Top 5 Tesla Easter Eggs

You may be aware that Teslas include a number of hidden features waiting for you to unlock called ‘Easter Eggs’. The term easter egg in this context comes from the wild world of video games, where players can find hidden prizes which unlock secret features or special content. They were created as a way to reward enthusiastic users who take the time to discover these bonus elements. Tesla use easter eggs in the same way - they are not vital features which the manufacturers purposely hid from you, rather they serve as entertaining novelty features to reward those dedicated to exploring everything their EV can do.

We decided to create a fun list of our favourite Tesla easter eggs for you to explore and enjoy.

Rick and Morty - Sentry Mode Voice Activation

This is a very fun little feature based on the season 2 episode 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 and later went on to appear in the third season, clearly indicating his interest in the show.

Description: Sentry mode, which was originally depicted on the in vehicle display as HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey, and is now depicted as what appears to be the eye of a sentient sentry turret from the Valve 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.

Activation: Voice command "Keep Tesla Safe" or "Keep Summer Safe"

Products: Models S, 3, X, and Y

Rainbow Charge Port Light

I think we can all agree that charging your EV isn’t the most fun element of driving a Tesla. Well this easer egg makes charging your EV just a little bit more enjoyable and whimsical. When you activate this feature the charge port light displays a rainbow of colour to brighten up your charging experience.

Description: The charge port light will cycle through all of the colors of the rainbow.

Activation: While the Tesla vehicle is plugged in, push the charge port control button on the charger handle 10 times quickly.

Products: Models S, 3, X, and Y

Model X Light Show and Trans-Siberian Orchestra

This one is a spectacle to behold! A model x exclusive, there are a number of steps involved in activating this one, but once you do, it’s well worth the pay off. Your car will play music, perform a light show and even open and close its doors in sync with the music.

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.

Activation: A prolonged (5 second) 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 ornament 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.

Products: Model X

Spinal Tap

This is a simple but fin one based on the 1986 British mock-umentary film ‘This is Spinal Tap’. In the film, one of the characters famously remark that their amp goes up to an 11. As a reference to this famous joke, volume settings go up to an 11. 

Description: As a nod to the movie This is Spinal Tap, volume settings go up to 11. 

Products: Models S and X

Santa Mode

Everyone can use a bit of festive spirit from time to time and this feature certainly has that covered. This fun little easter egg includes a physical graphic and musical element. There are also two versions, a general Christmas song version and one with a funny Christmas song.

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.

Activation: 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.

Products: Models S, 3, X, and Y