Tesla will now alert you when vision-monitoring isn't being used
@WifeDirtyTesla
With FSD V12.4.1 finally beginning its rollout to select customers as of last night. You’re probably wondering exactly how nags will – or won’t – work for the updated and much-hyped update.
No Steering Wheel Nags
Tesla’s current implementation of no steering wheel nags on V12.4.1 is pretty simple and straightforward. As long as you’re paying attention and looking at the road, you won’t be required to touch the steering wheel. You’ll see a green dot on the screen, letting you know that the enhanced driver monitoring system (DMS) and Vision-Based Attention Monitoring (VBAM) are active.
On the Model S and X, the green dot is on the instrument cluster screen, immediately next to the blue FSD/AP wheel icon. On the Model 3 and Model Y (and Cybertruck, in the future), the green dot indicator is on the top left of the screen, in between the battery indicator and the blue FSD/AP wheel.
However, there are some restrictions baked into this initial implementation. Your eyes cannot be obscured or occluded from the cabin camera. This means that legacy vehicles are ineligible for the new VBAM, along with anyone who installs a physical camera cover for privacy or other reasons.
For the privacy-conscious folks, Tesla has mentioned that cabin camera imagery will not leave the vehicle itself unless you enable data sharing, which is optional. Cabin camera imagery is also not available to view via the API, so third-party integrations cannot view your cabin camera either.
The green dot on the center display
Whole Mars Catalog
Restrictions
There are some other catches too. The cabin camera is currently unable to see through sunglasses due to the polarization. The car will display “Attention monitoring unavailable, sunglasses use detected” on the screen. This could change in the future as Tesla figures out how to best take advantage of its cabin cameras. However, it can see through regular glasses just fine – so eyeglass wearers, rejoice!
Attention monitoring unavailable, sunglasses use detected
Vehicles that do not have IR lights in the cabin will also not be able to take advantage of VBAM at night – as the cameras in vehicles without IR lights are unable to see at night. Tesla does offer a refit for vehicles to upgrade to IR-capable cameras – put in a service ticket if you’re interested through the Service Menu on the app.
If it cannot find your eyes due to any of these restrictions, the green light will not come on, and the regular wheel nags that you are used to will continue.
Warnings and Suspensions
If VBAM determines that you’re not paying attention – initially a screen warning will appear, telling you to pay attention to the road. This can be dismissed quickly by just reverting your attention to the road ahead of you. You won’t have to touch the steering wheel to dismiss the nag.
However, if you continue to not pay attention and the DMS detects improper usage, you will receive an Autopilot Strikeout, and FSD will disengage. Before a Strikeout occurs, there will be multiple auditory and visual warnings, ensuring you have a few moments to bring your attention back to supervising FSD.
You can receive up to 5 Strikeouts before the FSD becomes suspended. One strikeout will be lifted per 7-day period in which you do not receive a Strikeout. If you hit 5 Strikeouts, it could be up to 5 weeks before you clear all of them! If you receive another Strikeout within that 7-day period after an initial Strikeout, the 7-day period is reset.
Other Changes
Elon Musk has mentioned that V12.4 was supposed to be focused on user comfort, by reducing hard acceleration and braking. According to Musk, it should have a 5-10x improvement between user disengagements.
Early Access owners have mentioned that 12.4 tends to be more assertive and less hesitant when it comes to intersections, stop signs, and parking lots. Owners have also noticed improvements in the “lane dancing”, where FSD V12.3 would stray in between lanes for too long while changing lanes.
Of additional note is that Vision Autopark is slightly faster – but this is the same Vision Autopark speed increase that rolled out to customers who have already received the Spring Update. For everyone else, expect a 2-3x improvement in how fast Vision Autopark changes directions, and how fast it maneuvers in general. As of the Spring Update, it can now park in even tighter spaces.
Sadly, some previously announced features were missed out on in this release of FSD V12.4.1. Namely, the key features of Banish Autopark and Park Seek. For the time being, users will still have to disengage FSD and then engage Autopark once they find their parking spot.
Banish Autopark, or “Reverse Summon” was thought to arrive in V12.4 as part of the comfort update according, allowing you to choose a parking spot type preference, exit the vehicle, and then have the car park itself.
Additionally, Park Seek – which would allow FSD to automatically find a parking spot in a parking lot, and then engage Autopark automatically, was initially a confirmed feature, but is not present in this release.
Finally, Hand Gesture recognition was supposed to come in an update “later in May” – but given that FSD V12.4 has missed previous deadlines – no surprise to people familiar with the “2 week policy” – there is no confirmation yet if that feature has made it into this build. It is very possible that the employee in question may have been referring to V12.5 – which is also expected to bring vehicle-to-fleet communication.
Given that it just rolled out to employees yesterday, and then to “OG” FSD Beta owners today, we could expect 2024.15.5 – the version that contains V12.4.1 – to hopefully continue rolling out to customers next week. Everyone with an update under 2024.15.5 - so users on 2024.3.25, 2024.8.9, and 2024.14.11 – should be eligible to receive this update. The very few vehicles already on 2024.20 with the Adaptive Headlights functionality will have to wait a bit longer!
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We’re eagerly anticipating Tesla’s biggest update of the year — the Holiday update. The update usually arrives in December, typically towards the end of the month. Last year, the rollout was actually earlier, happening in the second week of December.
As part of our ongoing series, we’re sharing our wishlist for features we hope to see in this year’s holiday update. This edition focuses on improvements to Tesla Maps and Autopilot.
User-contributed Map Data
Many users have asked for the integration of more Waze-like features into Tesla’s navigation. Earlier this year, Tesla added Speed Camera locations, traffic lights and stop signs to maps, but users really want it to be a Waze-like experience that lets you contribute data. This includes marking police car locations, accidents, construction, and more. We’re not sure how likely this is to happen. So far, Tesla has relied on the Google API and other vendors to highlight information on the map.
Avoid Highways Option
Users have been asking for an ‘Avoid Highways’ option forever as it’s a standard option in navigation systems nowdays. While the Alternate Routes feature is helpful, it may not always provide a route that avoids the highway.
In June, Elon Musk confirmed that a “Avoid Highways” option would be added to Tesla navigation. We still haven’t seen it arrive, but we’re fairly confident that it will eventually be available in Tesla vehicles, maybe even for the Holiday update. What better way to enjoy a winter wonderland than to drive through some country roads instead of on the highway?
3D Buildings in Maps
Not a Tesla App
3D maps arrived in China earlier this year, and Google began rolling out 3D maps for various apps just last month. Apple already provides a 3D map with beautiful renderings of nearby buildings, and Rivian already features 3D buildings with an Apple-like look, so Tesla is playing catch-up a little bit here.
While 3D map support could be viewed as mostly eye candy, it can sometimes be useful when navigating an unknown area. Since the Intel infotainment processor is already near its limit and has excluded features in the past, such as improved visualizations and High Fidelity Park Assist, this feature could be limited to newer AMD-powered vehicles.
At Tesla’s recent Robotaxi event, we saw custom 3D maps in the vehicle with a specialized interface, so Tesla knows this is an appealing addition.
Detect and Visualize Emergency Vehicles
Greentheonly/X
Tesla already detects emergency vehicles while on Autopilot, however, it doesn’t display them in the visualization any differently than a normal car. Tesla was planning on adding emergency vehicle visualizations as far back as 2021, but they didn’t happen for some reason.
Tesla recently announced that they’re going to step up emergency vehicle detection by not only detecting the vehicles visually but also using audio input as a cue. With FSD v13, which is expected to be released to Tesla employees this month, FSD will detect emergency vehicles using the vehicle’s internal microphone. This should let the vehicle know about emergency vehicles sooner. We’re hoping that on-screen visualization comes along with this update.
If it’s anything like Tesla’s 2021 implementation, Tesla will design emergency lights that could be added to various existing 3D models, such as cars, SUVs, and motorcycles.
FSD Visualizations in Other Regions
This one is long overdue, and we hope it finally arrives. Owners outside of North America have been paying for FSD for years and have almost nothing to show for it. Sure, it includes some features like Summon (with USS vehicles) and, more recently, Autopark, but it doesn’t even include Actually Smart Summon yet.
While Tesla says the FSD is coming to Europe and other markets in Q1/Q2 next year, it’d be a great addition to add FSD visualizations for the time being.
There’s no doubt that Tesla is already detecting objects and vehicles behind the scenes and comparing what the vehicle would do to what the driver does to help improve Autopilot in these markets. For some reason, Tesla has decided to show different visualizations depending on whether you have Autopilot or FSD and whether you live in North America or elsewhere.
Adding FSD visualizations for everyone, regardless of whether they have Basic Autopilot, EAP, or FSD, would be an exciting addition — and it may even increase the subscription rate to FSD.
Expand Basic Autopilot
Tesla’s Basic Autopilot includes Adaptive Cruise Control and Autosteer, but we’d love for Tesla to expand this further to match what other manufacturers are offering.
Right now, Tesla considers Navigate on Autopilot and automatic lane changes part of Enhanced Autopilot. This means that if you’re on Autopilot and want to change lanes, you need to disable AP, change lanes, and re-enable it. Since many regions no longer offer Enhanced Autopilot for purchase, users are forced to put up with this annoyance or pay for FSD, which isn’t offered as a subscription outside of North America.
By creating a clearer distinction between Autopilot (focused on highway driving) and FSD (designed for city driving), Tesla could improve the Autopilot experience for users while encouraging them to upgrade to FSD.
Actually Smart Summon
Actually Smart Summon is still mostly limited to North America, with some small regions such as Taiwan, also receiving it. However, it still requires you to hold the ‘come’ button currently. The next big leap would be to remove this requirement and enable users to summon their vehicles with a single tap. Tesla previously said this was coming in a future improvement to A.S.S.
Ideally, we’d see the reach of Actually Smart Summon expanded to Europe and other regions and improvements of the feature, although we’re much more likely to see the former for the Christmas update.
Cybertruck is also still waiting for Summon, so this could be an additional surprise.
Autoshift for All Cars
While Autoshift isn’t directly tied to Autopilot, it does leverage AI to decide whether to shift into reverse or drive. This feature has now been released on the new Model S, Model X, the new Model 3, and the Cybertruck. However, Musk once said that it would be added to all Tesla vehicles, so we’re hoping that’s still in the works.
There’s certainly no reason why Tesla can’t add it to older vehicles with stalks. For those not familiar with Autoshift, it allows the vehicle to automatically shift into reverse or drive when the driver is ready to start moving. This makes it even easier to get going: You simply get in the car, press the brake pedal, giving the vehicle a chance to shift, and then press the accelerator.
This is our second wishlist of features we’d love to see in Tesla vehicles this holiday season. If you haven’t seen our first wishlist, the Tesla App Edition, be sure to check it out.
While this is a list of the most popular user requests related to Tesla’s navigation and Autopilot features, we’re sure that there are some we missed. Let us know your thoughts and ideas in our forums.
There’s been a spade of Cybertruck announcements that just came up all at once, so let’s see what the polygonal truck is up to in the month of November. We’ve got a variety of topics to cover, starting with some disappointing news about Tesla’s in-house wrapping services, which are being discontinued for the Cybertruck. But don’t worry — there’s plenty of good news to follow.
No More Tesla Wraps
Tesla no longer offers wraps for the Cybertruck as an option for US customers. Tesla began wrapping vehicles earlier this year but stopped offering wraps for the Cybertruck as of November 13th.
This comes after Tesla previously reduced the color options for Cybertruck wraps from seven to five. However, this isn’t too big of an issue—there are plenty of companies that specialize in vehicle wraps.
The reason Tesla stopped offering wrap services for the Cybertruck isn’t clear. Was there not enough demand? Did it take up too much time from technicians who are already stretched thin?
Given the long repair backlogs in the United States, it makes more sense to have service technicians focus on vehicle repairs rather than spending time wrapping cars.
Inventory Foundation Series
The Cybertruck Foundation Series is now available as an inventory vehicle in certain locations in the United States. That means you can pick up a Foundation-series truck with little to no delay.
Only a few trucks are currently in stock, but this will likely expand as Tesla continues to ramp production and begins to offer the non-Foundation Series trucks as inventory vehicles.
These inventory vehicles are only available in the United States. Canadian owners will still need to put down a deposit for a Foundation Series Cybertruck to get it soon.
Crossbars
Tesla has just announced it is offering a new set of crossbars for the Cybertruck. With a load rating of 200 lbs, it’s on par with roof racks for other trucks. These crossbars also come with mounting pads and quick releases. There are also slots for attaching ski racks, bike racks, or even cargo boxes, letting owners expand the truck's storage capacity.
Interestingly, the Foundation Series trucks can install the crossbars over the cabin or the truck bed, while the non-Foundation Series can only mount the crossbars over the truck bed. That isn’t the greatest news - because one of the best uses for these crossbars is protecting the cabin glass when you’ve got items like long wooden planks hanging over the roof of the truck. Maybe we’ll see more on this soon.
The mounting points for the Cybertruck's crossbars.
Not a Tesla App
Update: It turns out that you can, in fact, install the crossbars anywhere on a non-Foundation series vehicle. You’ll just have to pay for an additional roof applique, according to Wes Morril, Lead Engineer of the Cybertruck Program.
Faster Charging
Tesla announced updated versions of the V4 Supercharger, with a more powerful electrical cabinet that can charge the Cybertruck at up to 500kW. That’s an insanely fast speed—nearly 1,300 mi/hr of charging. This will come as part of a future update for the Cybertruck and as V4 Supercharger stations begin to be deployed.
That’ll make the Cybertruck the fastest-charging Tesla - even with its enormous battery.
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