Tesla expands non-Tesla Superchargers to Texas and adds kWh billing in Canada
Tesla
After a few months of uncertainty, Tesla has reignited its efforts to make Supercharging accessible to a wider range of electric vehicles. The company has restarted the deployment of its unique "Magic Dock" adapter at Supercharger stations, with a recent sighting in Texas.
Earlier this year, Tesla unveiled the Magic Dock - an adapter that allows non-Tesla EVs to utilize the Supercharger network. It was introduced at select Supercharger stations in New York and California but saw a sudden halt in its deployment. The assumption was that Tesla paused the Magic Dock rollout due to its ongoing discussions with other automakers regarding adopting the North American Charging Standard.
A Paradigm Shift in Supercharging Billing in Canada
Tesla has also made a major transformation in the Supercharging experience for Canadian customers. After several regulatory hurdles, Tesla has finally switched to kilowatt-hour (kWh) billing for Supercharging across Canada. This substantial shift means that customers will now be billed based on the electricity their vehicles consume, not the amount of time they spend charging.
The decision to change the billing method came after Measurement Canada granted a temporary dispensation in February 2023, permitting charging providers to invoice customers per kWh. Despite the initial hurdles and delays due to the complex approval process, especially for providers with expansive charging networks like Tesla, the long-awaited shift finally became a reality.
Tesla owners across Canada can now benefit from the more transparent, kWh-based billing system. While the rates vary, the slowest 72kW Urban Superchargers cost under $0.30/kWh, with the rates for V2 (150kW) and V3 (250kW) stations fluctuating around $0.47-$0.48 CAD per kWh.
Implications and The Path Forward
Tesla's recent strides in Supercharging underscore the company's commitment to its customers and the broader EV community. The reintroduction of the Magic Dock represents a major step towards broadening the inclusivity of Tesla's Supercharger network, offering non-Tesla EV owners more flexibility in charging options.
Moreover, switching to kWh-based billing in Canada is a significant move towards greater transparency and fairness. It rectifies the previous time-based system that inadvertently penalized drivers of slower-charging EVs, who paid the same amount as faster-charging vehicles but received less electricity.
As Tesla continues to innovate and evolve its Supercharging infrastructure, these latest developments underline its dedication to enhancing the EV charging experience for all users. This dynamic approach benefits Tesla owners and contributes significantly to the growth of the global EV ecosystem.
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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?
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