Tesla cars to get custom horn sounds: Fart and goat sounds to be options

This is not the first time Teslas have had a fart option

Representative-fart-emoji-Tesla-Model-S-AFP Representative image

In a tweet on Sunday, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk announced that “customized horn & movement sounds (coconuts being one, of course)” would be coming to Teslas soon.

In a subsequent tweet, Musk put out the emojis for a blast of wind (or a fart) and a goat. On Monday, Musk followed up by tweeting a link to a Taylor Swift song, ‘Trouble’, that was remixed with goat sounds added on.

The reference to coconuts could be a nod to the Monty Python film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which Musk has previously said is among his favourite movies. In it, King Arthur is seen traversing England on an imaginary horse while an assistant trots behind him making ‘clip-clop’ sounds with a pair of coconuts.

This is not the first time that Teslas have been able to generate farting sounds. As an Easter Egg feature released in December, 2018, the carmaker allowed users to toggle a fart via the internal speakers, with a sound that  can be played on demand or whenever the driver activates the turn signal. There were a range of options, as well as the ability to pick which side of the car the fart sound seemed to come from.

Musk's new proposal would replace the horn sound with a customisable one. In addition, Tesla's 'movement' sounds will also be able to be changed.

Since electric cars do not have a discernible engine sound, the US Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act 2010 mandated that all electric cars must generate an audible sound at speeds below 30kph so pedestrians can become aware of their presence. Some carmakers allow these to be customised: In India, the electric bike manufacturer Revolt Motors included an option on its RV400 series to choose from one of three engine tones.