A green dot appearing on the screen when the camera is monitoring
Whole Mars Catalog
Tesla has rolled out FSD V12.4.1 to its employees today. FSD V12.4.1 is expected to introduce significant improvements to FSD and a batch of new features. The deployment, version 2024.15.5, will soon be available to nearly all vehicles in the fleet, bringing together FSD and non-FSD branches and beginning the elimination of steering wheel nags.
Update: Slightly ahead of Musk’s estimate, Tesla started rolling out FSD 12.4.1 to a small group of owners late last night. Musk had estimated this latest update would start rolling out this weekend to a small batch of customers after going out to employees on Thursday.
One change in this update is the green dot that appears on the screen (shown in the image above), when the cabin camera is actively checking for driver attention. If no additional bugs are found, we may see 12.4.1 roll out to additional customers later this weekend. Follow our roll out page to keep an eye on further releases.
Includes Spring Update Features
Tesla has introduced FSD V12.4.1 on branch 2024.15.5 – which means that vehicles on 2024.3.25, 2024.8.9, and 2024.14.11 and below will be eligible for the update! This is good news, as the majority of the tracked fleet will be eligible.
Users on 2024.3.25 and 2024.8.9 will also be receiving all the features from the Spring Update, including the updated UI and all the other features. This is going to be a major update.
Elon Musk has previously mentioned that FSD V12.4 will bring the fractured FSD and non-FSD branches together, and this looks like it will come true shortly.
Green Dot When Monitoring
With this update, FSD will primarily rely upon the camera driver monitoring system (DMS) to determine whether the driver is paying attention. Of course, this is the initial implementation and has a few limitations. While the cabin camera is monitoring the driver, Tesla will now display a green dot on the screen to let the driver know the camera is active. This is similar to how phones show a green dot when one of the cameras is on.
Driver Monitoring
The cabin camera cannot be occluded or obscured, and it must have continuous visibility of the driver’s eyes to eliminate the steering wheel nag. This means that there must be sufficient cabin illumination, the driver cannot be wearing sunglasses or a low-brim hat, and nothing is preventing the camera from seeing the driver’s eyes. Legacy vehicles without a camera are expected to remain with the steering wheel method of detecting attention.
At this point, regular eyeglasses should not impact the use of the improved DMS – but looking away for extended periods will trigger a warning. Continuous inattention will escalate warnings, and eventually lead to a strikeout.
With this update, drivers will not receive requests for steering wheel nags while the updated DMS is confident that they are paying attention and fulfilling all the conditions.
FSD V12.4.1 Improvements
Besides the elimination of the steering wheel nag, Tesla will be adding quite a few other features to FSD V12.4.1, including an updated Strikeout and Suspension system.
You can receive up to 5 strikeouts before being suspended for a week. Good driving behavior (without a strikeout) will result in a strikeout being removed, once per 7 days.
Musk also mentioned previously that Banish Autopark and Park Seek would be arriving with 12.4, but the release notes for this version don’t mention this. These don’t seem to have arrived just yet, but they could still be coming soon in a V12.4.X update.
Expected Release Date
Given Tesla’s rate of updates and the recent positive news on FSD V12.4.1 from both Elon Musk and testers, we could expect the first customers to start receiving V12.4.1 by this weekend or early next week.
Ordering a New Tesla?
Consider using our referral code (nuno84363) to get up to $2,000 off your new Tesla and get 3 Months of FSD for free.
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.
![Tesla Adds HEPA Filter to New Model 3, Will it Get Bioweapon Defense Mode? [Update: Tesla Edits Post]](https://www.notateslaapp.com/images/news/2023/new-model-3-hepa-filter_300w.jpg)
