The Tesla app is evolving from simple controls into a full set of tools for owners. With the most recent app update, v4.51.5, Tesla has added potentially one of the app’s most useful features, a vehicle locator.
Instead of searching for your vehicle on a static map, the app now integrates a dynamic directional arrow on the home screen, effectively providing a digital compass that points to your vehicle.
This feature comes directly from Tesla’s Robotaxi app, which includes a full-screen way of finding your taxi. While the UI is different, the information is exactly the same as the Robotaxi app.
Tesla’s new app update (v4.51.5) has a new feature on the homepage that lets you rotate your phone to see your car's location in real time, with an arrow that points toward your car as you move. It also shows exactly how many feet away your car is. pic.twitter.com/atAFYyFtId
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) December 7, 2025
Directional Arrow and Distance
Previously, locating a vehicle in a parking lot required a degree of spatial interpretation. You’d look at the map, identify your blue dot relative to the car icon, and mentally orient yourself based on nearby landmarks and the map.
This update removes this cognitive step entirely. The standard arrow icon on the Location section has been transformed into a live directional indicator. It uses your smartphone’s accelerometer to rotate the arrow in real time, pointing directly toward the vehicle’s location based on your current direction.
In addition, Tesla will display how many feet or meters away your vehicle is, so you can literally find it in the dark.
This combination - bearing and distance - allows for easy navigation. An owner walking through a sprawling parking lot no longer needs to stare at a map or constantly refresh their position. They simply follow the arrow.
Future Features?
This feature is built right into the location heading of the app, making it easy to miss. We’d love for this feature to be its only module, displayed directly underneath Quick Actions.
It could be called Vehicle Locator, which would make it much more apparent. Instead of just displaying the vehicle’s direction and distance, it could also display additional information that would help you find your vehicle.
It can include information such as what time the vehicle was parked, display a tiny map of where the vehicle is, and even display a photo from the vehicle’s cameras at the time the vehicle was parked, which can offer clues such as nearby buildings.
It can also offer quick buttons to have the vehicle make a non-obnoxious noise or flash its lights.
