Tesla's Dashcam now provides more informative badges
Not a Tesla App
With Tesla's holiday update, version 2023.44.30 and above, Tesla has made several performance improvements to video-heavy features such as the Dashcam Viewer and Tesla Theater apps.
It's not clear whether the improvements are only for Intel Atom entertainment units or if the changes are merely more noticeable on the slower processor, but video-related apps are now faster and more responsive.
Dashcam / Sentry Mode Viewer
There have been performance improvements to Tesla's video apps such as the Dashcam Viewer
Not a Tesla App
When viewing Dashcam footage through the vehicle's built-in viewer, you'll immediately notice that video appears to load faster and play smoother.
When using the progress bar to scrub through footage, you'll also notice a big improvement in responsiveness and less "jumpy" video.
These changes may be in part due to a new open-source Shaka player Tesla implemented in the update leading up to the holiday release. The new Javascript-based player supports a wide array of audio and video codecs that Tesla may be leveraging to improve performance.
Dashcam Icons
Along with improvements to the Dashcam Viewer, Tesla also added more informative icons to the Dashcam. If you commonly use the Dashcam app in your launcher, you'll appreciate these additional badges that provide more information on the state of the Dashcam.
The dashcam icon will now display these states:
Saving / Loading: This icon features a gray badge with arrows letting you know the Dashcam is saving or retrieving footage to the USB drive.
Saved Successfully: After successfully saving footage to the USB drive, a green checkmark badge will now briefly appear on the dashcam icon.
Error / Not Recording: If there is an error with your dashcam, USB drive or recording is turned off, there will be a gray badge with an 'X' that signifies that the dashcam is not actively recording.
Paused: A red pause badge shows up on the dashcam's icon if the dashcam is temporarily not recording, like if the Dashcam Viewer is actively being used.
Tesla Theater
Similar to the improvements to the Dashcam Viewer, Tesla Theater is also seeing significant performance improvements while browsing and watching content.
The improvements are especially noticeable when scrolling through content, watching YouTube, or minimizing Tesla Theater. In general, the interface is smoother and fewer frames are dropped.
These improvements are significant for Intel Atom entertainment units (MCU 2), as these apps could sometimes be frustrating to use due to them being unresponsive or jumping around.
We're not sure if the Shaka media player offers performance improvements over the previous player, whether Tesla switched to a less CPU-intensive video codec for MCU 2 owners, or if there are other underlying changes, but the difference to video apps is very much noticeable and appreciated.
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Last night, Tesla released software update 2024.45.25.15, which includes FSD V12.6.1. This update adds support for all HW3 vehicles, including the Model 3 and Model Y. We’re excited to see the continued support for HW3 owners.
FSD V12.6.1
V12.6.1 is now going wide, according to Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s VP of AI. This update is going to the Model 3 and Model Y for the first time - as only the Model S and Model X were included in FSD V12.6.
V12.6 is a big step forward for HW3 - it includes End-to-End on Highway, Improved City Streets Behavior, and Smoother and More Accurate Tracking - all contributing towards a better, smoother, and more comfortable build of FSD. You can read our comparison between FSD V12.6 and V13.2.2 here.
In short, FSD V12.6 performs considerably closer to V13 than V12.5.4.2 - which is a massive improvement. It performs as well as the Cybertruck version of FSD V13, which is still missing a few features when compared to other HW4 vehicles, but it’s a great sign for HW3. A lot of the improvements can be pointed to in the improvements to lane selection and decision-making - the vehicle tends to hesitate far less on V12.6, meaning the ride is a lot smoother. Many early V12.6 testers mentioned that it felt more like V13-mini than anything else.
Legacy Model S & X
We haven’t seen this update hit any legacy Model S and Model X vehicles just yet. We’re not sure whether Ashok’s statement of “generally” applies here - but it should. If you do get the update, please let us know.
Legacy Model S and Model X vehicles are still on an older FSD build and potentially won’t see another FSD update for a little while longer. While they do have the same FSD hardware as other vehicles, there are enough hardware differences that require a build specifically for these vehicles.
FSD V12.6.1 is going out now to the redesigned Model S and X with HW3 and all Model 3 and Model Y vehicles with HW3. The initial wave went out last night, and we expect to see more later today or tomorrow. If this release ends up going “wide,” we should see much larger waves go out next week.
Tesla has issued a recall for some vehicles due to issues linked to a revision of the Hardware 4 (HW4) computer that was introduced this past November. This recall affects all vehicles with the revised hardware except for the Cybertruck, as it uses a slightly modified version of the HW4 system.
Many vehicle owners have reported a complete failure of their Autopilot computer, which not only leaves the vehicle without FSD and Autopilot but also disables many of the active safety features that make a Tesla what it is.
Let’s take a look at this recall - because the recall is partially physical and partially a software recall.
HW4 Failure
Tesla has identified the failure and flagged it to the U.S. NHTSA (but not Transport Canada or Euro NCAP at the time of publishing) as a recall.
Tesla mentions that the vehicle’s FSD computer circuit board may short circuit, resulting in the loss of the rearview camera image. The recall itself is focused on the rearview camera - as not having a functional rearview camera breaks a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard. However, it does impact more than just the rearview camera.
As previously mentioned, users have experienced the full loss of Autopilot and FSD on these vehicles, as well as reduced traction control and removal of safety features such as automatic emergency braking, collision avoidance assist, and forward collision warnings.
While the vehicle remains driveable, it is not necessarily a good idea to drive the vehicle with many of these features, especially with the reduced traction control noted by many people. We’ve already noted that while Tesla has been sending tow trucks to pick up some vehicles, it is also prompting owners to drive the vehicle to their service center in some cases.
Remedy
Unlike most of Tesla’s recalls, this one isn’t entirely an OTA recall, owing to the fact that people have already experienced circuit board shorts and are already waiting for replacements.
The software portion of the recall has already been mostly completed for any vehicles with Tesla software update 2024.45.25.3 or greater. However, a significant portion of the tracked fleet remains on update 2024.44.25.2 (approximately 20%), so we recommend updating your HW4 vehicle whenever you receive the notification.
On the hardware side, Tesla is immediately identifying and replacing hardware that has had circuit board failure. Tesla is also reaching out to customers who have expressed intermittent issues with Autopilot features, active safety features, or vehicle cameras that don't display correctly. If you have experienced any of these issues in a late 2024 vehicle, we recommend submitting a service ticket with Tesla to ensure that your vehicle isn’t affected by this recall.
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