Musk Shares Additional Details on the Rollout of FSD Beta v11.3

By Kevin Armstrong
Tesla is getting ready to release a major update to FSD Beta
Tesla is getting ready to release a major update to FSD Beta
Not a Tesla App

Elon Musk has provided additional details on Tesla's long-awaited FSD Beta v11. Unfortunately, the timeline is not as firm or straightforward as it may have appeared a week ago. As a result, many eagerly awaiting the latest FSD may be disappointed that the program is still not out, but the amount of testing could show how advanced the update will be.

Twitter user @WholeMarsBlog posted a video of a drive using version FSD Beta 10.69.25.2, which has received one million views and shows the system working flawlessly without any driver input. In response to the tweet, Musk said:

"FSD 11.3 is close to limited release. Just drove it through SF & LA yesterday. Probably 11.3.2 is able to go wide."

Tesla Testing in Phases

There is a lot to unpack in those 114 characters. They confirm that v11.3 will go to employees, as per usual protocol. Then it will likely go to a small group of testers, possibly the original couple of thousand, not the more than 400,000 drivers who have or subscribe to FSD.

The next clue is that the version that will be going to everyone is .2, not .1. This would indicate V11.3 will gather data from a small group of testers to make any adjustments, and then 11.3.1 will go out to a slightly wider audience. Only after all those bugs are fixed, and the Tesla team is satisfied will 11.3.2 be released to the masses.

Major Roll Outs Have Been Staggered

If history repeats itself, we could be looking at about a month before V11.3 rolls out to most testers. For example, when FSD Beta v10.12 was being tested, subsequent updates were issued a few days to a week after the last release. Still, it took almost a month from when the first version was released to testers to when the majority of testers received the wide-release beta, which was FSD Beta v10.12.2.

@WholeMarsBlog, a long-time FSD tester, added more context in a tweet: "At first, FSD Beta V11 may be worse and less stable in many ways, but as it matures, it will enable much better driving than was ever possible in V10. Tesla will first release to all Tesla employees. It will stay with Tesla employees for at least 24 hours — currently, only a small group of employees have it. If no major issues are discovered at that point, it will go to a few customers."

Twitter user @amyserwinowski summed it up best with this tweet: "I think V10 is pretty good. They should not rush V11 out."

We've already seen the release notes for FSD Beta V11 that was released to some employees back in November 2022, but there may be even more included in V11.3. We hope to see the first sightings and release notes for FSD Beta V11.3 this weekend or early next week.

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Tesla LFP Batteries Can Now Be Warmed up While Supercharging Using Innovative Feature

By Karan Singh
Not a Tesla App

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 Included FSD V12.6.1 and V13.2.4 in the Same Update: What Caused This and What It Means

By Karan Singh
Not a Tesla App

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.

While this update focuses on bug fixes, Tesla’s already working on bigger features for FSD V13.3, which we have already confirmed to include improvements to highway following and speed control.

FSD V12.6.1

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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