List of Easter eggs in Tesla products
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Tesla products include a significant number of software and hardware Easter eggs among other notable and unique software features, such as a suite of video games, doggy mode, emissions testing mode, "caraoke", and romance mode.
''Back to the Future'' phone app
Products: Models S, 3, X, and YActivation: With the vehicle at exactly 121 miles of range, touch the battery icon inside the Tesla mobile app to launch the Easter egg.
Description: All aspects of this easter egg occur within the mobile app. A pop-up message displays "Time Circuits Off" and "Be sure to reset your clock to account for temporal displacement". The name of the vehicle changes to "OUTATIME" within the app. "Charging scheduled" changes to "Time Circuits On". "121 miles" changes to "1.21 GW". The "Charging" tab changes to "Fuel Chamber". Below the now "Fuel Chamber" tab reads as "Current Output: 300R" which may refer to the number of Back to the Future replica cars being made per year by DeLorean Motor Company. The vehicle location display changes to "1600 S Azusa Ave Rowland Heights", one of the movie filming locations, and a service appointment appears to be scheduled for November 5, 1955, which is an important day within the film.
Rick and Morty – sentry mode voice activation
Products: Models S, 3, X, and YActivation: Voice command "Keep Tesla Safe" or "Keep Summer Safe"
Description: Sentry mode, which was originally depicted on the in vehicle display as HAL 9000 from, and is now depicted as what appears to be the eye of a sentient sentry turret from the Steam video game Portal, can be activated or deactivated using voice commands, "Enable/Disable Sentry Mode" or "Turn Sentry Mode On/Off". Voice commands "Keep Tesla Safe" or "Keep Summer Safe" can also enable sentry mode. The extra commands are a reference to a scene from season 2, episode 6 of Rick and Morty, entitled The Ricks Must Be Crazy, where Rick instructs his vehicle to keep Morty's sister, Summer, safe while Rick and Morty venture into Rick's microverse car battery. Elon Musk notably wore a Butterbot T-shirt to the 2018 Tesla Annual Shareholder's Meeting indicating his interest in the show.
Mars, Mars Rover and Starship - method of activation
Products: Models S, 3, X, and YActivation: A prolonged press of the Tesla "T" icon at the top of the touchscreen display results in a graphic which appears as a single water ripple away from the center of the "T" icon. Once the "T" is released, a text box is revealed along with a keyboard for entering text. The text box says "please enter access code" with a text entry field below and button options "OK" and "Cancel" below that. This text box is mainly used by service centers and showrooms for things like service mode and showroom mode, but does also allow access to certain easter eggs. Entering the word "Mars" and pressing "OK" will activate the Mars, Mars Rover and Starship easter egg.
The same activation can be achieved by tapping the image of Mars in the "Easter Egg Drawer" which appears automatically shortly after the "About Your Tesla" menu is accessed. The "About your Tesla" menu can be accessed by tapping the Tesla "T" at the top right of the touchscreen display.
Description: Upon activation, the GPS map on the touchscreen display shows the surface of Mars instead of the surface of the Earth. This surface moves and turns as your car travels just as the normal GPS would. The arrow representing your vehicle on the GPS map is replaced by a depiction of a Mars rover. Finally, the "About Your Tesla" menu, accessed by pressing the Tesla "T" icon at the top left of the touchscreen display, shows the SpaceX Interplanetary Spaceship design, which was presented in 2016 as part of the Interplanetary Transport System. The vehicle has since been redesigned and renamed as Big Falcon Rocket and then Starship.
SpaceX and Tesla, Inc. are linked in a number of ways other than the depiction of the Starship. Elon Musk is CEO of both companies and the two companies collaborate often. In early 2018, Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster was used as a payload for the Falcon Heavy test flight. It was originally planned that Elon's roadster, which carries Starman and a number of its own easter eggs, would end up in orbit around Mars. Instead, the roadster ended up in an orbit around the sun, as it was more important to demonstrate the full capacity of Falcon Heavy.
Mario Kart: Rainbow Road and Don't Fear the Reaper/SNL: More Cowbell - method of activation
Products: Models S, 3, X, and Y. Autosteer capable vehicles only.Activation: With autosteer engaged, push the right stalk behind the steering wheel down completely four times in rapid succession. The same control stalk is used to switch from park to drive or reverse, and to activate autopilot.
The same activation can be achieved by tapping the image of a cowbell in the "Easter Egg Drawer" which appears automatically shortly after the "About Your Tesla" menu is accessed. The "About your Tesla" menu can be accessed by tapping the Tesla "T" at the top right of the touchscreen display.
Description: The on screen animation of your car's environment will change. The computer vision generated road that the car is driving on, denoted by two lines, will change into a rainbow which is similar to that of Rainbow Road, the final level in each version of the video game Mario Kart. At the same time, the song The Reaper by Blue Öyster Cult plays in the cabin of the vehicle. Notably, the version of the song that plays is taken from the Saturday Night Live skit, More Cowbell, in which music producer "The Bruce Dickinson", played by host Christopher Walken, encourages Gene Frenkle, played by then cast member Will Ferrell, to play his instrument, the cowbell, with zeal. As part of the easter egg, Christopher Walken can be heard stating his lines from the skit, that he "has a fever" and that the "only prescription, is more cowbell". While the music and lines from the skit will stop after a minute or two, the rainbow road will continue indefinitely until autosteer is disengaged.
If the car is not using autosteer, and the "Easter Egg Drawer" is used to activate the effect, tapping the cowbell will result in a message entitled "Rainbow Road". The message includes instructions on how to activate rainbow road, that Autosteer must be engaged, and a description of the effect. This information is followed by the exclamation, "I gotta have more cowbell!"
Rainbow chargeport light
Products: Models S, 3, X, and YActivation: While the Tesla vehicle is plugged in, push the charge port control button on the charger handle 10 times quickly.
Description: The charge port light will cycle through all of the colors of the rainbow.
Monty Python
Products: Models S, 3, X, and YActivation: The name of each Tesla vehicle appears at the top right corner of the "About your Tesla" menu, which can be accessed by tapping the Tesla "T" at the top right of the touchscreen display. Tapping the car name gives a text box which says "Name Your Vehicle" with a text entry field below and button options "Cancel" and "Save" below that. Entering either "Patsy", "Rabbit of Caerbannog", "Mr. Creosote", "Biggus Dickus" or "Unladen Swallow" and pressing "Save" will activate the Monty Python easter egg.
Description: The Foot of Cupid will immediately drop down the length of the screen, pushing the "About your Tesla" menu out of the way in the process. The Foot of Cupid is a trademarked reoccurring gag in the Monty Python series, Monty Python's Flying Circus. The foot is accompanied by the sound of flatulence. The foot will disappear and upon opening Theater Mode, a new Monty Python option will appear. This option is essentially the same as YouTube except that it opens directly to the Monty Python channel.
The first to discover the easter egg was Iwan Eberhart, a Model 3 owner in Switzerland who had already named his Model 3, "The Rabbit of Caerbannog".
This is not the first time that Monty Python has been purposefully added to Tesla vehicles.
Holiday themed Easter eggs
Santa mode
Products: Models S, 3, X, and YActivation: Voice command "Ho Ho Ho" or "Ho Ho Ho Not Funny"
If the "Easter Egg Drawer" is used to activate the effect, tapping the reindeer will result in a message titled "Santa Mode". The message includes instructions on how to activate Santa Mode using the "Ho Ho Ho" voice command. The text box gives an alternative method of activation in the form of button options "Close" and "Ho Ho Ho" appearing at the bottom of the message. No mention of the "Ho Ho Ho Not Funny" variant is made.
Description: If voice command "Ho Ho Ho" is used, Run Rudolph Run by Chuck Berry will play inside of the vehicle. If voice command "Ho Ho Ho Not Funny" is used, Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer will play inside of the vehicle instead. Otherwise, the two commands activate the same Santa Mode easter egg. While driving or in park, a snow effect appears above the depiction of the vehicle. When parked, the image of the car is replaced by Santa Claus on his sleigh. Using the turn signal will result in the sound of Sleigh bells in addition to the normal turn signal sound.
In previous versions, the vehicle was depicted as Santa Claus on his sleigh while driving as well as in park. Computer vision would also show the road as ice, and other cars as reindeer while driving.
The songs, either Run Rudolph Run or Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer, play for about 1 minute at a relatively high volume. The volume can not be adjusted. The songs can be restarted indefinitely by activating the voice command feature repeatedly. Using the "Ho Ho Ho" voice command a second time will stop the animations, but will not stop the song; rather the song will begin again. However, if the voice command capability is activated after the Easter egg graphic is deactivated, the song will stop. Another more simple way to stop the song from playing at any time is to use the turn signal.
Model X Light Show and Trans-Siberian Orchestra – method of activation
Products: Model XActivation: A prolonged press of the Tesla "T" icon at the top of the touchscreen display results in a graphic which appears as a single water ripple away from the center of the "T" icon. Once the "T" is released, a text box is revealed along with a keyboard for entering text. The text box says "please enter access code" with a text entry field below and button options "OK" and "Cancel" below that. This text box is mainly used by service centers and showrooms for things like service mode and showroom mode, but does also allow access to certain easter eggs. After entering either "holiday" or "ModelXmas" and pressing "OK", a message will instruct, "The show will begin after you exit the car, close all doors and press the lock button on the key. The show requires 6 feet of space above and around the vehicle."
The same activation can be achieved by tapping the image of a green holiday in the "Easter Egg Drawer" which appears automatically shortly after the "About Your Tesla" menu is accessed. The "About your Tesla" menu can be accessed by tapping the Tesla "T" at the top right of the touchscreen display.
Description: A holiday light show will initiate using the headlights, fog lights and turn signals. Wizards in Winter by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra will play and portions of the vehicle, including the front doors and the falcon wing back doors will open and close in time with the music, without assistance. The rear view mirrors will also retract in time with the music.
James Bond – Lotus Esprit submarine
Products: Model S and Model X. Vehicle must have the air suspension package.Activation: A prolonged press of the Tesla "T" icon at the top of the touchscreen display results in a graphic which appears as a single water ripple away from the center of the "T" icon. Once the "T" is released, a text box is revealed along with a keyboard for entering text. The text box says "please enter access code" with a text entry field below and button options "OK" and "Cancel" below that. This text box is mainly used by service centers and showrooms for things like service mode and showroom mode, but does also allow access to certain easter eggs. Entering "007" and pressing "OK" will activate the Lotus Esprit submarine easter egg.
Description: In the controls menu, under the suspension tab, the usual image of the Tesla is replaced by the submarine version of the Lotus Esprit that James Bond drove an off a pier into the ocean in the movie The Spy Who Loved Me. A new "Depth " drop down menu appears next to the Esprit. The air suspension will raise and lower depending on the selected depth.
Activating the easter egg a second time will result in the submarine fins being replaced by wheels. Once again, adjusting the "Depth" will adjust the air suspension, changing the position of the esprit with respect to the wheels.
Tesla, Inc., Elon, and 007 have other notable connections besides the easter egg. In 2013, Musk won an auction and is currently in possession of the original Bond submersible used in the film. In 2019, Elon Musk announced at a shareholder meeting that Tesla had a design for a real, electric submarine car.
Superbottle
Products: Model 3Description: Under the frunk of the Model 3, there is a component called the "superbottle" which controls many heating and cooling functions in the vehicle. The superbottle's engineering is notable for condensing multiple functions into a highly efficient device. To paraphrase Sandy Munro from Munro and Associates on episode 447 of Autoline Detroit, the superbottle shows Tesla's ability to innovate by crossing traditionally difficult design boundaries in the car industry. On the superbottle is a caricature of a bottle as a superhero with a cape, muscular arms and legs, and a Tesla "T" logo on its front. "SUPERBOTTLE" in all caps also appears on the component.
Octovalve
Products: Model YDescription: During his teardown of the Tesla Model Y, Sandy Munro found a component that has been referred to as the "octovalve", which appears to be the next iteration of the superbottle component used in the Model 3. In the same way that a cape-wearing superhero is depicted on the superbottle, an octopus with a snowflake on its head is embossed on the surface of the octovalve component. The Model Y uses a heat pump, and the octovalve is believed to support it as part of the car's thermal management system.
Sketchpad - method of activation
Products: Models S, 3, X, and YActivation: Quickly tap the Tesla "T" at the top of the touchscreen display three times. Note that while this hidden method is described in the Model 3 owner's manual, it does not work: tapping the "T" three times rapidly in the Model 3 activates the Arcade and Theater instead.
Activation of the sketchpad can be achieved by tapping the image of the sketch pad in the "Easter Egg Drawer" which appears automatically shortly after the "About Your Tesla" menu is accessed. The "About your Tesla" menu can be accessed by tapping the Tesla "T" at the top right of the touchscreen display.
Description: Activating the sketchpad turns the in vehicle display into a sandbox where one can draw a picture and submit the result to Tesla. Drawing options include a marker and eraser, control of color, control of marker width, the ability to undo errors, and a "fill" option. When the "submit" button is used, a text box pops up and asks "Are you sure you want Tesla to critique your artistic masterpiece?" As a nod to The Matrix, a metaphorical Red pill and blue pill option is given in the form of two buttons at the bottom of the same text box. A blue button reads "No, the world isn't ready for my art" while a red button exclaims "Yes, I am an artist!"
Elon Musk has featured sketchpad submissions on his Twitter feed in the past. In future, the sketchpad may include animation support.
Performance mode
Products: Models S and XActivation: A prolonged press of the Tesla "T" icon at the top of the touchscreen display results in a graphic which appears as a single water ripple away from the center of the "T" icon. Once the "T" is released, a text box is revealed along with a keyboard for entering text. The text box says "please enter access code" with a text entry field below and button options "OK" and "Cancel" below that. This text box is mainly used by service centers and showrooms for purposes such as service mode and showroom mode, but does also allow access to certain Easter eggs. Entering the word "Performance" and pressing "OK" will activate the Performance Mode Easter egg.
Description: A drop-down menu is added to the "About Your Tesla" menu, which allows one to choose any version of the car that has ever been made. It is unclear if the Performance Mode Easter egg changes the car's behavior or display in any way beyond the menu itself. The "About your Tesla" menu can be accessed by tapping the Tesla "T" at the top of the touchscreen display.
Spaceballs and Ludicrous+
Products: Model S and X. Vehicle must have the ludicrous mode option.Activation: In the controls menu, switch the software-controlled acceleration from "sport" to "ludicrous" and then tap and hold on the "ludicrous" text for 5 seconds.
Description: The screen will go black for a short time. A star field will swiftly appear and zoom forward, closely resembling a jump to ludicrous speed from the movie Spaceballs.
In subsequent updates, this Easter egg was co-opted to activate a genuine "ludicrous+" performance enhancement beyond the normal ludicrous mode. When the Easter egg is activated, the star field zooms forward until the entire screen is momentarily white. When the flash fades, a text box is revealed which asks "Are you sure you want to push the limits? This will cause accelerated wear of the motor, gearbox and battery". As a nod to The Matrix, a metaphorical red pill and blue pill option is given in the form of two buttons at the bottom of the text box. A blue button reads "No, I want my Mommy" while a red button exclaims "Yes, bring it on!". If "Yes, bring it on!" is chosen, the car may prepare itself by heating the battery. The smaller display in front of the driver changes to give a purple indicator for battery temperature, to show the front and rear motors on the car graphic, and to give a table with values including peak longitudinal acceleration.
In the movie Spaceballs, there is only one speed which exceeds ludicrous. As a continuation of Tesla's use of Spaceballs terminology, future versions of the Model S and Model X, as well as the Tesla Roadster, will include a new mode of acceleration which is even faster than Ludicrous+. This new mode is called "Plaid".
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Products: Models S, 3, X, and YActivation: The name of the car appears at the top right corner of the "About your Tesla" menu, which can be accessed by tapping the Tesla "T" at the top right of the touchscreen display. Tapping the car name gives a text box which says "Name Your Vehicle" with a text entry field below and button options "Cancel" and "Save" below that. Entering the number "42" and pressing "Save" will activate The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Easter egg.
Description: The name of the car is changed to "Life, the Universe, and Everything". In Douglas Adams' science fiction comedy The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, "42" is determined to be the "Ultimate Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything". There is some difficulty, however, in determining the corresponding Ultimate Question.
Spinal Tap
Products: Models S and XDescription: As a nod to the movie This is Spinal Tap, volume settings go up to 11.
Cybertruck in Camp Mode screensaver
Products: Models S, 3, X, and YActivation: Selecting “Camp Mode” in climate control settings and wait 10 minutes for the Camp Mode animated screensaver to appear. A partly obscured Cybertruck appears in the background of the animation.
Description: After the official Cybertruck reveal occurred on November 22nd, 2019, Tesla vehicles including the S, X and 3 received an update which included camp mode. When in camp mode, Tesla vehicles are able to maintain airflow, temperature, interior lighting, play music, and power devices for an extended period of time while the car is in park. When camp mode is enabled for more than 10 minutes an animated screensaver of a campground appears on the screen. Several months after the release of camp mode, a partly obscured Cybertruck was noticed in the background.
Removed and unreleased Easter eggs
Model S team photo
Products: Model SActivation: The "About your Tesla" menu can be accessed by tapping the Tesla "T" at the top of the touchscreen display. Tap and hold the bottom right corner of the "About your Tesla" menu. The team photo cannot be accessed after a 2020 update.
Description: The Model S will zoom away and be replaced with a picture of the development team for the vehicle.
Model 3 team photo and silhouette
Products: Model 3Description: The user interface of Tesla vehicles includes an "About Your Tesla" menu which is accessed by tapping on the Tesla "T" icon at the top left of the display. Once the "About Your Tesla" menu is shown, pressing and holding the "3" of "Model 3" for about 10 seconds would bring up a picture of the Tesla development team that had worked on the Model 3. After some time, the Tesla team picture was removed by over the air software update. Instead, pressing the "3" for 10 seconds would cause the Model 3 depiction in the "About Your Tesla" menu to zoom away and be replaced by a black line silhouette of the Model 3. Neither the team photo nor the silhouette can be accessed currently.
Marilyn Monroe
Intended Products: Model XDescription: On March 7, 2018, CEO of Tesla Inc., Elon Musk stated on Twitter that the Model X would "do a cover of Happy Birthday by Marilyn Monroe". The easter egg has yet to be released.
Easter eggs in products that are not for sale
Website – Starman
The background for the login page of the Tesla Inc. website, is a picture of the inside of the Tesla Semi cabin. Clicking on the background toggles it to an image of Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster which was transported to space by SpaceX. Elon Musk is CEO of both companies and the two companies collaborate often. In early 2018, Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster was used as a payload for the Falcon Heavy test flight. It was originally planned that Elon's roadster, which carries Starman and a number of its own easter eggs, would end up in orbit around Mars. Instead, the roadster ended up in an orbit around the sun, as it was more important to demonstrate the full capacity of Falcon Heavy.S3XY
At the top of the Tesla website are links to available Tesla models, the Model S, the Model 3, Model X, and the Model Y. Since the number 3 is similar to the letter E, this menu of links appears to spell out "SEX", and with the Y included, "SEXY". The chronology of the cars is out of order, since the Model X began sales well before the Model 3.Based on the comments of Elon Musk it is well documented that the hidden message was purposeful. At the reveal event for the Model Y, Musk discussed the naming of the Tesla vehicles including the joke. On multiple occasions, Musk has discussed that the intended name for the "Model 3" would have been the "Model E", however Ford, having the rights to the name "E", would not allow Tesla use it. According to Musk, "Ford killed SEX".
Nice Try – Model Y teaser image
Before the reveal of the Tesla Model Y, a teaser image was released. YouTuber Marques Brownlee put the image into an image editor to see if increasing the brightness would reveal more of the highly anticipated vehicles exterior. No other exterior hints were forthcoming. Instead, the result was an easter egg showing that Tesla had anticipated this approach by fans. Where the licence plate would be on the Model Y, a message read "NICE TRY."Notable omissions
Tesla easter eggs often involve popular media for which Tesla CEO and Product Architect, Elon Musk, is known to be a fan. An example would be the Rick and Morty easter egg where voice commands, "Keep Tesla Safe" and "Keep Summer Safe" both activate Sentry Mode. Elon notably wore a Butterbot T-shirt to the 2018 Tesla Annual Shareholder's Meeting indicating his interest in the show before the easter egg was found. Elon has also shown that he is a fan of Monty Python, James Bond, Spaceballs, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Each are represented as easter eggs in Tesla products.Elon Musk has expressed interest in a wide variety of other media for which no easter eggs have been found in Tesla products. Some examples include the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov, Star Wars, and The Lord of the Rings. Elon has been known to hold Star Trek in high regard, referring to it as a rare example of a depiction of a positive future for humanity, Notably, the Star Trek franchise also complemented Musk in the fourth episode of, comparing him to the Wright Brothers, and the fictional inventor of the warp drive, Zefram Cochrane.
Hoax Easter eggs
The Tesla beating heart
Products: The Model 3 was involved in the hoax. None of the Tesla products have this Easter egg.Activation: This Easter egg was a hoax and cannot be activated.
Description: On November 17, 2018, Joel Paglione made a post to Imgur claiming that if both charge port-like panels are pushed at the same time, which looks like one is awkwardly hugging the back of the car, a second charge port opens up on the right side of the car and a pulsing/beating red heart light is displayed. This Easter egg was determined to be a complete fabrication.