Update, August 19, 2026: Vehicle Locator in Tesla app v4.51.5 is a compass arrow plus distance on the home-screen location row. It is not Smart Summon, not Banish, and not unsupervised Robotaxi. Tesla did not put out a press release. Owner and Not a Tesla App notes from Dec. 7–9, 2025 are the public record.
In the first week of December 2025, Tesla app v4.51.5 added a Vehicle Locator: rotate the phone and a directional arrow points toward the parked car, with a live distance readout (feet, in U.S. reports). Whole Mars Catalog posted a clip on Dec. 7. Not a Tesla App wrote it up on Dec. 9, noting the information matches what the Robotaxi rider app already showed. Read the Not a Tesla App note. That is a “find my car in a crowded lot” tool. It is not the car driving to you.
Key facts
- Where it lives: Tesla app home screen / Location row, v4.51.5.
- What it shows: Directional arrow + distance as you walk, in real time.
- Who documented it: Owner posts (Whole Mars Catalog, Dec. 7) and Not a Tesla App (Dec. 9). Tesla’s public app support page did not headline the feature.
- What this is not: Actually Smart Summon, Autopark, or a new FSD stack.
An arrow vs a summon
Owners immediately tied the feature to event lots and to Tesla’s “Banish” / Smart Summon parking tricks — because those can leave the car a row over from where you last stood. The locator tells you which way to walk. It does not move the vehicle. Treat it like AirTag energy, not autonomy.
FAQ
Does it work from another city?
Owner notes described it as useful when you are already at the lot or garage. One Australian owner said it behaved within about a kilometer. Tesla did not publish a range spec in a blog post.
Is this the Robotaxi app?
Not a Tesla App said the data is the same idea as the Robotaxi rider location UI, surfaced to owners. Different app chrome.
Do you need FSD?
Nothing in the Dec. 2025 write-ups made FSD a prerequisite. It is an app location feature.
For owners: an arrow in the app does not change how you park, and it does not replace looking both ways in a garage.
Featured photo: a Tesla Model 3 in a parking garage (file photo of the situation the locator is for, Nov. 2025 Los Angeles, not a Tesla marketing still). Image via Wikimedia Commons.
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