With the Spring Update and FSD V12.4 around the corner, Elon Musk shared that Actually Smart Summon and Banish (Autopark) are coming soon, along with some other updates to the new vision-based Auto Park.
FSD to Automatically Park at Destination
On FSD v12.3.6, which now includes the new Vision-based Autopark for vehicles with ultrasonic sensors, users have to manually search for and select a parking spot if they want to use Autopark. However, according to a post from Musk, FSD will automatically enter Autopark mode upon arriving at its destination. This will essentially combine the current FSD capabilities with Autopark and add the ability for the vehicle to traverse a parking lot looking for an empty space.
Banish Autopark Coming Soon
Smarter Summon and Banish Autopark, with the ability to send the car to and from a parking space without anyone in the car, will be coming soon, as per Musk’s recent X post.
Banish Autopark, previously known as Reverse Summon, is expected to include various parking options, such as “closest to the door”, “near cart returns”, or “end of the parking lot”. This would drop the owner off at the entrance to a location while having the vehicle automatically find a parking spot and then park itself. At least that is Tesla’s full vision, as Musk has talked about before. It’s not clear whether the Banish Autopark feature, will actually include all of these capabilities in v1, or if Tesla will slowly add more features to it. What we know now is that Tesla is working on having the vehicle park itself without a driver inside. It may simply be an extension of the Autopark we have today, where the driver finds a parking spot, selects it, and then exits the vehicle as it parks itself. This could be exceptionally useful for parking in tight spaces.
Actually Smart Summon Coming to Vehicles Without USS
Smarter Summon on the other hand, is an update to the existing Smart Summon functionality that is currently available on cars that have ultrasonic sensors (USS). Actually Smart Summon is expected to bring that functionality to Vision-only cars as well.
In traditional Tesla fashion, Tesla is building upon what it already has. Tesla first released Summon, which allowed the vehicle to move only forward or backward in a straight line. Tesla then released Smart Summon which allowed the vehicle to move toward a target, navigating obstacles on the way, and soon we’ll have an even more capable version of Smart Summon.
Release Date
Musk has previously mentioned that upcoming updates to FSD V12, will have various focuses on improvements. V12.4 will focus on user comfort, while v12.5 will focus on more complex scenarios.
These next two major FSD versions will probably take us to the end of the year. Banish Autopark will probably be arriving closer to v12.4 as a comfort improvement, while Actually Smart Summon, which relies upon the ability to reverse, may arrive in FSD V12.5.
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Tesla has added the Acceleration Boost option to the Tesla store for owners of the 2024 Model 3 Long Range - specifically owners in Australia and China. Acceleration Boost is an upgrade that provides a significant performance boost, drastically narrowing the performance gap between the Long Range and Performance versions of the same model.
This upgrade will likely become available in Europe, Canada, and the United States in the next few days as Tesla updates its shops globally.
Acceleration Boost
This new Acceleration Boost is retailing for $3,000 AUD, or approximately $2,000 USD. That’s the same price for current owners of older Model 3 or Model Y Long Range vehicles, which all have the option to purchase Acceleration Boost through the shop.
The boost provides improved 0-100km/h (0-60mph) performance, bumping the 2024 Model 3 LR from 4.4s to 3.8s. The 2024 Performance version comes in at a blazing fast 2.9 seconds, so while it isn’t equivalent to just buying a performance variant in the first place, it is still a noticeable and significant upgrade.
Performance variants also come with a different front fascia vent for cooling, performance drive units, sport seats, adaptive suspension, 20-inch wheels, and Track Mode V3. That’s a significant number of additional features in the $10,000 USD price difference between the Long Range and Performance versions.
Should You Buy It?
If you’ve purchased a Long Range model and are itching to go just that little bit faster at every red light, this is the upgrade for you. It previously came with the cost of slightly reducing vehicle range, but the Tesla store doesn’t make a note of reduced range this time around. The 2023 Model 3 and Model Y Long Range models had an efficiency loss of about 5% due to the additional always-available acceleration and cooling.
You could drive in Chill mode to mostly negate that efficiency loss, but what’s the fun in driving in Chill when you just got Acceleration Boost? Anyhow, the shop listing for the 2024 variant doesn’t include this detail, so it's possible Tesla may have worked some more engineering magic.
Overall, if you’ve got the $3,000 AUD burning a hole in your pocket, some Tesla referral credits sitting around, or just want to go faster, it's definitely an upgrade many users find valuable.
As December approaches, Tesla’s highly anticipated Holiday update draws closer. Each year, this eagerly awaited software release transforms Tesla vehicles with new features and festive flair. If you’re not familiar with Tesla’s holiday updates, take a look at what Tesla has launched in the Holiday update the past few years.
For this chapter in our series, we’re dreaming up ways Tesla could improve the charging experience and even add some additional safety features. So let’s take a look.
Destination State of Charge
Today, navigating to a destination is pretty straightforward on your Tesla. Your vehicle will automatically let you know when and where to charge, as well as for how long. However, you’ll likely arrive at your destination at a low state of charge.
Being able to set your destination state of charge would be an absolute game-changer for ease of road-tripping. After all, the best EV to road trip in is a Tesla due to the Supercharger network. It looks like Tesla may be listening. Last week, Tesla updated their app and hinted at such a feature coming to the Tesla app. A Christmas present, maybe?
Battery Precondition Options
While Tesla automatically preconditions your battery when needed for fast charging, there are various situations where manually preconditioning the battery would be beneficial.
Currently, there is no way to precondition for third-party chargers unless you “navigate” to a nearby Supercharger. If you need to navigate to a Supercharger that’s close by, the short distance between your location and the Supercharger will also not allow enough time to warm up the battery, causing slower charging times.
While we already mentioned Live Activities in the Tesla app wishlist, they’d be especially useful while Supercharging. Live Activities are useful for short-term information you want to monitor, especially if it changes often — which makes them perfect for Supercharging, especially if you want to avoid idle fees.
Vehicle-to-Load / Vehicle-to-Home Functionality
The Cybertruck introduced Tesla Power Share, Tesla’s name for Vehicle-to-Home functionality (V2H). V2H allows an EV to supply power directly to a home. By leveraging the vehicle’s battery, V2H can provide backup power during outages and reduce energy costs by using stored energy during peak rates.
Tesla Power Share integrates seamlessly with Tesla Energy products and the Tesla app. We’d love to see this functionality across the entire Tesla lineup. Recently a third party demonstrated that bidirectional charging does work on current Tesla vehicles – namely on a 2022 Model Y.
Adaptive Headlights for North America
While Europe and China have had access to the Adaptive Headlights since earlier this year, North America is still waiting. The good news is that Lars Moravy, VP of Vehicle Engineering, said that these are on their way soon.
Blind Spot Indication with Ambient Lighting
Both the 2024 Highland Model 3 Refresh and the Cybertruck already have ambient lighting features, but they don’t currently offer a practical purpose besides some eye candy. So why not integrate that ambient lighting into the Blindspot Warning system so that the left or right side of the vehicle lights up when there’s a vehicle in your blind spot? Currently, only a simple red dot lights up in the front speaker grill, and the on-screen camera will also appear with a red border when signaling.
Having the ambient lighting change colors when a vehicle is in your blind spot would be a cool use of the technology, especially since the Model Y Juniper Refresh and Models S and X are supposed to get ambient lighting as well.
Tesla’s Holiday update is expected to arrive with update 2024.44.25 in just a few short weeks. We’ll have extensive coverage of its features when it finally arrives, but in the meantime, be sure to check out our other wishlist articles:
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