Like thousands of other Twitter users, we spent a lot of last night cruising around with @winnersechelon, who also goes by Tesla Bull. The Twitter user shared five videos of Tesla's latest FSD Beta version 11.3. It gave viewers our firsthand look at the highly anticipated software that Elon Musk has been promising for months, and it appears to be worth the wait. Tesla Bull tweeted:
"FSD beta 11.3 UNIFIED STACK!! Let's go!!! Great work team Tesla."
Striking Visual Changes
The videos show some undeniable changes from the previous FSD versions. The blue line showing the car's path is noticeably thicker, taking up the width of the vehicle. Also, the red lines are gone, replaced with light grey lines similar to those we see with standard Autopilot. New visualization appears at intersections and around crosswalks, according to Tesla Bull.
Smooth Drive
Then there is the drive. While this is difficult to judge, Tesla Bull tweeted:
Noticeably smoother in certain areas where timid previously. Still, a long way to go and many more miles to test.
Sharing real unfiltered progress is exciting. There was one driver intervention that caused another new addition to FSD. A message appears stating: Autopilot Disengaged. What Happened? Press voice button to send Tesla an anonymous message describing your experience.
We got from city streets to the highway, and Tesla Bull reported that he did make several manual speed changes. Still, it's unclear if the changes were necessary, as he also stated that one of the speed adjustments was to catch another Tesla. The software is put through all the paces as it also exits the highway effortlessly and returns to city streets. The car takes the on and off ramps much more naturally, and cornering and acceleration appear confident.
It was a big test to see the Tesla go from city streets to highways and vice versa. That is a significant change with this update that combines city streets and highways into a single stack, meaning the same Neural Nets are being used in all situations, as promised by the Autopilot team on A.I. Day 2022.
Tesla Bull claims that "auto park" is active again. He later provides a video showing Auto Park in action. It's important to note that he has a 2020 Tesla that has ultrasonic sensors, so this is not the new Auto Park for vehicles without the sensors. Actual Smart Summon (ASS) also does not appear to be in this release. That said, it has been on the radar for several months. Unfortunately, the nag continues to nag. While Musk had hoped to remove the reminder to apply resistant to the wheel, transportation officials in both the United States and Canada raised concerns.
FSD v11.3 is nearing public release. Musk said that version 11.3.2. would "likely" be the one that goes to the thousands of FSD owners in North America. That means the version Tesla Bull took for a ride stills requires work before the Tesla team can send it out wide. Tesla Bull agrees, he tweeted: Smooth indeed. Will share more videos with full transparency. Could be three steps forward and two back but this will be solved. You're doing it Tesla. You're leading and it matters!
Streets to Highway PT. 1 One intervention (accelerator press, right before highway entrance) Multiple manual speed changes Last one to catch a fellow @Tesla ?
Rendering of what Tesla's license plate feature could look like
Not a Tesla App
Tesla update 2024.38 has started rolling out to several regions and vehicles. Thanks to Tesla hacker Greentheonly, we have a behind-the-scenes look at some new features coming to Teslas.
License Plate Display
According to Greentheonly, it looks like Tesla may soon let you display your actual license plate in the vehicle’s visualization on the screen. In our article, The Most Request Tesla Features, several readers suggested displaying the vehicle’s license plate in the visualization instead of a blank, white plate.
It looks like Tesla will be doing just that, at least in China. Green found references that appear to conclude that you’ll be able to display your vehicle’s plate on screen. This will likely be user input, so you could have it say anything you’d like, and it doesn’t have to be your actual license plate.
For many owners, who may find it difficult to remember their license plate, this could serve a practical purpose in addition to adding to the visualization's realism.
While Green was only able to say it’ll be available in China, we expect this is due to China’s software development team working on it and that it’ll eventually be released worldwide.
While code for this feature was found in update 2024.38, we may not be turned on in China yet. We suspect this feature may be a strong candidate for Tesla’s upcoming holiday update.
FSD Hardware Version Display
As part of the 2024.38 update, Tesla has now made it easy to determine whether your vehicle includes Hardware 3 or Hardware 4. You can now simply navigate to Controls > Software and tap Additional Vehicle Information. In addition to other hardware information about your vehicle, your Autopilot hardware version will now be listed as well.
You can see whether your vehicle has HW2.5, HW3, or AI4. This in-car display is useful, but if you don’t have access to the vehicle, you can always use our guide on how to determine the hardware version of a Tesla.
New Battery Health Test & Service Mode Improvements
Green found some additional things as well. There’s a new and improved Battery Health Test. The new test will show you how your car scores compared to similar vehicles in the Tesla fleet.
In addition, maintenance records can now be permanently stored “in the car.” It doesn’t appear that this feature is activated yet, but it’s likely in active development with some parts leaking out in the 2024.38 update.
Tesla has included various Service Mode improvements and new visualizations in this update.
Mr Li on X came across some covered-up Project Juniper vehicles recently and he managed to get various shots of the vehicle.
Juniper Images
This front image reveals what looks like two rows of lights, possibly confirming the front light bar for the Model Y refresh — similar to the one on the Cybercab.
The rear side has a lot of lights on it!
Mr Li on X
The rear side shows a ton of brake lights, but it’s not clear why. While it looks like the Model Y refresh will also feature a rear light bar similar to the Cybertruck, there isn’t strong evidence of that in this photo.
Mr Li on X
There's an obvious set of lights at the bottom, so it looks like the Model Y refresh will be similar to the new Model 3 where the bottom lights can operate as brake lights when the one-piece tail lights and trunk are up.
Mr Li on X
In the last photo, we see that the overall form factor of the refreshed Model Y will remain unchanged, and Tesla is focusing the changes on the front and rear ends of the vehicle, much like the Model 3 refresh. However, in this one shot, we can also see what appears to be red light leaking out of the rear camera cover opening, possibly due to the rear light bar.
The Model Y is not only Tesla’s best-selling vehicle but also the world’s best-selling car in 2023. This year, it’s expected to be the best-selling vehicle in the United States and again in the world, so this refresh will be huge for Tesla.
@DominicBRNKMN made another fantastic set of concepts based on these new images. Given he had the most accurate Model 3 Highland concept before the official launch, we’re pretty sure his latest work be close here as well.
@DominicBRNKMN
We’re super excited to see the eventual reveal of Project Juniper, which is expected in the first half of 2025. However, expect to see a few more leaks before production kicks off at Giga Shanghai.