Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology continues to reach new heights, as the company announced during its latest earnings call that it has now crossed over 150 million miles driven using the FSD beta. CEO Elon Musk emphasized this number's exponential growth and data's importance in refining the technology.
Exponential Growth in Miles Driven
Musk spoke about the data advantage Tesla holds, as no other company can currently boast such a wealth of information collected from real-world driving scenarios. This wealth of training data is critical in achieving an exceptional outcome for full autonomy. In addition, the ever-increasing number of miles driven demonstrates the growing trust in Tesla's FSD technology and its widespread adoption among Tesla owners.
Focus on Neural Net Training Capabilities
Tesla is also dedicated to improving its neural net training capabilities, which Musk identified as one of the main limiting factors in achieving full autonomy. By continuing to invest in this area, Tesla demonstrates its commitment to perfecting the FSD technology. Enhanced neural net training will increase the safety and reliability of autonomous driving features and contribute to the overall advancement of artificial intelligence in the automotive industry.
Full Autonomy Within Reach
Musk also touched on the value of an autonomous vehicle, suggesting that current Tesla prices reflect the option value of a future autonomous car. He expressed optimism that the FSD beta's improvements are "really quite dramatic" and that the trend is "very clearly towards full self-driving."
Despite being hesitant, Musk said that full autonomy could be achieved this year, reflecting Tesla's progress in refining its FSD technology. With more than 150 million miles driven using the FSD beta and rapid improvements in the software, Tesla's pursuit of perfecting autonomous driving is well underway, reinforcing its position as a leader in the electric vehicle and autonomous vehicle industry. Earlier this month, Musk said on Twitter that FSD Beta is now driving about 1 million miles per day across the fleet in the U.S. and Canada. This number will undoubtedly grow as Tesla expands FSD Beta into other markets.
The Impact on Electric Vehicle Market
Tesla's progress in FSD technology will significantly impact the electric vehicle market. As full autonomy becomes a reality, consumer demand for electric vehicles with advanced autonomous features will likely increase. This, in turn, will push other automakers to invest more in developing their autonomous driving technologies to keep up with Tesla's advancements.
Furthermore, the widespread adoption of autonomous driving technology could lead to a transformation in urban transportation, with more efficient traffic flow, reduced emissions, and improved safety. Tesla's success in FSD development is a testament to the company's innovation and an indication of the future direction of the automotive industry as a whole.
In August 2022, Tesla said they were tracking toward 100 million miles on FSD Beta by the end of the year. Almost five months later and Tesla has reached the milestone of 150 million miles driven using FSD Beta. With the promise of full autonomy on the horizon, Tesla's dedication to safety, innovation, and sustainable transportation is solidifying its position as a leader in the electric and autonomous vehicles industry.
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Tesla maintains two primary software branches: the main feature branch and the FSD branch. In general, the FSD branch lags behind on new features pushed to the main branch but provides a more recent FSD version.
However, now Tesla is updating the main branch to a much more recent version of FSD.
Current FSD Build & Shadow Mode
Nowadays, the main branch always includes an older but stable build of FSD. It’s been on FSD V12.3.6 since July 2024. So, if you subscribe to FSD in North America, this is the FSD version you’ll receive until you get added to the FSD track.
Even if you don’t subscribe to or have purchased FSD, your vehicle has v12.3.6 on it. That includes vehicles in regions where FSD isn’t available for general use, such as Europe and China. In those cases, FSD runs in Shadow Mode, providing training data to Tesla if you’ve agreed to their data privacy policies. So Tesla is always analyzing what the vehicle would do compared to what the driver does. When there are contradictions, these are the clips and data Tesla will want to analyze.
FSD V12.5.4.2 on Main Branch
For the first time in five months, Tesla has now updated the baseline version of FSD in the main branch. The new version included with 2024.44 updates is FSD v12.5.4.2. This Tesla is updating the baseline FSD version to FSD V12.5.4.2
FSD 12.5 includes many features for a much smoother experience compared to FSD 12.3.6. Many users will appreciate that it gets rid of the steering wheel nag and instead relies on the cabin camera to provide real-time driver monitoring. This version also includes support for sunglasses with driver monitoring. It’ll be a big upgrade for anyone coming from FSD 12.3.6.
It's always a good thing when Tesla updates the baseline FSD version—that means that Tesla is confident that this new baseline is considerably safer and will continue to train the fleet against it.
What Update Am I Getting?
If you’re already on FSD V12.5.4.2, you’ll likely remain on that FSD build unless V13.3 manages to make its way to the public as Tesla originally planned, but that’s unlikely to happen before the Thanksgiving holiday. In all likelihood, you’ll be getting update 2024.44, which will give you some additional Tesla features while keeping you on the same FSD version.
For those who are already on 2024.44 - if you subscribe now, you’ll have V12.5.4.2 enabled on your vehicle.
If you have a Cybertruck, then you’ll receive update 2024.39.5 with FSD V12.5.5.3. They’re on a unique build for the moment, and this will likely be the case until Tesla acquires enough training data from the Cybertruck fleet.
The Cybertruck is having an eventful November. Just last week, we shared the news that Tesla isn’t offering their in-house wrap service for the Cybertruck anymore; the Foundation Series is now available in inventory in select US locations, Crossbars have arrived, and faster charging is around the corner. Now there’s even more to discuss about the stainless steel beast.
Projection Puddle Lights
Like the recently launched puddle lights for the Model 3 and Model Y, Tesla has introduced a set of add-on Projector Puddle Lights for the Cybertruck. These Cybertruck-specific ones go for $75 USD, or $105 CAD and are available in both the Canadian and US Tesla stores.
However, these don’t have the Tesla wordmark - instead, they feature the iconic Cybertruck symbol and, in our opinion, look even nicer. Here’s to hoping Tesla also introduces a set with the graffiti-style Cybertruck wordmark.
Powershare in Canada
While the Foundation Series Cybertruck has been getting delivered in Canada since November 7th, there was no news on Powershare being supported due to regulatory constraints. On the 20th, Foundation Series owners in Canada began to receive emails to get their Powershare installs started through Tesla’s official installer - Qmerit.
More to follow on pricing and the process as we receive our Canadian quote from Qmerit soon.
FSD in Canada
The Cybertruck Program Manager, Siddhant Awasthi, confirmed that with Powershare now becoming available, FSD for the Cybertruck in Canada will also become available soon. Canadian trucks shipped with a factory software build that didn’t include FSD, but did include TACC and stoplight/traffic control.
Early this morning Tesla began rolling out a new version of FSD 12.5.5.3 for the Cybertruck, which is update 2024.39.5. Will this be the version that rolls out in Canada?
Update: Yesterday, Tesla started rolling out FSD on the Cybertruck in Canada for the first time. The update being rolled out is update 2024.39.5, which not only features the latest FSD available on the Cybertruck, version 12.5.5.3, but it also includes all the features update 2024.38, which includes the huge Sentry Mode improvements that reduce power consumption by about 40%.
Following Integrated Flight Test 6 for SpaceX’s Starship, Elon Musk confirmed that uncrewed Starships are likely to begin making their way to Mars in about 2 years. You’re probably going to ask what’s going to be in those Starships - that’s what Brett Winston on X asked as well. Elon confirmed that Cybertrucks and Optimus robots will be among some of the first items landing on Mars.
That’s a ton of awesome news for Cybertruck, and there’s absolutely going to be more around the corner, especially as we await the big Tesla Holiday Update. While you wait, why not take a look at our Holiday Update Wishlists?