The NHTSA wants more information on Tesla's 'Elon Mode'
MKBHD/Twitter
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is again focusing on Tesla, demanding extensive data on the company's driver assistance and monitoring systems, focusing on a previously undisclosed configuration known as 'Elon Mode.'
What is 'Elon Mode'?
We first told you about Elon Mode after Tesla hacker @greentheonly discovered it and let the world know about it on Twitter - yes, it was still called Twitter back then. This special, hidden configuration in Tesla's software eliminates the alerts or 'nags' prompting drivers to apply torque to the steering wheel.
NHTSA's Concerns
According to Reuters and CNBC, the NHTSA has expressed concerns about the potential safety implications of this configuration and has issued a special order to Tesla, demanding detailed information about this mode and the number of drivers who have access to it. NHTSA fears that the relaxation of controls designed to ensure driver engagement could lead to greater driver inattention and failure to supervise Autopilot properly.
This is not the first time the NHTSA has raised concerns about Tesla's 'nag.' In January, Musk responded to a tweet from @WholeMarsBlog asking users with more than 10,000 FSD miles driven to have the option to disable the “tedious steering wheel nag.” Musk responded, "Agreed, update coming in Jan."
That didn't sit well with the acting head of the NHTSA, Ann Carlson, who told reporters, “A very extensive investigation ongoing... We are in conversations with Tesla about this latest communication."
Earlier this week, Carlson announced that the findings of an intensive two-year probe into Tesla's Autopilot system would be public "relatively soon." The NHTSA's ongoing investigation focuses on more than a dozen crashes involving stationary emergency vehicles. Carlson spoke about driver assistance systems in general, "It's really important that drivers pay attention. It's also really important that driver monitoring systems take into account that humans over-trust technology."
Moving Forward
While Tesla has complied with NHTSA's request for information, the response has been granted confidential treatment and is not publicly available. As the investigation continues, it remains to be seen how Tesla will address these concerns and what actions will be taken to ensure the safety of its driver assistance systems.
Tesla has been in talks with the NHTSA and is hopeful for an agreement that satisfies both parties. Transitioning to better driver monitoring by leveraging their cabin camera and machine learning could be a way forward, reducing the need to 'nag' drivers while improving monitoring.
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Tesla’s been on a roll with Supercharger improvements lately, from the 325kW charging update for the Cybertruck, to 500kW with V4 Superchargers coming next year. While those improvements have been limited to the Cybertruck, Tesla didn’t put all their focus on their new flagship vehicle, but looked at their more affordable vehicles as well.
LFP Battery Heating
Tesla’s Superchargers can now heat LFP Batteries - those that are in the Model 3 and Model Y Rear Wheel Drive variants. This applies to Long Range and Standard Range models, which saw a limited run. This is another update included as part of the 2024 Tesla Holiday Update - which really arrived with a lot of unannounced new features and capabilities.
The change is pretty interesting - Superchargers of the V3 and V4 variety can now pre-heat batteries for Model 3 and Model Y vehicles equipped with LFP battery packs. That means those vehicles are able to get back on the road faster when it's extremely cold. Of course, Tesla still advises you to precondition before you arrive, saving drivers time and money.
Max de Zegher, Tesla’s Director of Charging, also commented on the new feature. Essentially, Tesla is inducing an AC (alternating) ripple current through the battery to warm it up. Keep in mind that Superchargers are DC charging. That means it is possible to get a cold-soaked LFP vehicle on the road 4x faster than before, assuming that it didn’t precondition at all and that it is in the worst-case scenario (below 0ºF).
In essence, Tesla is using some engineering magic to turn the circuits inside the LFP battery into an electric heater - and powering that heater through the Supercharger. An AC ripple current is a small oscillation in the DC charging current that generates heat through electrical resistance, warming up the battery. Those ripples are a byproduct of converting AC to DC and back - so Tesla is using the onboard charger to induce those ripples to warm up the battery. Definitely an innovative technique that’s really only possible with the versatility of the NACS connector.
We’re hoping Tesla can implement this across their full lineup of vehicles, but we’ll have to wait and see how it is trialed across LFP vehicles first and if it is even possible on vehicles with 2170 or 4680 battery packs.
Tesla launched two FSD updates simultaneously on Saturday night, and what’s most interesting is that they arrived on the same software version. We’ll dig into that a little later, but for now, there’s good news for everyone. For Hardware 3 owners, FSD V12.6.1 is launching to all vehicles, including the Model 3 and Model Y. For AI4 owners, FSD V13.2.4 is launching, starting with the Cybertruck.
FSD V13.2.4
A new V13 build is now rolling out to the Cybertruck and is expected to arrive for the rest of the AI4 fleet soon. However, this build seems to be focused on bug fixes. There are no changes to the release notes for the Cybertruck with this release, and it’s unlikely to feature any changes when it arrives on other vehicles.
FSD V12.6.1 builds upon V12.6, which is the latest FSD version for HW3 vehicles. While FSD V12.6 was only released for the redesigned Model S and Model X with HW3, FSD V12.6.1 is adding support for the Model 3 and Model Y.
While this is only a bug-fix release for users coming from FSD V12.6, it includes massive improvements for anyone coming from an older FSD version. Two of the biggest changes are the new end-to-end highway stack that now utilizes FSD V12 for highway driving and a redesigned controller that allows FSD to drive “V13” smooth.
It also adds speed profiles, earlier lane changes, and more. You can read our in-depth look at all the changes in FSD V12.6.
Same Update, Multiple FSD Builds
What’s interesting about this software version is that it “includes" two FSD updates, V12.6.1 for HW3 and V13.2.4 for HW4 vehicles. While this is interesting, it’s less special when you understand what’s happening under the hood.
The vehicle’s firmware and Autopilot firmware are actually completely separate. While a vehicle downloading a firmware update may look like a singular process, it’s actually performing several functions during this period. First, it downloads the vehicle’s firmware. Upon unpacking the update, it’s instructed which Autopilot/FSD firmware should be downloaded.
While the FSD firmware is separate, the vehicle can’t download any FSD update. The FSD version is hard-coded in the vehicle’s firmware that was just downloaded. This helps Tesla keep the infotainment and Autopilot firmware tightly coupled, leading to fewer issues.
What we’re seeing here is that HW3 vehicles are being told to download one FSD version, while HW4 vehicles are being told to download a different version.
While this is the first time Tesla has had two FSD versions tied to the same vehicle software version, the process hasn’t actually changed, and what we’re seeing won’t lead to faster FSD updates or the ability to download FSD separately. What we’re seeing is the direct result of the divergence of HW3 and HW4.
While HW3/4 remained basically on the same FSD version until recently, it is now necessary to deploy different versions for the two platforms. We expect this to be the norm going forward, where HW3 will be on a much different version of FSD than HW4. While each update may not include two different FSD versions going forward, we may see it occasionally, depending on which features Autopilot is dependent on.
Thanks to Greentheonly for helping us understand what happened with this release and for the insight into Tesla’s processes.
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