In a surprise move timed with the October 10 release of Tron: Ares, Tesla has begun rolling out a new in-car visual update that lets owners animate their dashboard as if their vehicle were a Tron lightcycle. The effect is optional and must be enabled via Toybox > Tron in the car’s settings, but the announcement has stirred a heated debate among Tesla owners.
Tesla announced the update on X, saying, “The grid has expanded to your Tesla — Tron: Ares update rolling out now.” While the company hasn’t confirmed which software version will include the feature, and which vehciles are capable of running it, the accompanying video shows Tesla owners will be able to turn on the theme and see a Tron lightcycle animation on the main display instead of your typical vehicle avatar, and Tron-style ambient visuals on compatible vehicles. For cars without RGB ambient lighting, the effects will be limited to the infotainment screen, presumably only for vehicles with the AMD Ryzen processor.
The grid has expanded to your Tesla — Tron: Ares update rolling out now pic.twitter.com/oQvYSAFuLM
— Tesla (@Tesla) October 10, 2025
While the update may seem harmless on the surface, it raises a few deeper concerns that make it more than just a simple software addition. In December 2023, Tesla removed or hid the Disney+ app from some vehicles amid escalating tensions between Elon Musk and Disney CEO Bob Iger, following Disney’s pause on advertising across X. The move was widely interpreted as a retaliatory gesture, so the new Tron overlay—a cross-promotion with a Disney film—strikes many as unexpected, if not downright ironic.
Reactions from Tesla owners have been varied. Some view the update as a fun, low-cost gesture and a clever nod to fandom. Others are far less charitable, suggesting the resources put toward releasing this update could have been better spent elsewhere.
One Twitter user, Kyle Lerner (@kylelerner), wrote: “So glad this was being worked on instead of the HW3 retrofit or Cybertruck and ‘Legacy’ S/X Actually Smart Summon.” Another, CyberMikeOG, asked: “Can we HW3 folk get Ai4? Just a couple Hundred Thousand of us standing by.”
There’s also the growing concern that Tesla vehicles could become rolling billboards for corporate partnerships. As one owner put it: “Oh good, advertisements are making it in my car.”
Defenders of the update counter that the collaboration costs Tesla little and generates free publicity. Barry Schiff (@KissIsTheKey) said, “This tiny collaboration … is generating enormous press attention … It cost almost nothing to do, so it’s definitely out-of-the-box thinking.”
For now, the Tron overlay remains an optional and purely cosmetic feature, though the mixed reactions highlight ongoing discussions within the Tesla community about priorities, transparency, and the balance between entertainment and functionality inside the vehicle.
What do you think of the Tron update? Let us know in the comments below.
