Musk Says Tesla Will Offer a One-Month Free Trial of FSD Beta

By Kevin Armstrong
Tesla to offer a free month of FSD Beta in the future
Tesla to offer a free month of FSD Beta in the future
Not a Tesla App

Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently committed to a one-month free trial of the company's Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology. Musk's comments came in response to a Twitter user asking about a subscription service for FSD in Canada. While the timeline for the trial remains uncertain, Musk emphasized that it would only be introduced once the FSD system achieves "super smooth" operation.

FSD Beta Free Trial

Although a specific timeline for the free trial has not been provided, Musk's commitment indicates that Tesla is focused on refining its FSD technology to ensure a high-quality user experience. The free trial, which will be available to all Tesla owners in North America, may be extended globally once the technology is approved by regulators and adapted for local roads in other countries.

Musk's commitment to the one-month free trial is contingent on the FSD system reaching an optimal level of smoothness. According to Musk, safety is Tesla's primary concern, and the company will only shift its focus to refining the FSD user experience after achieving a higher tier of safety.

While the timeline for the free trial remains unclear, Tesla's ongoing efforts to enhance the safety and smoothness of its FSD system could eventually pave the way for the introduction of the free trial.

Potential Implications for the Canadian Market

The Twitter exchange that prompted Musk's commitment to the free trial involved a user inquiring about a subscription service for FSD in Canada, where the system currently costs $19,500 CAD for a one-time purchase. While Musk did not directly address the subscription query, his commitment to a future free trial suggests that the company is considering alternative ways to make FSD more accessible to Tesla owners in Canada and other markets.

Musk recently commented on the upcoming release of FSD Beta 11.4.1 and what he expects FSD Beta v12 to include.

As Tesla works to refine its Full Self-Driving system, the eventual introduction of a one-month free trial could offer a significant opportunity for Tesla owners to experience the technology firsthand. The trial's ultimate success may hinge on Tesla's ability to achieve a high level of safety and smoothness in the system's operation.

Tesla HW3 Not Dead Yet - Ability to Reverse Coming Soon

By Karan Singh
Scotty4Scott

The reports of HW3’s death have been greatly exaggerated. With FSD V12.6.1 finally beginning to make its way to HW3 Model Ys, Tesla’s AI team is still hard at work improving FSD on Hardware 3 vehicles - and we’ve definitely seen a great step forward since V12.5 with the latest releases.

While Model 3 vehicles are still waiting for V12.6.1 to roll out to them, we’re already looking at the future of new features on HW3.

Reverse Confirmed

In a post on X, Elon Musk confirmed that reverse would be making its way to Hardware 3 vehicles soon. He jokingly pointed out that it probably stresses out the AI model quite a bit. The path planner currently thinks it can reverse, putting the vehicle in situations where it’s required to reverse, such as lining up for a three point turn. Right now FSD will draw squiggly lines all over the screen with its path planner.

FSD usually won’t give up until it really cannot move any further - it will inch as far forward as it can, and try planning the path to a three-point-turn. For now, FSD on HW3 vehicles isn’t allowed to shift in reverse outside of AutoPark, so it can’t continue and will stall out, waiting for a user intervention.

With FSD V13 for HW4, we saw vehicles gain the ability to Unpark, reverse and start FSD from park. It’s possible that when HW3 vehicles gain the ability to reverse, it may also include some of these other abilities, which truly start making FSD seem human-like.

Cybertruck’s FSD Too

As an aside, the Cybertruck’s build of FSD V13.2 is also not capable of reversing just yet. While the Cybertruck can AutoPark, it cannot Unpark, Park, or be Actually Smart Summoned quite yet - among other missing features. 

Tesla’s official Cybertruck account also commented on Elon’s post - mentioning it's like an itch that can’t be scratched. Here’s hoping that Cybertruck also gets the chance to reverse soon as well.

All in all, it’s a big positive that Elon, as well as Tesla’s VP of AI - Ashok Elluswamy - have continued to acknowledge that changes and improvements for FSD on Hardware 3 vehicles are still coming. With this, and the knowledge that Tesla could potentially look at a hardware retrofit in the future if they can’t achieve Unsupervised FSD, we feel like it is far too early to say Hardware 3 is dead.

The question is - will the new Reverse feature push the build to V13? Or will we see FSD V12.7 next? Let us know what you think in the forums or on social media.

Tesla Says It's Working on a Comprehensive Camera Cleaning Solution

By Not a Tesla App Staff
TesBros

Tesla vehicles rely heavily on external cameras for their advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and the future of fully autonomous robotaxis. However, driving in bad weather presents a significant challenge: keeping those cameras clean. Without a reliable cleaning solution, Robotaxis, which depend entirely on vision, cannot function safely and effectively.

Tesla owner Chuck Cook recently brought up this issue on X, saying to the Tesla AI team, “While I agree cleaning cameras while supervised is definitely something we need to consider... having an official post from @Tesla_AI about cleaning our own cameras is a bit concerning. You have a plan for this, right? Unsupervised can’t have customers wiping cameras.”

The Tesla_AI team responded, “On a more serious note, a more comprehensive cleaning solution is being worked on.”

Front Cameras

With the redesigned 2025 Model Y, Tesla introduced a front-facing camera, joining the Cybertruck in this regard. The Model S and Model X are also slated to receive this upgrade in the future and we eventually expect all Tesla vehicles to come with one standard.

Camera Washers

While the addition of a front camera is a step forward, it introduces another yet camera that needs to be cleaned.

Currently, the Cybertruck is the only known Tesla model equipped with a dedicated camera washer. This system drips water onto the front camera lens, allowing the wind to blow the moisture away. While it’s a simple and effective feature, it’s unclear whether Tesla implemented a similar feature in the new Model Y.

Rear Camera Shield

Sawyer Merritt/X

Tesla recently added a small shield around the rear camera to reduce the amount of dirt and water splashing onto the lens. Additionally, the rear camera on the new Model Y was relocated from above the license plate to the trunk lid. This repositioning presumably helps keep the lens cleaner by reducing its exposure to road spray.

While these adjustments are helpful, they don’t fully solve the issue, especially in harsher environments with constant rain, snow, or road debris.

Potential Solutions

There are several possible ways Tesla could address this issue:

  1. Camera Washers: Expanding the Cybertruck’s washer feature to all external cameras or at least to the rear camera could provide a straightforward solution for keeping lenses clean.

  2. Lens Coatings: Applying special coatings that repel water, dirt, and debris could reduce buildup on camera lenses. However, these coatings would still have limitations in extreme weather conditions.

  3. Software Alerts: Software already notifies drivers when a camera is obstructed or dirty, but this wouldn’t solve the issue without a hardware solution to physically clean the lens.

Given that the new Model Y has already been announced, it doesn’t sound like Tesla incorporated a “comprehensive” solution to the dirty camera issue.

Tesla’s Solution?

Tesla’s mention of working on a “comprehensive cleaning solution” raises questions about what’s in development. The new Model Y doesn’t appear to feature anything we’d classify as comprehensive, and it’s unclear whether it even has a front camera washer like the Cybertruck.

One potential solution could tie into Tesla’s Robotaxi plans. Tesla is building hubs for its Robotaxis, where vehicles can be cleaned and maintained using robotic systems. These cleaning hubs could include robotic arms that wipe down exterior cameras when needed.

While this approach may work for Robotaxis in most situations, it doesn’t address the needs of private Tesla owners who rely on their vehicles daily. Tesla may assume that individual owners can manually clean their cameras as needed.

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