Updated Tesla app finally lets drivers customize their car's shortcuts

Tesla Model Y (Image credit: Tesla)

What you need to know

Tesla has updated its iPhone app to version 4.3.0.
Drivers can now customize the shortcuts on the vehicle page by tapping and holding.

Electric car company Tesla has updated its iPhone app to give people the chance to customize the shortcuts on the app's vehicle home page. Those shortcuts allow people to quickly and easily control various aspects of the car like opening the charging port and locking or unlocking the doors.

Those with the Tesla app already installed will see the update is live in the App Store right now. Everyone else can go download it for free as well. Tesla says that this update also adds widget improvements and more, with the full changelog reading:

– Customize quick controls on vehicle homepage with a long press – Adjust Cabin Overheat Protection – Widget improvements – Sentry Mode Live Camera Access on supported cars in select countries

Yay! New Tesla app update lets you customize the main screen shortcuts. I can finally get rid of the stupid charge door button for something actually useful! pic.twitter.com/B4rhaNdrJxYay! New Tesla app update lets you customize the main screen shortcuts. I can finally get rid of the stupid charge door button for something actually useful! pic.twitter.com/B4rhaNdrJx— Quinn Nelson (@SnazzyQ) November 19, 2021 November 19, 2021

Notably, previous reports suggested that the Sentry Mode Live Camera Access only required version 4.2.1 of the app, but that particular update doesn't mention anything about it. If you're a proud Tesla Premium Connectivity subscriber you might now be able to use the car's cameras from afar. Or you might have been doing that for a few weeks. Not even Tesla seems to know.

3 years ago when I bought my Model 3 it did not have a security system. It now has a security system with active cameras recording and I’ll soon be able to view that on my phone! None of which costed any money! @elonmusk 🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/O6jcmfZTaw3 years ago when I bought my Model 3 it did not have a security system. It now has a security system with active cameras recording and I’ll soon be able to view that on my phone! None of which costed any money! @elonmusk 🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/O6jcmfZTaw— Tesla Raj (@tesla_raj) October 27, 2021 October 27, 2021

The Tesla app is obviously very much the best iPhone app to control Tesla cars, but it's also one of the best car interaction apps in the App Store today — despite its foibles. If you're a Tesla owner who has somehow slept on the app, now might be a good time to rectify that.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.