Teslas will be able to automatically call 911 if you get in a crash

Tesla will release its 2023 Holiday Update next week with a few big changes, including one that lets Teslas call 911 automatically if the car’s airbags deploy in a crash. On Thursday, the company announced the update is coming next week, and it highlighted other coming features like Apple Podcasts support, rear-screen Bluetooth headset support, an updated version of the park assistance with 3D visuals, and new blind spot indicators.

Apple Podcast support joins Apple Music, which Tesla added last year. Not a Tesla App reported yesterday that Tesla owners can sync podcasts with Apple devices. The site added other details about update 2023.44.25; for instance, Tesla owners won’t need a separate USB stick for every light show they want to use — now, the EVs will be able to read them all from a single storage drive. The site also writes that although the update will add B-pillar cameras to the Tesla app’s Live Sentry view, the cameras won’t record Dashcam and Sentry Mode events.

A video of the blind spot indicator posted by Not a Tesla App shows how a glowing red that shows up on the lane change camera’s video when the car detects another vehicle:

Tesla announced the extra features after someone complained on X, formerly Twitter, that leaks showed the update was “shitty,” and Tesla CEO Elon Musk replied saying, “We need to step up our game.” Past holiday updates have brought big features. Last year, besides Apple Music, the company added Steam integration (though not for everyone), and the year before that, TikTok and Sonic the Hedgehog.

New gaming updates this year include a tower defense game called Castle Doombad, and rear-screen gaming — a wildly sensible idea compared to putting it on the front screen. Even if Tesla did dodge a federal regulator-shaped bullet when it did that before.