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 has finally launched the refreshed Model Y Long Range Rear Wheel Drive (LR RWD) in the United States. While the refreshed Model Y RWD was available as a Launch-Series option in the Asia-Pacific and European markets, it wasn’t yet available at all in North America. Once the Launch Series stopped being offered, Tesla began shipping non-Launch Edition Model Y LR RWDs in Asia and Europe earlier this year, but didn’t bring it to the United States until now.
The LR RWD is one of Tesla’s most affordable vehicles, starting at $44,990 (or $37,490 after the Federal EV Rebate).
Model Y LR RWD
Spec-wise, the refreshed Model Y LR RWD is a compelling alternative to the AWD model. Tesla has kept the premium interior and audio options on the North American variant, so you get the full experience of the refreshed Model Y. You also get more range and faster charging than the AWD model. The only downside is that it’s two-wheel drive and slower acceleration. However, given the lower price and additional range, those may be worth the tradeoffs.
Vehicle
Range*
0-60mph
Charging Speed (15m)
2025 AWD
501 km / 310 mi
5.0s
239 km / 148 mi
2025 LR RWD
525 km / 326 mi
7.9s
250 km / 155 mi
2026 AWD (Juniper)
526 km / 327 mi
4.3s
266 km / 165 mi
2026 RWD (Juniper)
574 km / 357 mi
5.9s
271 km / 168 mi
*Listed ranges are EPA Ranges.
Pricing
All in all, you get a fantastic deal, given the lower price tag. The refreshed Model Y LR RWD is priced $4,000 less than the AWD version while still offering many of its attractive features.
Model
Price (USD)
Price (CAD)
2026 Model Y LR AWD
$48,990
$84,990*
2026 Model Y LR RWD
$44,990
Not available
*Post-tariff pricing.
Availability
The Long Range RWD is expected to begin shipping immediately in the United States. Tesla has not made the vehicle available in Mexico or Canada yet, likely due to tariff complications. Once the tariff rates settle, Tesla will likely look to export the vehicles from the U.S. to the other two North American countries.
With the arrival of the Long Range RWD variant, the last version we’re waiting for is the refreshed Model Y Performance. That’s likely to be an exciting vehicle, and we’re hopeful it will be in customers’ garages before the end of 2025.
Tesla is adjusting its Supercharger prices based on current usage in a new pilot program. Tesla’s pricing structure has typically revolved around traditional time-based peak/off-peak schedules but is now migrating to a more dynamic model based on live Supercharger utilization.
This development, announced officially through the Tesla Charging X account, should make Supercharger pricing more accurately reflect the demand for the specific Supercharger site instead of basing pricing on past usage.
Live Utilization Pricing
The core of this new pilot will launch at just 10 Supercharger sites in North America. The particular sites in question have not been clarified, but one of the locations is the Supercharger located in Davis, California.
Tesla intends to expand the pilot based on feedback and the success of the initial rollout. We could be looking at the future of Supercharger pricing around the globe.
New Chart and Features
Today, Tesla typically offers two or three prices based on peak and off-peak demand, meaning that Supercharger prices are based on the hour of the day. The current Supercharger chart in the vehicle shows the hours and price on the X-axis, while the Y-axis is the typical demand (image below).
The current chart for Superchargers versus the new one at the top of the page
Not a Tesla App
However, with the new charts that will soon be added to vehicles, Tesla will display the time on the X-axis, and the Y-axis will show the historical demand and the current price (photo at the top of this page).
In theory, the Supercharger's historical demand and real-time usage should be pretty similar, but there will be exceptions, like holidays and other events. Unexpected high and low usage will play a role in the pricing, such as sporting events and natural disasters. If the Supercharger is busy, then pricing will be high; otherwise, it will be low.
This also introduces a new feature, since pricing is now based on actual demand, users could navigate to a Supercharger that is less busy and, therefore, cheaper. In the hero image, we can see that Tesla will add a new “Find Lower Price Charging” button in a future vehicle update. This will likely highlight other nearby Superchargers that are less busy and less expensive.
However, it seems like Tesla may also start charging more for Superchargers than they do today when they’re extremely busy. Judging by the screenshot Tesla shared, the estimated usage never passed the $0.45 per kWh at the Davis, CA Supercharger. However, it seems that there’s a new price of $0.54 per kWh when the Supercharger usage is at its peak.
The good news is that Tesla is being more transparent and indicating whether the price is low or high with new labels. This change will give users more choices in terms of charging prices. If you want to save a few bucks, you can drive to a less busy Supercharger. The price will also be based on actual usage, which seems like a fairer way to determine price.
While Tesla hasn’t updated vehicles yet to show these new charts, the latest version of the Tesla app already incorporates the changes.
What Tesla Says
Max de Zegher, Tesla’s Director of Charging, elaborated on the pilot program on X.
He points out that Tesla Charging’s rates have been consistent, and it has focused on improving the charging experience and availability. Off-peak and on-peak pricing will help to increase both of these.
Tesla has outlined exactly how this new live feedback loop will function. The more accurate real-time station demand can allow Tesla to adjust pricing if a station is experiencing congestion during traditionally “off-peak” hours. On the flipside, if a station is unusually empty, Tesla can reduce the pricing.
This easily incentivizes customers who are keeping an eye on charging costs, as changing your charging destination can be as simple as the tap of a button. Most interestingly, Tesla says that the average price paid by customers is expected to remain the same as with the previous time-based system, even with seasonal and real-time fluctuations.
Crucially, owners can always see the price per kWh on their vehicle’s primary display, as well as in the Tesla app before initiating a charging session. Additionally, Tesla will not change the pricing mid-charge, so there’s no need to worry about it fluctuating up or down while you’re charging.
When reading some of our old blog posts, you'll find that @TeslaCharging has been consistent in its pricing principles: improving the charging experience and Supercharger availability. True to those principles, we're now piloting live site utilization for off-peak and on-peak… https://t.co/rIqQzOZfcG
This move to live-based pricing is being presented as Tesla’s latest step towards managing its vast charging network with a more customer-centric approach. Tesla has had some historical progression in its pricing strategy, so let’s take a look at where we were versus where we are going.
kWh-Based Billing: Tesla has long pushed for billing by the kilowatt-hour (kWh) as the fairest method for customers to pay for the exact energy consumed, avoiding session fees that can obscure actual energy costs. This is now standard in most regions, but it wasn’t too long ago that pricing was determined by the minute.
Idle Fees (2017): To address vehicles remaining plugged in after charging was complete at busy sites, idle fees were implemented to improve stall availability – a practice now common across the industry.
80% SoC Limiter (2019): At busy locations, Tesla introduced an automatic 80% state-of-charge (SoC) charging limit (which users can manually override) to encourage faster turnover, as the final 20% of charging is significantly slower.
Time-Based Peak/Off-Peak Pricing (2020): Pricing based on estimated busy times was rolled out to incentivize charging during less congested periods, helping to distribute demand and manage costs.
Congestion Fees (2023): At particularly busy sites, congestion fees were introduced. These combine the principles of idle fees with disincentivizing charging to a very high state of charge when a station is crowded, with the stated goal of improving availability, not generating profit.
Commitment to Affordability
Alongside these pricing changes, Tesla has reiterated its focus on keeping Supercharging affordable for all its users. Tesla points out that, on average, in North America and Europe, Tesla’s Superchargers are 30% cheaper than other fast-charging options while also being far more reliable.
Beyond that, 2025 is set to be Tesla’s largest year for expanding the Supercharger network while also replacing many older V2 charging sites with faster, more capable V4 Supercharger stations.
