Tesla's FSD Beta software version 11.4.6 is now available to some customers
Not a Tesla App
Tesla’s next FSD Beta update, 11.4.6 started going out to customers earlier this week, but there's a lot to discuss around Tesla's FSD software these days.
FSD Beta 11.4.6, which Tesla began pushing to employees just last week, has received positive criticism from public testers who’ve received the update. Tesla owner and influencer, Whole Mars Catalog, shared videos on YouTube showing FSD improvements, alongside commentary at locations where the software previously struggled.
All FSD Beta, All the Time
Tesla recently started including FSD Beta in all of its software updates. However, the version included is a slightly older, more stable build, known as FSD Beta 11.3.6. Having the software baked into every update means that all eligible customers can now easily activate FSD Beta simply by subscribing or buying Tesla's FSD feature. There's no longer a need to wait for Tesla to push a separate update for FSD Beta. Of course, owners will still need to be in a supported region (currently U.S., Canada) and have a supported vehicle, which unfortunately still excludes hardware 4.0 as of now.
Older FSD Beta users, on the other hand, have Tesla's older updates, version 2023.7.x, which doesn't include many of Tesla's newest features, such as the refreshed Spotify app. However, these older builds includes a newer version of FSD Beta, such as 11.4.4 or this newest build, FSD Beta 11.4.6.
Musk Says FSD V12 is “Mind-Blowing”
Tesla is working on the next milestone for FSD Beta, and in typical Musk optimism, Musk is calling this v12 alpha version, "mind-blowing."
Tesla makes significant architectural changes with each major update to FSD Beta, and v12 will be no different.
With FSD Beta v11, Tesla finally merged the city and highway Autopilot versions, which has resulted in a much smoother Autopilot highway experience, although some believe it's not as consistent or reliable. However, that's not completely unexpected with the major changes included in v11. As FSD Beta v11 matures, we'll likely gain the consistency we've become used to on our highway drives.
FSD v12 is being reserved for when the vehicle can run entirely on AI from “video in to control out,” according to Musk. This will mean that AI will finally take control of the vehicle, from steering to braking and acceleration.
Musk has a track record of being overly optimistic, but the improvements the FSD team has made in the last couple years are nothing short of amazing.
Tesla’s vehicles are its core product, but the company is also building Optimus, a human-like robot that will replace monotonous and dangerous tasks.
According to Tesla's Autopilot lead, Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla is building out its vehicle and robot software simultaneously. Many of the neural networks Tesla uses today are shared between their vehicles and Optimus, according to Elluswamy.
The closer Tesla gets to solving FSD, the closer they'll be to solving a lot of other problems. As Elon Musk has said, Tesla will likely need to solve Artificial General Intelligence in order to solve FSD. Although we're likely years away from that happening, the Tesla team isn't shying away from the challenge.
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Tesla signaled its intention to launch its first Robotaxi network in Austin, Texas, with company-owned and operated vehicles, back in January. This network will be Tesla’s first foray into truly autonomous vehicles - ones that aren’t being directly supervised by a driver. Later in February, Tesla’s executive team confirmed that the plans were on track for the launch of the Austin network both on X and during several interviews that they participated in.
At the end of February, we also found out that Tesla has applied for a Supervised Robotaxi license in California, where the network will also launch, but with safety drivers in place.
This is an ambitious plan, but FSD has really come a long way in the past year. FSD V12 was a massive step forward from V11, and V13 has made the experience smoother and safer than ever before. FSD V14 is expected to be another big step up with auto-regressive transformers and audio input.
Still on Track
Now, Elon has tripled down on the fact that Tesla will be launching their first autonomous robotaxi network in Austin - just two months away at this point. It seems that Tesla is fully set to launch their first fully unsupervised self-driving vehicles that will carry paying passengers in June.
Additional Cities
The best part is that Elon also confirmed that they’re targeting robotaxi networks launching in many cities within the United States by the end of this year. However, remember that this will be a Tesla-run network at first - Tesla owners won’t be able to add their vehicles to the Robotaxi fleet right away.
Adding Customer Vehicles
It will take some time before Tesla meets their strict internal safety requirements before it lets customers add their own vehicles to the network. Tesla’s executive team mentioned that they intend to let owners add their own vehicles to the fleet sometime in 2026. This happens to be the same time frame that Tesla plans to launch the Robotaxi across the United States, Mexico, and Canada — something that could only be done with customer-owned cars.
That final step will be bold—and it may come with complications, especially given that autonomous vehicle approval spans municipal, state or provincial, and even federal levels. There are plenty of regulatory hurdles ahead, but this is undoubtedly shaping up to be one of the most exciting times for Tesla.
Launch Event
With the Robotaxi network launching and Unsupervised FSD just around the corner, there’s a lot to get excited about. Tesla is expected to host a launch event at Gigafactory Texas in Austin to mark the debut of its first Robotaxi network. The company previously hinted that referral code users could receive invites—offering a rare chance to score an early ride in a Robotaxi outside the Hollywood studio lot.
Tesla’s engineering mule vehicles—used to test autonomy for future platforms—have resurfaced after an extended absence. The last time we saw them was back in July, when Tesla was gearing up for its initial We, Robot event. Since then, sightings have been scarce.
These vehicles typically signal that Tesla is testing new camera placements or validating FSD ground-truth data. This time, however, they appear to be outfitted exclusively with the updated camera hardware seen on the Cybercab.
New Sightings
The mules have now been spotted in Boston, Massachusetts, and Concord, New Hampshire—their first known appearances this far east. This suggests Tesla is actively collecting data to evaluate and optimize FSD performance in new regions. Thanks to Reddit user Ready_Medium_6693 for catching the one in Concord.
Elon Musk recently mentioned that Tesla plans to expand Robotaxi networks beyond the initial Texas and California launches. So while these sightings aren’t entirely unexpected, the speed of their arrival is. It suggests Tesla is confident in its ability to train FSD for local traffic rules and driving behaviors to the point it no longer needs a driver.
Bumper Cameras
The vehicle that’s been spotted in Boston is the usual Tesla engineering Model 3… except with one unique twist. It includes a front bumper camera. Shout out to @Dylan02939106 for catching the bumper camera in these photos.
The Refreshed Model 3 Mule with a Bumper Camera!
@Dylan02939106 on X
We previously released an opinion piece regarding whether the front bumper camera would be required for Unsupervised FSD. In our eyes, Tesla will require a bumper camera for Unsupervised FSD - if only to improve direct visibility in the bumper area of the vehicle. This is key for low-speed maneuvering in crowded areas like parking lots and garages, as well as for key features like Actually Smart Summon.
It isn’t surprising that Tesla is continuing to evaluate vehicles with a bumper camera - the Cybertruck, Cybercab, and Refreshed Model Y all have them now - and the rest of the lineup, including the flagship Model S and X, as well as the refreshed Model 3 - were supposed to eventually receive them as well.
With the Model S and Model X set for refreshes this year—and the front bumper camera on this Model 3 looking well-integrated rather than a temporary setup—it seems likely that front bumper cameras will soon become standard across Tesla’s entire lineup.
The Robotaxi Mule in Boston
@Dylan02939106 on X
In fact, Tesla’s newest iteration of the FSD computer has a slot for the Bumper Camera on all AI4/HW4 vehicles, so a future retrofit could even be possible.
These are some pretty exciting times - we may see Robotaxi networks actually deploy in time for Tesla’s lofty goal of “sometime in 2026” for cities throughout North America. Once many American cities begin to accept their deployment, it will be easier to seek homologation in Mexico and Canada, enabling deployment throughout the continent.
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