A Friday night cruise with Elon Musk has shown the world just how far Tesla’s Full Self-Driving has advanced and gave viewers a preview of real-world problems. To take a line from Rob Zombie, the latest iteration of FSD may be "More Human Than Human," which could be an issue.
"Nothing but net!" proclaimed Musk as he live-streamed to X.com, a video with more than 42 million views. The Tesla CEO referred to neural nets, the technology underpinning Version 12 of FSD. Tesla is removing 300,000-plus lines of code running the current FSD and is now relying on the car's neural networks to drive the car in V12.
Driving through Palo Alto, California, Musk, with Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s Director of Autopilot Software, sitting shotgun, picked random places for the Model S to drive to, and it did so smoothly and almost perfectly.
Technology Behind FSD
The test drive started with a construction zone, which was easily handled, but interestingly, at the end of the cones, the car wasn’t jerking over to find a lane immediately. Instead, like a confident human driver, it easily made its way to the lane with no oncoming traffic. We also watched as it effortlessly navigated speed bumps, roundabouts, pedestrians, bicyclists, and, of course - traffic.
For those who have had successful drives with FSD, you may be thinking, what's the big deal? Musk underscored that this version of FSD does not rely on hard-coded programming or a constant internet connection to function. All necessary inference occurs locally, a significant departure from previous versions.
“This is all nets, baby, nothing but net,” Musk exclaimed, emphasizing the vehicle’s dependency on machine learning rather than programmed instructions. The software operates at full frame rate, taking eight cameras at 36 frames per second to decide what to do. No line of code tells the car what to do at an intersection, on the highway or around other vehicles.
The software was impressive to watch, with its countless improvements over the current V11 version of FSD. Musk's vehicle kept a reasonable speed throughout the drive, even though Autopilot was set to a maximum speed of 85 mph.
When Musk reached his destination, the vehicle also automatically pulled over to the side of the road to park itself instead of just stopping in the middle of the road like it does today.
The Real-World, Real Person Challenge
Instead, Tesla has shown the car countless videos of real-world driving so that it will learn what to do in those situations. But that has caused a problem. As the car noticeably did not come to full stops, Musk explained the challenge posed by the fact that less than 0.5% of drivers come to a complete stop at stop signs.
This makes it incredibly difficult to program the vehicle with such sparse data on people obeying the law. This lack of data highlights Tesla's obstacles in training its AI systems to operate in real-world scenarios where human drivers frequently do not adhere to the rules.
Musk's FSD V12 Stream in 10 Minutes
Watch the highlights of Musk's 45-minute video stream below.
Regulatory Hurdles
This appeared in a few other instances where the car behaved like a confident driver, not endangering anyone but technically breaking the rules of the road. FSD suddenly went from the nervous teenager learning to drive to a good driver. But we know how the NHTSA feels about Tesla not following the rules.
In February, the watchdog issued a recall stating that Tesla was acting too human — I mean not following the rules. It cited FSD Beta software:
Traveling or turning through certain intersections during a stale yellow traffic light;
The perceived duration of the vehicle’s static position at certain intersections with a stop sign, particularly when the intersection is clear of any other road users;
Adjusting vehicle speed while traveling through certain variable speed zones, based on detected speed limit signage and/or the vehicle’s speed offset setting that is adjusted by the driver.
Yes, I’m sure we all stop at every yellow light, come to a complete stop at every stop sign, and never go over the speed limit.
Kudos to Tesla and Musk for this real-world demonstration, and if there was any speculation that it was rigged, Musk did have to intervene at an advanced left-hand signal. This small glitch, Musk reassured, could be addressed with further training and data collection. There will be a lot of training announced Tesla’s commitment to invest $4 billion over the next two years in training computing, signaling the company's dedication to perfecting this groundbreaking technology.
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Tesla’s Cybertruck has officially earned a 5-Star Safety Rating from the NHTSA—an impressive achievement given the vehicle’s design. The achievement demonstrates Tesla’s engineering prowess. As one engineer points out, it wasn’t an easy feat.
Interestingly, the NHTSA only recently disclosed the results, despite the crash tests being completed a while ago. According to Lars Moravy, Tesla’s VP of Vehicle Engineering, the team had been aware of the 5-star rating for quite some time. While the reason for the delay remains unclear, now that the results are public, Tesla’s engineers can finally share how they achieved the rating.
Crumple Zones
Wes Morril, the Cybertruck’s Lead Engineer, wrote about the crash test video on X recently, addressing the claims that the Cybertruck doesn’t have a crumple zone. He also posted a side-by-side video (below) of the engineering analysis and the crash test itself.
Engineered Crash Safety
There’s a lot of engineering precision at play when a Cybertruck is involved in a crash. Unlike traditional crash structures that rely on crash cans and collapse points, the Cybertruck’s front gigacasting is designed to absorb and redirect impact forces in a highly controlled manner.
It all starts with the bumper beam, which crushes within the first few milliseconds of a high-speed impact. At the same time, the vehicle’s sensors rapidly analyze the crash dynamics and determine the optimal deployment of safety restraints, including airbags and seat belt pre-tensioners. These split-second actions are crucial in keeping occupants safe.
As the crash progresses, the vehicle’s structure deforms in a carefully engineered sequence. The drive unit cradle bends, directing the solid drive unit downward and out of the way, allowing the gigacasting to begin absorbing impact forces.
The casting crushes cell by cell, methodically dissipating energy in a controlled manner. This gradual deceleration reduces the g-forces transferred to occupants, making the crash much less severe. As the gigacast begins crushing, the safety restraints are deployed.
As Wes points out in his post - you can see how accurate the virtual analysis and modeling were. The video shows the simulated crash side by side with the real-life crash test and they’re almost identical. All that virtual testing helps provide feedback into the loop to design a better and safer system - one that is uniquely different than any other vehicle on the road.
All the armchair experts claimed the Cybertruck has no crumple zone and I get it, the proportions seem impossible. It was a tough one and there is a lot of engineering that went into it. Let me break it down for you:
Tesla has pioneered the use of single-piece castings for the front and rear sections of their vehicles, thanks to its innovative Gigapress process. Many automakers are now following suit, as this approach allows the crash structure to be integrated directly into the casting.
This makes the castings not only safer but also easier to manufacture in a single step, reducing costs and improving repairability. For example, replacing the entire rear frame of a Cybertruck is estimated to cost under $10,000 USD, with most of the expense coming from labor, according to estimates shared on X after high-speed rear collisions.
These insights come from Sandy Munro’s interview (posted below) with Lars Moravy, Tesla’s VP of Vehicle Engineering, highlighting how these advancements contribute to the improvements in Tesla’s latest vehicles, including the New Model Y.
However, with the new Model Y, Tesla has decided to go a different route and eliminated the front gigacast.
No Front Casting
Tesla’s factories aren’t equipped to produce both front and rear castings for the Model Y. Only Giga Texas and Giga Berlin used structural battery packs, but these were quickly phased out due to the underwhelming performance of the first-generation 4680 battery.
Tesla has gone back to building a common body across the globe, increasing part interchangeability and reducing supply chain complexity across the four factories that produce the Model Y. They’ve instead improved and reduced the number of unique parts up front to help simplify assembly and repair.
There is still potential for Tesla to switch back to using a front and rear casting - especially with their innovative unboxed assembly method. However, that will also require Tesla to begin using a structural battery pack again, which could potentially happen in the future with new battery technology.
Rear Casting Improvements
The rear casting has been completely redesigned, shedding 7 kg (15.4 lbs) and cutting machining time in half. Originally weighing around 67 kg (147 lbs), the new casting is now approximately 60 kg (132 lbs).
This 15% weight reduction improves both vehicle dynamics and range while also increasing the rear structure’s stiffness, reducing body flex during maneuvers.
Tesla leveraged its in-house fluid dynamics software to optimize the design, resulting in castings that resemble organic structures in some areas and flowing river patterns in others. Additionally, manufacturing efficiency has dramatically improved—the casting process, which originally took 180 seconds per part, has been reduced to just 75 seconds, a nearly 60% time reduction per unit.
Advancements in die-casting machines and cooling systems have allowed @Tesla to dramatically reduce cycle times and improve dimensional stability. pic.twitter.com/WB5ji67rvV
Tesla’s new casting method incorporates conformal cooling, which cools the die directly within the gigapress. Tesla has been refining the die-casting machines and collaborating with manufacturers to improve the gigapress process.
In 2023, Tesla patented a thermal control unit for the casting process. This system uses real-time temperature analysis and precise mixing of metal streams to optimize casting quality. SETI Park, which covers Tesla’s manufacturing patents on X, offers a great series for those interested in learning more.
The new system allows Tesla to control the flow of cooling liquid, precisely directing water to different parts of the die, cooling them at varying rates. This enables faster material flow and quicker cooling, improving both dimensional stability and the speed of removing the part from the press for the next stage.
With these new process improvements, Tesla now rolls out a new Model Y at Giga Berlin, Giga Texas, and Fremont every 43 seconds—an astounding achievement in auto manufacturing. Meanwhile, Giga Shanghai operates two Model Y lines, delivering a completed vehicle every 35 seconds.
![A Look at the Tesla Cybertruck’s Crumple Zones [VIDEO]](https://www.notateslaapp.com/img/containers/article_images/cybertruck/cybertruck-crash-test.webp/e43ef2433bd6e44ae8db63421604a4fb/cybertruck-crash-test.jpg)
