Tesla Releases FSD Beta 11.3.3: Starts Going Out to Owners

Tesla is sending out FSD Beta v11.3.3 to owners

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Tesla released FSD Beta 11.3.3, version 2022.45.12 to employees last night. Early this morning Tesla transitioned to a public release and started sending out the beta to various consumers.

This release appears to focus on bug fixes, as the release notes remain the same as beta 11.3.2.

Release

The expansion of 11.3.2 was halted after reaching about 9% of testers. We can only assume that Tesla identified a critical issue that needed to be addressed. The release of 11.3.3 is expected to fix these issues and expand to more users.

Tesla sent out a large wave this morning to update owners that were on beta 11.3.2.

New Visualizations and Feedback Feature

Tesla also introduced new driving visualizations, such as a wider path, blue chevrons, a stop line, and blue traffic lights. Additionally, the update includes the "Voice Drive Notes" feature, which allows drivers to provide hands-free feedback on Autopilot disengagement.

You can also check out our in-depth look at FSD Beta v11.3 visualizations and options.

What's in FSD Version 11

The update includes a myriad of improvements to FSD Beta's features and performance, such as:

Unifying the vision and planning stack on and off-highway replaces the legacy highway stack and integrates multi-camera video networks with next-gen planners, resulting in smoother control and better decision-making capabilities.

Better positioning in wide lanes by biasing in the direction of the upcoming turn to allow other cars to maneuver around the Tesla vehicle more efficiently.

Smoother lane changes in dense traffic scenarios, allowing higher acceleration during the alignment phase for more natural gap selection when overtaking adjacent vehicles.

Enhanced handling during scenarios with high curvature or large trucks, maintaining safe distances to other vehicles on the road and increasing comfort for passengers.

Improved driving behavior next to parked cars in narrow lanes, preferring to offset and staying within the lane instead of unnecessarily lane changing away or slowing down.

New text blurbs on the user interface to communicate upcoming maneuvers and improved visualization of upcoming slowdowns along the vehicle's path.

Chevrons render at varying opacity and speed to indicate the slowdown intensity, with a solid line appearing at locations where the car will come to a stop.

NHTSA Recalls

Moreover, Tesla is addressing specific behaviors within FSD Beta as part of a recent recall. These improvements include:

More natural and human-like yellow light handling by modeling the decision as a tradeoff framework that considers estimated deceleration, time to enter and exit the intersection, and the distance traversed across the intersection before the light transitions to red.

Enhanced speed adjustment when entering certain speed zones by allowing for earlier control for detected speed limit signs and adjusting the assertiveness of the response accordingly.

A visual glow behind the speed limit icon on the user interface alerts the driver when the vehicle's set speed exceeds the detected speed limit by more than 50%.

Updated behavior for certain scenarios where the Tesla may maneuver from a turn lane to continue traveling straight, treating these maneuvers as a lane change with the turn indicator used to alert other drivers of the Tesla's intent.

Another Step Toward Autonomous

With this update, Tesla aims to enhance its Full Self-Driving system's overall user experience and safety. The company is continuously refining the technology through fleet learning, user feedback, and rigorous testing to bring autonomous driving closer to reality.

Tesla has been stressing the importance of driver vigilance even while using the FSD Beta, reminding drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road. The release notes reiterate that the system may not detect all objects and may not brake or slow down for crossing traffic or stationary objects, particularly when moving at high speeds.

As Tesla continues to refine its Full Self-Driving technology, the company faces increasing competition from other automakers and tech companies, such as Waymo, Cruise, and Argo AI, who are all working on developing their autonomous driving systems. Nevertheless, these updates signify Tesla's commitment to the development and improvement of its self-driving technology, inching closer to a future where autonomous vehicles are more commonplace on the roads.

The release of FSD Beta 11.3.3 is a step forward for Tesla in addressing the challenges faced in previous versions and improving the functionality and safety of its autonomous driving system. As the company works on expanding its fleet of FSD Beta testers and gathers crucial data to make further enhancements, the future of autonomous driving becomes closer to becoming a reality for Tesla owners.

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

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.

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

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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