Many users are seeing drastic improvements to Tesla's auto high beams
EV Raffael/YouTube
For many of us, the days are getting shorter. Unfortunately, with the winter solstice one month away, we will have to deal with even more hours of darkness. This time of year gives headlights a workout, including auto high beams. While Tesla does many amazing things, the auto high beams have been problematic for owners, but that appears to be changing.
A video posted on YouTube by Twitter user @raffaeru shows a night drive with the lights changing from high to low beam. The description of the video reads: Finally, usable auto high beams on Teslas. A welcome undocumented change in software version 2022.40.4.
Twitter Confirms High Beam Changes
Although Tesla did not officially mention improvements to its auto high beams feature in the 2022.40 release notes, many users have reported drastic improvements to the feature.
We recently asked people on Twitter if they'd noticed a difference in auto high beams. Some have not, but others raved about the change. Here are some responses:
Video of Improved Auto High Beams
@Arpe_DK: Yup, so much better! Was driving 200 miles in the dark the other day, only once did the Tesla annoy an oncoming driver. Usually it annoys all of them. I rate the [auto] high beams 7/10 from 1/10. Further improvement are needed for sensitivity, and no high beam during streetlamps.
@wertzu112: Noticed very big difference on 2022.40.4.1. Seems Tesla has cranked up the sensitivity, now they also turn off without apparent reason all the time when light reflects off of signs, poles etc. But no more dazzling of oncoming traffic, so that's a plus. Was unusable before…
@bjornstenberg: Oh it has improved massively. It now dips as soon as it detects a vehicle in the field of view. Front, back, side, it detects everything. I didn't want to use it before since I couldn't trust it to not blind oncoming traffic. That worry is completely gone.
@andefred: Yes! Significant improvement! To the point that I most of the time could not react faster manually which I always did before.
V11 Includes High Beam Improvements
Also, well-known Tesla enthusiast @WholeMarsBlog posted a text conversation when tweeting the Full Self-Driving Version 11 release notes. It's unknown who is in the discussion, but they talk about V11 and then say "auto highbeams are waaay better with this version. I can actually trust it now!"
It's not clear whether FSD Beta v11 contains only the improved auto high beams from update 2022.40 or if Tesla has made additional improvements in v11.
By the way, we rely on information from Tesla owners and would like to thank everyone for their input on our Twitter question. If you've noticed improvements to auto high beams, let us know in our forum below.
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Tesla’s been on a roll with Supercharger improvements lately, from the 325kW charging update for the Cybertruck, to 500kW with V4 Superchargers coming next year. While those improvements have been limited to the Cybertruck, Tesla didn’t put all their focus on their new flagship vehicle, but looked at their more affordable vehicles as well.
LFP Battery Heating
Tesla’s Superchargers can now heat LFP Batteries - those that are in the Model 3 and Model Y Rear Wheel Drive variants. This applies to Long Range and Standard Range models, which saw a limited run. This is another update included as part of the 2024 Tesla Holiday Update - which really arrived with a lot of unannounced new features and capabilities.
The change is pretty interesting - Superchargers of the V3 and V4 variety can now pre-heat batteries for Model 3 and Model Y vehicles equipped with LFP battery packs. That means those vehicles are able to get back on the road faster when it's extremely cold. Of course, Tesla still advises you to precondition before you arrive, saving drivers time and money.
Max de Zegher, Tesla’s Director of Charging, also commented on the new feature. Essentially, Tesla is inducing an AC (alternating) ripple current through the battery to warm it up. Keep in mind that Superchargers are DC charging. That means it is possible to get a cold-soaked LFP vehicle on the road 4x faster than before, assuming that it didn’t precondition at all and that it is in the worst-case scenario (below 0ºF).
In essence, Tesla is using some engineering magic to turn the circuits inside the LFP battery into an electric heater - and powering that heater through the Supercharger. An AC ripple current is a small oscillation in the DC charging current that generates heat through electrical resistance, warming up the battery. Those ripples are a byproduct of converting AC to DC and back - so Tesla is using the onboard charger to induce those ripples to warm up the battery. Definitely an innovative technique that’s really only possible with the versatility of the NACS connector.
We’re hoping Tesla can implement this across their full lineup of vehicles, but we’ll have to wait and see how it is trialed across LFP vehicles first and if it is even possible on vehicles with 2170 or 4680 battery packs.
Tesla launched two FSD updates simultaneously on Saturday night, and what’s most interesting is that they arrived on the same software version. We’ll dig into that a little later, but for now, there’s good news for everyone. For Hardware 3 owners, FSD V12.6.1 is launching to all vehicles, including the Model 3 and Model Y. For AI4 owners, FSD V13.2.4 is launching, starting with the Cybertruck.
FSD V13.2.4
A new V13 build is now rolling out to the Cybertruck and is expected to arrive for the rest of the AI4 fleet soon. However, this build seems to be focused on bug fixes. There are no changes to the release notes for the Cybertruck with this release, and it’s unlikely to feature any changes when it arrives on other vehicles.
FSD V12.6.1 builds upon V12.6, which is the latest FSD version for HW3 vehicles. While FSD V12.6 was only released for the redesigned Model S and Model X with HW3, FSD V12.6.1 is adding support for the Model 3 and Model Y.
While this is only a bug-fix release for users coming from FSD V12.6, it includes massive improvements for anyone coming from an older FSD version. Two of the biggest changes are the new end-to-end highway stack that now utilizes FSD V12 for highway driving and a redesigned controller that allows FSD to drive “V13” smooth.
It also adds speed profiles, earlier lane changes, and more. You can read our in-depth look at all the changes in FSD V12.6.
Same Update, Multiple FSD Builds
What’s interesting about this software version is that it “includes" two FSD updates, V12.6.1 for HW3 and V13.2.4 for HW4 vehicles. While this is interesting, it’s less special when you understand what’s happening under the hood.
The vehicle’s firmware and Autopilot firmware are actually completely separate. While a vehicle downloading a firmware update may look like a singular process, it’s actually performing several functions during this period. First, it downloads the vehicle’s firmware. Upon unpacking the update, it’s instructed which Autopilot/FSD firmware should be downloaded.
While the FSD firmware is separate, the vehicle can’t download any FSD update. The FSD version is hard-coded in the vehicle’s firmware that was just downloaded. This helps Tesla keep the infotainment and Autopilot firmware tightly coupled, leading to fewer issues.
What we’re seeing here is that HW3 vehicles are being told to download one FSD version, while HW4 vehicles are being told to download a different version.
While this is the first time Tesla has had two FSD versions tied to the same vehicle software version, the process hasn’t actually changed, and what we’re seeing won’t lead to faster FSD updates or the ability to download FSD separately. What we’re seeing is the direct result of the divergence of HW3 and HW4.
While HW3/4 remained basically on the same FSD version until recently, it is now necessary to deploy different versions for the two platforms. We expect this to be the norm going forward, where HW3 will be on a much different version of FSD than HW4. While each update may not include two different FSD versions going forward, we may see it occasionally, depending on which features Autopilot is dependent on.
Thanks to Greentheonly for helping us understand what happened with this release and for the insight into Tesla’s processes.
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