Tesla Model 3 will soon have calendar integration for predictive navigation features

The Tesla Model 3 would soon debut calendar integration features, allowing the electric car to display navigation information related to entries on a smartphone’s calendar app. Musk confirmed the upcoming capability as a response to a Tesla owner who requested for the feature on Twitter.

Coming soon

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 22, 2018

Musk’s update about the Model 3’s upcoming calendar integration stands as another indication that Tesla is starting to introduce features from its flagship Model S and X line to the more affordable electric sedan. The ability to view entries in a smartphone’s calendar app in the electric car’s touchscreen has been around for some time, after all, but it has so far been exclusive to the Model S and X. 

Excerpts from the feature’s section in the Model S Owner’s Manual could be found below. 

The Calendar app allows you to view your phone’s (iPhone or Android) calendar for the current and next day. To view scheduled events for the next 48 hours, choose the Calendar app from the main touchscreen window. The Calendar app displays events in chronological order.

If the calendar event includes an address, a navigation arrow displays to indicate that you can touch the address to navigate to the event’s location (if your Model S is equipped with Navigation). If a phone number is associated with a calendar event, you can touch the number to initiate a phone call.

If Model S is equipped with navigation, and a calendar event has a location specified, you will be given the option to navigate to that location. Also, when an event on your Calendar takes place within the next hour and has a uniquely specified location, the Model S navigation system notifies you if there is a better route due to traffic, even if you’re not using navigation.

Since the Model 3 started rolling off Tesla’s production line last July, the company has introduced features to the electric sedan that were initially exclusive to the Model S and X. Earlier this year, for example, Tesla released a software update that activated the Model 3’s heated rear seats, which, until the update’s rollout, were unavailable on the vehicle. Auto-dimming high beams, another feature absent in the Model 3’s initial iteration, also made a debut on the electric sedan after a firmware update. With this in mind, the Model 3’s upcoming calendar integration is something that fits right in with the company’s apparent strategy of adopting a more uniform set of features for its electric cars.

Calendar integration features aside, the next few months would likely be exciting for Model 3 owners, considering that Tesla is set to release Software V9 within the next few weeks. Elon Musk mentioned on Twitter that the upcoming update would debut the first Full Self-Driving features of its fleet. As cherry on top, Musk also noted that the V9 rollout would see the introduction of some classic Atari games, including iconic titles like Pole Position, Tempest, and Missile Command, to the Model S, X, and 3. Tesla is expected to start the initial rollout of Software Version 9 near the end of August, with widespread release following in September. 

Here’s how calendar integration with navigation works in the Tesla Model S.