In Tesla's upcoming update, version 2024.2.3, Tesla will add the ability to remind drivers to plug in their vehicles under certain conditions.
Tesla is calling the feature "Reminder to Plug In at Home" and according to the release notes, you'll be sent a notification through the Tesla app if you arrive at home with less than half of your set charge limit.
So if you normally charge your vehicle to 80% and arrive at home with 30% left and forget to plug in, then Tesla will send you a notification reminding you to plug in your vehicle.
Tesla says that you'll need to have your Home location set and have charged at home previously. This will prevent owners who only charge at work or Superchargers from being reminded to charge when they arrive home.
The release notes for the feature state:
“You'll now receive a reminder on your phone to plug in your vehicle when you park at home with less than half of your Charge Limit.
To receive this notification, you must have your Home location set and have charged there previously. Your vehicle's location is not shared with Tesla (see tesla.com/privacy).”
Notification Likely to be Optional
Tesla understands that preferences vary among users, so the Reminder to Plug In at Home is expected to be an optional feature. The Tesla app already lets you customize several notifications by tapping on the profile icon and going to Settings > Vehicle. Notifications can currently be turned on and off for the car's alarm, a new software update, when cabin overheat protection is activated and when preconditioning the vehicle is complete. A 'Charge reminder' notification may be added to this list of notification preferences.
Enhancements for the Future
This feature is a great addition, and although it isn't clear exactly how the feature will work based on Tesla's short description, it sounds like drivers will be notified to charge almost immediately if they arrive home with a low state of charge.
This could lead to some unneeded notifications. Hopefully, Tesla is already working on improvements that could make this feature even more useful.
By leveraging AI to learn each owner's charging habits and driving patterns Tesla may be able to provide more useful notifications. For example, if you normally plug in at night, there's no need to notify you when you arrive home in the afternoon.
Tesla can also analyze factors such as your daily commute and use that to determine whether you forgot to plug your vehicle in.
This new functionality may already be in the recent Tesla app update and may just need vehicle update 2024.2.3 or higher to be activated.
