Tesla just rolled out a software update for its cars in China and it is something rather unique. Now, if you are guessing it as some groundbreaking new feature, then you couldn’t be more further away from the truth.
On Thursday, The Elon Musk owned car company rolled out an update which brings TikTok’s Chinese version – Douyin to Tesla cars!
Yes, you heard that right! Tesla owners in China can now watch and interact with the highly popular short-form video app from the comfort of their cosy seats in the electric car as revealed by a video released by the company’s Chinese arm.
Now, note here that Tesla’s recent software is not all about Douyin but brings a host of other new features as well. Tesla has drastically improved the car’s ability to recognize voice which allows it to interpret more user commands.
Apart from that, the company has also added QQ Music Lyrics – a top streaming service in China to the software update in their cars. It will now allow drivers and passengers alike to browser from a vast library of songs as they commute or travel.
Tesla, since its very inception, has not exactly been about making only emission-free electric cars, but it has been about cars that combine eco-friendly transportation with luxury and entertainment.
In 2019, Musk’s electric car company released a karaoke feature along with the ability to stream Netflix and Hulu across its fleet of cars. Also, last month itself in 2021, the company installed video game hardware on its updated Model X and S. These efforts on part of Tesla shows how the company is laser-focused on delivering an overwhelmingly extravagant experience to their car owners.
Now, when it comes to the recently released Douyin feature, Tesla has limited its accessibility to leisure time only – for instance, when the car is charging. A process which can easily take somewhere between 45 minutes to an hour or more.
According to Electrek – a website dedicated to electric transportation which first broke the news, Tesla might roll out the feature in its entirety when it releases its full self-driving software to the public.
Elon Musk, the billionaire founder of Tesla has mentioned that the company plans to release the full self-driving software by the end of the year. The software, not yet fully autonomous, is currently available in beta mode to a select few licensed drivers who must be ready to take over the wheel at any time. When the feature was first rolled out for testing, many users took to Youtube to report its flaws.
The Douyin update is a part of a holiday bonus for Tesla users in China. Musk’s electric car company releases new updates every single year to celebrate the Chinese New Year – something which began Friday.
Lastly, while Tesla mostly introduces new features to all cars in its fleet, it is still not known if the Douyin update will make it outside Chinese borders for obvious reasons.
When reached out for a comment, a Tesla spokesperson was not available to comment on the future prospects of the update. We will keep you updated on all future developments. Until then, stay tuned.
