Tesla to Deliver Cars at 50% Charge, Offers 150km Free Supercharging

By Kevin Armstrong
Tesla will now give owners a 150km Supercharger credit
Tesla will now give owners a 150km Supercharger credit
Tesla

Tesla has recently come up with a new way of doing things when it comes to delivering cars. The company claims this change has been made to align with some new rules in the industry. In the past, Tesla always delivered cars with a full charge. Now, they are to be delivered with only half charge.

Why the Change?

When electric vehicles are being transported from one place to another, having them fully charged can pose a risk. Keeping the state of charge (SOC) at 50% during shipment reduces the chances of battery fires. This practice is not new. Other battery-operated devices, like e-bikes, are also shipped at a lower SOC for the same safety reasons.

Tesla's Gesture: 150km Free Supercharging Credit

Tesla knows that this new delivery policy might inconvenience some customers. The company is offering a 150km free Supercharging credit to make up for it. According to Tesla, this credit can be redeemed a few days after the car is delivered. Customers can do this through the Loot Box in their Tesla app.

While this might sound like a hassle to some, many customers appreciate Tesla's thoughtful gesture. With this credit, even though they have to make a trip to the Supercharging station a bit sooner than expected, it won't cost them a thing.

What Do Customers Think?

Customers have taken to online platforms like Reddit to voice their opinions about this new policy. The responses are mixed. Some customers didn't mind the lower SOC because they were pleasantly surprised by the Supercharging credits they received. These folks found the credits waiting for them in their Loot Box, even when their car's SOC was over 50% at delivery.

On the other hand, some customers felt Tesla could do better. They believe Tesla should offer the option to fully charge the cars at the delivery center before handing over the keys. This way, the customer can decide whether to take the car at 50% SOC or wait for a full charge.

Whether these new industry norms are real or not, Tesla is showing it is willing to make changes for safety and still find a way to keep its customers happy. The company is not just about selling cars. Tesla is all about ensuring its customers have a great experience from the moment they take the keys to their new car. Even if it means adapting to new rules or creating new policies, Tesla is always looking for ways to do right by its customers. And that is what sets it apart in the electric car industry.

Tesla Launches FSD V12.6.2, Finally Available for HW3 Model 3

By Karan Singh
Not a Tesla App

Last night, Tesla released software update 2024.45.32.5, which includes updated versions of FSD for HW3 and HW4 vehicles. More specifically, this update includes FSD V12.6.2 for HW3 and FSD V13.2.5 for HW4 models (how to check if you have HW3 or HW4).

While there aren’t new features in this update and the FSD release notes remain the same, it does include bug fixes, which should help these FSD updates go to a wider audience.

HW3 Model 3

What’s most interesting about this update is that it’s the first time a version of FSD V12.6 is going out to the Model 3 with HW3. Previously, it was only available for the redesigned Model S, Model X, and Model Y. The Cybertruck has only ever been available with HW4, which makes the Model 3 the lone vehicle left out of the FSD 12.6 release for unknown reasons.

The FSD hardware for the Model 3 and Model Y is identical, but the camera placements shift slightly due to the different vehicle body shapes, so it’s possible that played a role.

After a long wait, Model 3 owners are finally getting a chance to try out End-to-End on the Highway, as well as many other improvements.

FSD V12.6.2 Improvements

FSD V12.6.2 shares the same changelog as V12.6.1 - so we’re not expecting major changes besides bug fixes on this particular release, at least for vehicles coming from V12.6.1. Instead, it seems the primary focus of this update is to address compatibility for the Model 3.

V12.6 is a big step upwards from V12.5.4.2 - and we did an in-depth comparison of V12.6 and V13 here. V12.6 brings End-to-End on Highway, improved behavior on City Streets, Smoother and More Accurate Tracking, as well as Speed Profiles on high-speed roads and highways.

Overall, V12.6 is far closer to V13 than it is to V12.5.4.2 - and it really does feel that way. It is an impressive feat from Tesla to make such big and positive changes for a platform that they’ve admittedly been having some difficulties in obtaining better results. However, this really underlines the fact that they’re still committed and trying very hard to achieve Unsupervised FSD even on HW3.

In fact, in an upcoming FSD update, HW3 vehicles will gain the ability to shift into and maneuver in reverse. This should also add other FSD V13 features, such as three-point turns.

The other bit of good news is that this latest FSD update is based on update 2024.45.32.x, which means that it will be available to all vehicles. While Tesla has released the next major update, version 2025.2, it’s currently only available internally. If you’ve been thinking about subscribing to FSD, now may be a good time, since you’ll qualify to receive the latest HW3 or HW4 FSD version once it rolls out widely.

Legacy Model S and Model X

While the update has begun to roll out to Model 3’s for the first time, at this point in time, we haven’t seen any legacy Model S or Model X vehicles included in this update. Those vehicles, for now, are still on FSD V12.5.4.2. 

However, we do expect Tesla to add support for these vehicles. The question is whether that’s included in this update or whether it’ll be a future release.

Update 2024.45.32.5

FSD Supervised 12.6.2 & 13.2.5
Installed on 0.1% of fleet
22 Installs today
Last updated: Jan 24, 1:15 am UTC

When Does It Arrive?

This update has barely started rolling out - the first vehicles started receiving the update last night in a small batch. However, we will hopefully see more waves in the coming days that will progressively get larger. Expect this update to take at least two weeks to go out to the majority of HW3 vehicles if major issues aren’t found.

A Closer Look at the New 2025 Model Y Juniper Refresh

By Karan Singh
@tslachan on X

Now that the Model Y Juniper refresh has officially been announced in the Asia-Pacific markets, the initial vehicles from Giga Shanghai are starting to make their way to showrooms throughout the region.

And that means lots of new pictures. Let’s take a look at some of the latest close-up shots of the 2025 Model Y.

Light Bar Close-Up

Our first up-close look at the new front end of the new Model Y. This car is likely en route to a showroom prior to the start of Tesla’s big sales push for the Chinese Lunar New Year, and this is one of the closest and cleanest shots of the new front end.

The sharp new front of the Juniper
The sharp new front of the Juniper
@DriveGreen80167 on X

The new front light bar is very visible, even when it’s off. It’s more than a thin strip of lights. The headlights are located directly below the light bar at either end. You can also see the new squared-away sharp lines - starting from the lightbar gaps and going up the hood. The new design looks far more aggressive and sharp when viewed at this angle.

Wheels

And the new wheels are pretty interesting, too - especially since they don’t seem to have full aero covers on them. We’re wondering if Tesla intends to introduce aero covers for these wheels later - or if they’ll just stay uncovered. They look pretty good - but the black hubcap in the center stands out against the rest of the wheel. Time will tell whether the clean black finish holds up with use.

We're a big fan of these new fan-blade wheels
We're a big fan of these new fan-blade wheels
@DriveGreen80167 on X

Either way, they’re pretty good looking - but we’d prefer to see them in an all black finish - similar to the Shadow Gemini’s that are currently available. Hopefully, once the Model Y refresh arrives in North America and Europe, that option will be available in addition to the Crossflow wheels.

Videos

Here is one of the first videos showing off the rear light bar.

Another video below shows how the trunk will open:

Interior

The refreshed Model Y also brings a ton of changes to the interior. In addition to the Launch Edition exclusive dash, we also get a good shot of the new ventilated seats, as well as the return of the turn signal stalk.

The best interior shot we've seen so far
The best interior shot we've seen so far
@DriveGreen80167 on X

The new Model Y also has the same new center console as the Model 3 Highland - with the two-part slider. For now, it seems like the Launch Edition will include rubber pedal covers - nothing fancy like the metallic ones available on the Performance variants yet.

Rear End Close-Up

On the rear end of the vehicle, we get a close-up view of the new reflective light bar. Tesla claims this is an industry-first, and it does look very cool. The actual light is located on the inside edge of the piece that overhangs the reflective portion. The reflective portion itself is painted to match the vehicle - and isn’t a glossy surface, but rather matte.

Gotta love that new reflective light bar
Gotta love that new reflective light bar
@DriveGreen80167 on X

In the next image, we can also see that the rear camera is mounted in a new location. It doesn’t have the camera lip that the 2024 Model Y has been shipping with, as the camera is now mounted on the very edge of the new raised bumper. This also means the camera is much higher up than it previously was. This location change likely means that the new Y will require some additional training time for both FSD and Actually Smart Summon, as well as the new front bumper camera.

This is going to be an interesting change - we’re not sure how this new camera location will handle snow, rain, and road muck, but this is likely the main reason for it being moved up and away from the road.

The updated camera positioning is noticeably higher
The updated camera positioning is noticeably higher
@zhongwen2005 on X

We’re excited to see the new Model Y in person. This refresh has been a long time coming and there are many details that are still waiting to be discovered.

Customer deliveries are supposed to begin in just a couple of months - May at the earliest - in the Asia-Pacific region. We’re hoping to see the refresh arrive in Europe and North America by summertime and then see the launch of the Performance variant shortly thereafter.

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