Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, initially said that FSD Beta version 11.3.2 would be the one distributed to all subscribers. However, Musk now says that Tesla is ready to expand FSD Beta to more owners this coming weekend. Given that the weekend is only three days away, it sounds like Tesla is happy with FSD Beta 11.3.1 and that will be the version that expands to more owners. At 11 PM last night, Musk tweeted:
V11 starts going wide this weekend
FSD Beta v11.3 was sent to employees exclusively and v11.3.1 later went out to the original 1,000 beta testers. More than 350,000 owners with access to FSD Beta are ready for this milestone release.
What's in the New FSD
With the new upgrade, drivers will find it simpler to grasp what the car is doing, thanks to various new representations. For instance, the path the car travels is now shown by a considerably thicker line, showing the whole space the car is currently using and will occupy soon. Moreover, chevrons have been added to the Tesla's exterior to indicate when the vehicle is slowing down. A white or black line now shows in front of the Tesla to indicate to the supervising driver exactly where the vehicle will stop.
New FSD messages are also included in the update to inform the driver of their actions, such as halting at a red light or waiting for pedestrians. Also, a brand-new voice drive-notes feature enables drivers to leave audio feedback if they need to take over from FSD.
Along with these new features, FSD version 11.3.1 also includes several enhancements, including a new "Minimal Lane Changes" option that limits the number of lane changes the car makes, a new shortcut to the FSD profiles, and a redesigned Autopilot menu that eliminates older options and improves the clarity of the options for drivers. Release notes are available for FSD Beta 11.3.1 as well as an article describing all of the new features and visualizations.
Another Step Toward Autonomous Driving
The new FSD update is a huge step towards reaching autonomy, which Musk claims is the company's top priority. During a recent conference with Morgan Stanley, Musk reaffirmed his commitment to creating a car that can function almost totally in autonomous mode.
Musk also spoke on Tesla's goal to bring out a cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and driverless vehicle in the near future. This vehicle, which Musk anticipates to be substantially cheaper than Tesla's current selection, will be produced at the company's new facility in Mexico, which was unveiled during Investor Day. With autonomy as the company's top priority, Musk sees the new car as a step in the right direction that will allow Tesla to support more drivers of sustainable powertrains.
Overall, the company's dedication to autonomy and its goal for a more sustainable, autonomous future is highlighted by the most recent FSD upgrade and Musk's remarks regarding the impending Tesla vehicle. Tesla is well-positioned to be a leader in developing autonomous vehicles as long as self-driving technology advances.
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Last night, Tesla released software update 2024.45.25.15, which includes FSD V12.6.1. This update adds support for all HW3 vehicles, including the Model 3 and Model Y. We’re excited to see the continued support for HW3 owners.
FSD V12.6.1
V12.6.1 is now going wide, according to Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s VP of AI. This update is going to the Model 3 and Model Y for the first time - as only the Model S and Model X were included in FSD V12.6.
V12.6 is a big step forward for HW3 - it includes End-to-End on Highway, Improved City Streets Behavior, and Smoother and More Accurate Tracking - all contributing towards a better, smoother, and more comfortable build of FSD. You can read our comparison between FSD V12.6 and V13.2.2 here.
In short, FSD V12.6 performs considerably closer to V13 than V12.5.4.2 - which is a massive improvement. It performs as well as the Cybertruck version of FSD V13, which is still missing a few features when compared to other HW4 vehicles, but it’s a great sign for HW3. A lot of the improvements can be pointed to in the improvements to lane selection and decision-making - the vehicle tends to hesitate far less on V12.6, meaning the ride is a lot smoother. Many early V12.6 testers mentioned that it felt more like V13-mini than anything else.
Legacy Model S & X
We haven’t seen this update hit any legacy Model S and Model X vehicles just yet. We’re not sure whether Ashok’s statement of “generally” applies here - but it should. If you do get the update, please let us know.
Legacy Model S and Model X vehicles are still on an older FSD build and potentially won’t see another FSD update for a little while longer. While they do have the same FSD hardware as other vehicles, there are enough hardware differences that require a build specifically for these vehicles.
FSD V12.6.1 is going out now to the redesigned Model S and X with HW3 and all Model 3 and Model Y vehicles with HW3. The initial wave went out last night, and we expect to see more later today or tomorrow. If this release ends up going “wide,” we should see much larger waves go out next week.
Tesla has issued a recall for some vehicles due to issues linked to a revision of the Hardware 4 (HW4) computer that was introduced this past November. This recall affects all vehicles with the revised hardware except for the Cybertruck, as it uses a slightly modified version of the HW4 system.
Many vehicle owners have reported a complete failure of their Autopilot computer, which not only leaves the vehicle without FSD and Autopilot but also disables many of the active safety features that make a Tesla what it is.
Let’s take a look at this recall - because the recall is partially physical and partially a software recall.
HW4 Failure
Tesla has identified the failure and flagged it to the U.S. NHTSA (but not Transport Canada or Euro NCAP at the time of publishing) as a recall.
Tesla mentions that the vehicle’s FSD computer circuit board may short circuit, resulting in the loss of the rearview camera image. The recall itself is focused on the rearview camera - as not having a functional rearview camera breaks a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard. However, it does impact more than just the rearview camera.
As previously mentioned, users have experienced the full loss of Autopilot and FSD on these vehicles, as well as reduced traction control and removal of safety features such as automatic emergency braking, collision avoidance assist, and forward collision warnings.
While the vehicle remains driveable, it is not necessarily a good idea to drive the vehicle with many of these features, especially with the reduced traction control noted by many people. We’ve already noted that while Tesla has been sending tow trucks to pick up some vehicles, it is also prompting owners to drive the vehicle to their service center in some cases.
Remedy
Unlike most of Tesla’s recalls, this one isn’t entirely an OTA recall, owing to the fact that people have already experienced circuit board shorts and are already waiting for replacements.
The software portion of the recall has already been mostly completed for any vehicles with Tesla software update 2024.45.25.3 or greater. However, a significant portion of the tracked fleet remains on update 2024.44.25.2 (approximately 20%), so we recommend updating your HW4 vehicle whenever you receive the notification.
On the hardware side, Tesla is immediately identifying and replacing hardware that has had circuit board failure. Tesla is also reaching out to customers who have expressed intermittent issues with Autopilot features, active safety features, or vehicle cameras that don't display correctly. If you have experienced any of these issues in a late 2024 vehicle, we recommend submitting a service ticket with Tesla to ensure that your vehicle isn’t affected by this recall.
