Tesla’s 2025 Holiday Update introduced several headline features such as Grok with Navigation Commands, Paint Shop, and Tesla Photobooth. However, one of the most practical improvements flew largely under the radar — a major upgrade to the Dashcam Viewer.
While not highlighted in Tesla’s official release notes, the Dashcam Viewer received a redesigned interface, new filtering tools, embedded vehicle telemetry, and most notably, pinch-to-zoom video support on supported vehicles.
What’s New in Tesla’s Dashcam Viewer?
The Holiday Update placed an unexpected focus on Dashcam and Sentry Mode usability. Key improvements include:
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A refreshed Dashcam Viewer UI for HW3 vehicles
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Vehicle telemetry data embedded directly into video clips
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Multiple undocumented quality-of-life features
Together, these changes significantly improve how drivers review and manage recorded footage inside the vehicle.
What Undocumented Dashcam Features Were Added?
Tesla quietly introduced several useful features that were not mentioned in the update notes.
One of the most practical additions is USB storage visibility. Drivers can now see how much free space remains on their glovebox USB drive directly from the Dashcam Viewer — no need to remove the drive and check it on a computer.
By tapping the information (i) icon, owners can also see which features are consuming storage, including:
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Dashcam recordings
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Sentry Mode clips
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USB music files
Another undocumented improvement is Sentry Mode video filtering. Drivers can now filter clips by trigger type, making it much easier to locate relevant footage, such as:
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Door handle interactions
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Manually saved clips
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Clips triggered by honking the horn
What Is the New Zoom Feature in Dashcam Viewer?
The most impactful change is the addition of pinch-to-zoom and pan support within Dashcam Viewer.
On vehicles equipped with AMD Ryzen infotainment systems, drivers can now:
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Pinch to zoom into Dashcam and Sentry Mode footage
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Pan around the video while zoomed in
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Zoom on any camera angle
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Use zoom in both single-camera and multi-camera grid views
Previously, identifying details such as license plates or faces required removing the USB drive and viewing the footage on a computer. That step is no longer necessary.
Which Tesla Vehicles Support Dashcam Zoom?
At this time, the zoom feature appears to be limited to vehicles equipped with AMD Ryzen hardware.
Confirmed support includes:
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AMD Ryzen with HW4
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AMD Ryzen with HW3
Vehicles with Intel Atom infotainment systems do not currently support the zoom feature.
Tesla did not mention any of these limitations in the official release notes.
Why Isn’t Dashcam Zoom Available on Intel Atom Cars?
Tesla hasn’t provided a formal explanation, but there are likely technical reasons behind the limitation.
HW3 vehicles capture significantly lower camera resolution compared to HW4 — roughly one-quarter the total pixel count. As a result, there’s less usable detail available for digital zoom.
Additionally, Intel Atom systems may lack the graphics processing performance required to deliver smooth real-time zooming and panning within video playback.
Despite this, Tesla is still enabling the feature on AMD Ryzen vehicles running HW3, suggesting infotainment performance plays a key role.
Why Is This Feature Actually Useful?
This update goes beyond simple UI polish.
Tesla’s cameras rely heavily on wide-angle and fisheye lenses, which tend to push objects farther away in the frame, making them appear smaller on screen. This can make it difficult to identify critical details in Dashcam or Sentry Mode footage.
With pinch-to-zoom, drivers can now:
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More easily read license plates
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Identify people or objects near the vehicle
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Review incidents directly on the center display
All without removing the USB drive or using a separate device.
Tesla cooked with the latest dashcam viewer! I love how you can zoom in. pic.twitter.com/1ULTTPlDtD
— Gareth Blake Hall (@gbhall) January 1, 2026
What Does This Update Say About Tesla’s Direction?
This Dashcam Viewer upgrade highlights Tesla’s growing emphasis on in-vehicle video tools as more than just passive recording features.
By improving playback controls, filtering, and on-screen analysis, Tesla is turning Dashcam and Sentry Mode into more practical, driver-focused tools.
For owners of AMD Ryzen-equipped vehicles, this is a quiet but highly valuable upgrade — and one that many drivers have been requesting for years.
