Tesla's Full Self-Driving Beta version 12 has a new feature that makes the computer on wheels drive much more naturally. As we’ve reported, v12.1.2, which is now going out to some customers, is not just another FSD update; it’s said it removes more than 300,000 lines of code and replaces it with an end-to-end neural network.
The neural network has been trained on millions of video clips, improving the system's capability to handle complex driving situations. Now AI is regulating another aspect of FSD, automatic speeds. Instead of following the speed limit and the offset you provide in settings, FSD will now determine appropriate speeds based on a variety of factors.
Automatic Set Speed Offset
FSD Beta v12 automatically adjusts the vehicle's speed to match the surrounding environment better. This optional feature, found under the "Controls > Autopilot" menu, gives the vehicle more freedom regarding its speed, allowing it to keep up with traffic even if it’s higher than the speed limit (which is already in the current FSD Beta), and the vehicle ends up acting more like a human.
In FSD Beta v11.4.7, Tesla added the ability for the vehicle to override the maximum speed set by the user. When this happened, the vehicle’s max speed on the display would turn blue and the message “Maintaining speed for traffic flow” would appear. This allowed the vehicle to temporarily increase its maximum speed to keep up with traffic. The new ‘Automatic Set Speed Offset’ seems to be a natural progression of this feature.
FSD Beta will sometimes override the user's max speed to keep up with traffic
DirtyTesla
With this update, Tesla owners no longer need to manually set a speed offset as a percentage of the speed limit. Instead, the "Automatic Set Speed Offset" option allows Autopilot to determine the most natural driving speed based on road type, traffic and other conditions. When the option is enabled, Tesla will display “Auto” on the vehicle’s display where the vehicle’s max speed is normally shown.
How Automatic Speed is Determined
Tesla explains the feature in the vehicle’s menu, stating, “Automatic Set Speed Offset allows Autopilot to drive at the speed that it determines is most natural. This considers factors like road type, traffic flow, environmental conditions, speed limit, and the selected Full Self-Driving (Beta) Profile setting (Chill, Average, or Assertive).”
This feature was also observed in action during Elon Musk's livestream, where his maximum speed was set quite high yet the car consistently maintained a reasonable speed limit. This demonstrates the feature's ability to adapt to various driving conditions while ensuring safety and compliance with traffic laws.
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date on the latest Tesla news, upcoming features and software updates.
Last week, Mark Ruber, an engineering YouTuber best known for his glitter bombs, released a video where he tested Tesla's Autopilot against various conditions - including the iconic ACME painted wall.
During this test, many people noted that Mark was using Autopilot rather than FSD, even though his video was titled “Can you Fool a Self-Driving Car?”. The Tesla on Autopilot went up against a vehicle equipped with Luminar’s LIDAR rig, running some sort of basic autonomy or safety software.
New Video Tests FSD
Many people were disappointed with Mark’s video and his testing methods, so several creators got to work to actually test out Tesla’s FSD.
Creator Kyle Paul over on X made a much better follow-up video, using both a HW3 Model Y as well as an AI4 Cybertruck. In a relatively unsurprising turn of events, the Cybertruck was successfully able to detect the wall, slowed down, and came to a stop. The Cybertruck was running FSD 13.2.8.
Kyle’s team did a fantastic job building the wall and testing this in a private area using FSD rather than Autopilot. On top of that - they re-tested the results several times and recorded the entire thing in and out. While Mark’s video was more for entertainment, Kyle really set out to prove what would really happen in this unlikely scenario.
Sadly, the HW3 Model Y was unable to detect the wall, and manual intervention was required in each test. While the Model Y was running FSD 12.5.4.2 rather than an FSD V12.6 build, we don’t expect this to have had a significant impact on the test - this is more of an issue with how computer vision analyzes the environment.
There are several major differences between HW3 and HW4. The first is obviously that the version that runs on AI4 is more advanced, as the hardware is capable of processing a lot more data. However, AI4 also features much higher-resolution cameras than HW3, and Tesla recently added the ability for the video feeds to be processed at full resolution on FSD V13. This could have made the difference, although it’s not entirely clear. Perhaps if HW3 gets a version of FSD V13 in the future, HW3 can be retested to see if it passes the “ACME wall” test.
Watch
Kyle’s entire video is below. It’s only 10 minutes long, so definitely give it a watch. Props to Kyle on the quick and thorough execution.
What Does This Mean for FSD?
We broke down Mark’s test - and examined all the little issues that we discovered after doing some in-depth research - you can read our analysis here.
Putting aside the issues with Mark’s testing and instead using the new results - it seems that if you were to have to fight against Wile-E-Coyote and his ACME tools with your Tesla, cartoon logic may win if you’re on an HW3 vehicle. If you’re on an AI4 vehicle, you’ll likely come to a safe stop.
Vehicle depth perception is definitely something that Tesla has been hard at work to improve - and some fairly drastic improvements came with FSD V13 that haven’t been entirely translated to FSD V12 just yet. Future versions of HW3 FSD may be able to determine that the wall is there successfully. So Kyle - if you’re reading this - don’t get rid of that wall. We’d love to see more testing in the future.
However, this entire test scenario is so out of left field… there is a good likelihood this same test would fool some human drivers as well. The most important part is that the future of autonomy will not fall for these tricks, so it's very unlikely for someone to weaponize this idea as it’d only possibly work on a small segment of vehicles.
If Wile-E-Coyote is after you, someone else may drive into the wall before your Tesla does.
Not a Tesla App
We’re not kidding, this really happened already. This isn’t a realistic scenario outside of someone trying to play an insane prank - but it’s good to know that FSD V13 is capable of dodging this.
Tesla regularly holds quarterly all-hands meetings for employees, but last night marks the first time Tesla has live-streamed the event for the public.
The meeting primarily focused on Tesla’s employees, recent achievements, and the future of Tesla. While it didn’t reveal much new information, it was interesting to see Elon Musk candidly engaging with his teams, who seem to genuinely enjoy working with him. Still, there were a few noteworthy takeaways.
As with Tesla’s Earnings Calls and other live events, we’ve put together a concise, easy-to-digest recap of everything discussed.
General Points
Work-related Injuries declined over time
Planning to expand to new markets
Cell Manufacturing
Continuing to invest in battery supply
Cheapest, lowest cost per kWh cell
The supercharger network continues to grow
Vehicle range and charging speed should match the needs of humans and their required time for breaks
![Tesla Updates Energy App in Update 2025.8.3: Adds Reset and Distance Filter [VIDEO]](https://www.notateslaapp.com/img/containers/article_images/2025/updated_energy_app.jpg/979943fb17df5ae4e9fa668b8cd61fca/updated_energy_app.jpg)
