Is Your Tesla Stranded in Dirt or Snow? A New Upgrade Will Help

Fresh off the Model Y L launch, Tesla is rolling out its summer update, and along with improvements to Grok and several smaller enhancements, drivers are getting a useful feature designed for year-round conditions. The automaker has now replaced its Slip Start function with a more comprehensive traction-control system offering three modes: Auto, Slippery Surface, and Stuck Assist.

As its name suggests, Auto is intended for normal, everyday driving, and the vehicle automatically resets to that mode each time it starts. Slippery Surface is designed to improve traction on wet, icy, or slick roads by adjusting how the car delivers power to the wheels. Stuck Assist, meanwhile, is intended to help free the vehicle when it becomes bogged down in snow, dirt, mud, or sand.

Stuck Assist allows more wheelspin than the standard traction-control setting, giving the tires a better chance of clearing loose material and finding a surface with more grip. Conventional traction-control systems usually cut power when they detect excessive wheelspin, which is useful on pavement but can make it difficult to escape deep snow or soft terrain. By loosening those restrictions, Stuck Assist gives the driver more control over how much the tires spin.

This doesn’t mean a stuck Tesla will magically drive itself out of every situation, mind you. The driver will still need to carefully manage accelerator inputs to avoid digging the tires deeper into the ground. More difficult recoveries may also require traction boards, rocks, shoveling around the tires, or assistance from a recovery vehicle, just as they would with any other car. Still, the ability to let the wheels spin more freely could make the difference in less severe situations, especially for drivers who regularly encounter snow-covered roads or loose sand.

To access the updated settings, drivers must go to Controls, select Dynamics, and then choose Traction Control Mode. From there, they can select one of the three available settings based on the driving conditions. Because the vehicle returns to Auto after each restart, drivers must manually select Slippery Surface or Stuck Assist whenever they want to use those features.

Tesla is rolling out software version 2026.26 over the air to Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in waves, with the first batch beginning to receive the update last week. As with most Tesla software releases, availability may vary by vehicle configuration, hardware, and region.

The software also expands Grok’s vehicle-control capabilities, allowing drivers to make phone calls, play or search for music, adjust the climate, locate settings, and ask questions about the car. This is a meaningful improvement over Grok’s previous functionality that was largely limited to answering questions and holding conversations. Giving the assistant direct control over commonly used features makes it more useful behind the wheel and brings it closer to the kind of integrated voice assistant we have wanted Tesla to offer.

Other additions include new welcome graphics that change color to match the vehicle’s ambient lighting, the ability to lock the rear touchscreen from the front display, and navigation improvements that can recognize recurring destinations and prioritize routes the driver has used before. Together, the changes make Tesla’s summer update less about one major feature and more about improving how owners interact with their cars every day.