 3.0-compliant cables and warns not to connect several devices through a USB hub, as they may not charge or be recognized.

Rear passengers can set the rear temperature and fan, turn rear climate on or off, use the rear seat heaters, move the front passenger seat, control media, stream video, play games, follow the navigation route and pair up to two Bluetooth headsets. Changing rear media or volume also changes it in front. To lock the rear screen, we touch Controls > Display > Lock Rear Display, or use the rear screen remote app in the front touchscreen's bottom bar.

1) Shift into Park. 2) Press and hold both scroll buttons on the yoke or steering wheel until the touchscreen turns black. 3) After a few seconds the Tesla logo appears; we wait about 30 seconds for the restart to finish. This restarts only the touchscreen, not the whole car. If it still does not respond after a few minutes, Tesla suggests power cycling Model S if possible.

Equipped cars have a built-in transceiver for up to three devices, such as garage doors and gates. 1) Park facing the device and keep its path clear, as it may move. 2) Touch its icon at the top of Controls and create a named device. 3) Choose Standard, D-Mode or UR-Mode, touch Set Mode, then Start, and follow the prompts. 4) Save and test. Tesla warns never to use it with a device that lacks safety stop and reverse.

We plug a USB flash drive into a front USB port on the center console; the ports at the rear of the console only charge. The drive can be formatted as exFAT, but NTFS is not supported, and only flash drives work, so other devices connect through Bluetooth. Then we touch Media Player, choose USB and pick a folder. Rolling the left scroll button on the yoke or steering wheel changes the volume.

We fully press the microphone button on the right side of the yoke or steering wheel and speak after the chime. Examples: make it cooler, turn on the rear defroster, speed up the wipers, lock the doors, open the glovebox, navigate home, show nearby Superchargers, call a contact, skip to next, or show me the Owner's Manual. Some commands, such as Sentry Mode and Pet Mode, need Park, and calls need a phone connected by Bluetooth.

In the Tesla app (version 4.3.1 or later), we go to Security > Add Driver from the vehicle home screen and follow the steps. The added driver can use an existing Tesla Account or create one, and gets every app feature except buying upgrades. To remove a driver, we use Security > Manage Drivers. Mobile access must also be on in the car under Controls > Safety > Allow Mobile Access.

1) Sit in Model S with the touchscreen on, unlock the phone and turn on its Bluetooth. 2) Touch Controls > Bluetooth to scan. 3) Touch Connect next to the phone. 4) Check that the numbers match on both screens and confirm on the phone. Under Paired Devices we can allow contacts, recent calls and messages. Up to 10 phones can be paired. Tesla cautions against leaving a paired phone in the car.

Yes. Model S can use a mobile hotspot instead of a regular Wi-Fi network, though carrier fees and limits may apply. We connect in Controls > Wi-Fi like any network, and select Remain Connected in Drive to keep the hotspot connected while driving. Public hotspots that need a web login page and accepting terms are not supported. Tesla recommends staying on Wi-Fi when parked at home for fast, reliable software and map updates.

Where available, we turn it on with the map settings icon or in Controls > Navigation > Trip Planner. When a route needs charging, it adds Supercharger stops with suggested charging times and estimated energy on arrival. Charging longer or shorter updates the later stops. When we navigate to a Supercharger, Model S preconditions the battery to cut charging time, which uses some energy. For a third-party fast charger, we set it as the destination so the battery preconditions.

We touch the navigation settings icon, which shows after we start navigating, or go to Controls > Navigation. There we turn on Avoid Tolls to route around tolls where possible, Avoid Highways to show a route without highways, and Avoid Ferries to route around ferries. Tesla notes these options vary by market region and vehicle configuration. Online Routing in the same menu can also reroute us around traffic when a faster route is available.

Arcade works with Bluetooth Classic controllers and USB controllers, and some games use the yoke or steering wheel buttons. We pair a Bluetooth controller the same way as a phone, and it reconnects by itself after that; two Bluetooth devices can connect at once, such as two controllers. USB controllers go in the front console ports on cars built before about November 1, 2021, or the glovebox port on later cars. Tesla says games are for use only while parked.

Theater streams video over Wi-Fi or Tesla's upgraded connectivity, Arcade has games, and Toybox holds fun features such as Boombox, Emissions, Light Show, Mars, Rainbow Road, Romance, Sketchpad, TRAX, Paint Shop and Halloween Mode. Boombox needs the Pedestrian Warning System. Tesla says these are for use only while parked; shifting out of Park pauses video on the front touchscreen, though audio continues. Options vary by market, build date and configuration.

Updates download over Wi-Fi. When the clock icon appears at the top of the touchscreen, we touch it and choose Install Now or Set For This Time. Some take about 30 minutes. Model S must stay in Park, and charging pauses until it finishes. Tesla warns not to use the car during installation, as safety systems, doors and windows may be limited. Updates will not install while Keep Climate On, Pet Mode or Camp Mode is on.

On equipped cars, we touch Controls, then the display icon, and choose a screen position. Tesla warns to keep fingers, jewelry and other objects out of the gap between the screen and the instrument panel. From the front, we control the rear screen with the rear screen remote app in the bottom bar, lock it with Controls > Display > Lock Rear Display, and touch Sync on the rear climate tab to match both cabins.

Active Road Noise Reduction lowers low-frequency road noise on rough surfaces. Microphones in the seats measure cabin noise, and the speakers create anti-noise to form quiet zones around each occupant. We find it in Media Player > Audio Settings > Options; it may need several minutes of driving to calibrate. Covering the microphones, for example with seat covers, reduces its effect, and it may turn off when a window or door opens or the fan is turned up.

1) Touch and hold any app or control in My Apps on the bottom bar, or touch the App Launcher if that area is empty. 2) Drag an app or control from the app tray into My Apps. Seat heaters added this way appear next to the temperature control. When My Apps is full, adding one more removes the app on the far right. To remove an app, we touch and hold it, then touch its X.

On the map, Supercharger pins show how many stalls are predicted to be free when we arrive, a warning at high-volume sites that we may need to wait before charging, and whether a site has reduced capacity or is closed, along with typical busy times. Some sites also offer a site map with real-time availability. If a Supercharger on our route has an outage, Model S notifies us and reroutes to another Supercharger.

Release notes appear on the touchscreen after each update finishes. To read them again at any time, we touch Controls > Software > Release Notes, which covers the current software version. Tesla asks us to read all release notes, because they may contain important safety information or operating instructions. Tesla also notes that we cannot go back to a previous software version after an update.