Elon Musk proudly states that he is half-Canadian. Staying true to his roots, his company is working through the paperwork to launch Tesla’s Cybertruck and its Full Self-Driving (FSD) subscriptions in the Great White North.
The Cybertruck: A New Contender on Canadian Roads
The Cybertruck has garnered significant interest worldwide but is unavailable north of the 49th parallel. Rohan Patel, Tesla’s Vice President of Public Policy and Business Development, shared insights into the Cybertruck's Canadian launch. He stated, “The Cybertruck team is gonna make this happen and is working on the regulatory paperwork and submissions. Canadian authorities have been super reasonable, so I’m very optimistic. The CT is gonna be a huge hit in Canada as we can see from the wild amount of interest. Please be patient with us and know that the team is focused on getting this done.”
FSD Subscriptions: Elevating the Driving Experience
Alongside the Cybertruck, Tesla is gearing up to offer Full Self-Driving subscriptions in Canada. Currently, Canadians can only experience FSD by buying the package outright. It costs $16,500 CAD, a price tag that can be cost-prohibitive. However, Tesla is closing in on offering the same monthly subscription package that has been available in the United States for years.
Patel addressed the delay, “It was a mistake and I feel stupid that I didn’t listen more closely to my own team about it. We will do better and keep improving and keep taking customer feedback seriously.” He also stated, “Elon approved this Canada update and the team is working on the technical and regulatory procedures to make sure we don’t trigger any unintended provincial issues. Barring any setbacks, I’d expect this in the coming weeks.”
The FSD subscription, expected to be priced around $270 CAD per month based on current exchange rates, offers a new way for Tesla owners to engage with the latest autonomous driving technology. With FSD's continuous improvements in functionality and safety, Canadian drivers are in for a transformative driving experience.
For those who don’t know, Elon’s mother, Maye Musk, was born in Saskatchewan, Canada. Elon immigrated to Canada in 1989, connecting with cousins in Saskatchewan before attending University in Ontario. There’s been speculation several times that Canada may be in line for a giga-factory, but with operations expanding in other regions of North America, that doesn’t seem likely in the near future. However, The arrival of the Cybertruck and the launch of FSD subscriptions are poised to mark a new chapter in Tesla's Canadian story.
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Tesla maintains two primary software branches: the main feature branch and the FSD branch. In general, the FSD branch lags behind on new features pushed to the main branch but provides a more recent FSD version.
However, now Tesla is updating the main branch to a much more recent version of FSD.
Current FSD Build & Shadow Mode
Nowadays, the main branch always includes an older but stable build of FSD. It’s been on FSD V12.3.6 since July 2024. So, if you subscribe to FSD in North America, this is the FSD version you’ll receive until you get added to the FSD track.
Even if you don’t subscribe to or have purchased FSD, your vehicle has v12.3.6 on it. That includes vehicles in regions where FSD isn’t available for general use, such as Europe and China. In those cases, FSD runs in Shadow Mode, providing training data to Tesla if you’ve agreed to their data privacy policies. So Tesla is always analyzing what the vehicle would do compared to what the driver does. When there are contradictions, these are the clips and data Tesla will want to analyze.
FSD V12.5.4.2 on Main Branch
For the first time in five months, Tesla has now updated the baseline version of FSD in the main branch. The new version included with 2024.44 updates is FSD v12.5.4.2. This Tesla is updating the baseline FSD version to FSD V12.5.4.2
FSD 12.5 includes many features for a much smoother experience compared to FSD 12.3.6. Many users will appreciate that it gets rid of the steering wheel nag and instead relies on the cabin camera to provide real-time driver monitoring. This version also includes support for sunglasses with driver monitoring. It’ll be a big upgrade for anyone coming from FSD 12.3.6.
It's always a good thing when Tesla updates the baseline FSD version—that means that Tesla is confident that this new baseline is considerably safer and will continue to train the fleet against it.
What Update Am I Getting?
If you’re already on FSD V12.5.4.2, you’ll likely remain on that FSD build unless V13.3 manages to make its way to the public as Tesla originally planned, but that’s unlikely to happen before the Thanksgiving holiday. In all likelihood, you’ll be getting update 2024.44, which will give you some additional Tesla features while keeping you on the same FSD version.
For those who are already on 2024.44 - if you subscribe now, you’ll have V12.5.4.2 enabled on your vehicle.
If you have a Cybertruck, then you’ll receive update 2024.39.5 with FSD V12.5.5.3. They’re on a unique build for the moment, and this will likely be the case until Tesla acquires enough training data from the Cybertruck fleet.
The Cybertruck is having an eventful November. Just last week, we shared the news that Tesla isn’t offering their in-house wrap service for the Cybertruck anymore; the Foundation Series is now available in inventory in select US locations, Crossbars have arrived, and faster charging is around the corner. Now there’s even more to discuss about the stainless steel beast.
Projection Puddle Lights
Like the recently launched puddle lights for the Model 3 and Model Y, Tesla has introduced a set of add-on Projector Puddle Lights for the Cybertruck. These Cybertruck-specific ones go for $75 USD, or $105 CAD and are available in both the Canadian and US Tesla stores.
However, these don’t have the Tesla wordmark - instead, they feature the iconic Cybertruck symbol and, in our opinion, look even nicer. Here’s to hoping Tesla also introduces a set with the graffiti-style Cybertruck wordmark.
Powershare in Canada
While the Foundation Series Cybertruck has been getting delivered in Canada since November 7th, there was no news on Powershare being supported due to regulatory constraints. On the 20th, Foundation Series owners in Canada began to receive emails to get their Powershare installs started through Tesla’s official installer - Qmerit.
More to follow on pricing and the process as we receive our Canadian quote from Qmerit soon.
FSD in Canada
The Cybertruck Program Manager, Siddhant Awasthi, confirmed that with Powershare now becoming available, FSD for the Cybertruck in Canada will also become available soon. Canadian trucks shipped with a factory software build that didn’t include FSD, but did include TACC and stoplight/traffic control.
Early this morning Tesla began rolling out a new version of FSD 12.5.5.3 for the Cybertruck, which is update 2024.39.5. Will this be the version that rolls out in Canada?
Update: Yesterday, Tesla started rolling out FSD on the Cybertruck in Canada for the first time. The update being rolled out is update 2024.39.5, which not only features the latest FSD available on the Cybertruck, version 12.5.5.3, but it also includes all the features update 2024.38, which includes the huge Sentry Mode improvements that reduce power consumption by about 40%.
Following Integrated Flight Test 6 for SpaceX’s Starship, Elon Musk confirmed that uncrewed Starships are likely to begin making their way to Mars in about 2 years. You’re probably going to ask what’s going to be in those Starships - that’s what Brett Winston on X asked as well. Elon confirmed that Cybertrucks and Optimus robots will be among some of the first items landing on Mars.
That’s a ton of awesome news for Cybertruck, and there’s absolutely going to be more around the corner, especially as we await the big Tesla Holiday Update. While you wait, why not take a look at our Holiday Update Wishlists?