Tesla FSD V12.5 Rolls to OG Testers; Vehicles With FSD Being Updated to 2024.20.9

By Karan Singh
Not a Tesla App

Tesla has started rolling out FSD V12.5 to employees according to an employee on X. FSD 12.5 will be update 2024.20.10, meaning that customers on 2024.20.x and above will qualify to receive the latest FSD update.

So far, release notes and detailed update information haven’t made their way out just yet, but the poster, Jay, mentions that Summon or Banish aren’t included in the release.

Update: Tesla is moving quickly and FSD v12.5 is now going out to a few OG testers. It looks like we’re skipping over the wide release of FSD v12.4 and some users will going directly from FSD 12.3.6 to FSD 12.5.

Update 2: Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s AP Director, has commented on the release of FSD v12.5 and the noticeable lack of expected features, mainly the merger of city and highway stacks and vision-monitoring’s support for sunglasses. He said on X just moments ago that there will be subsequent releases of FSD 12.5 which will include these two features specifically.

Nag-Free FSD

FSD v12.5 is supposed to be the nag-free release that will be going wide to customers, following the halt of v12.4.3. Both Ashok Elluswamy, Directory of Autopilot Software and Elon Musk have touted its improvements, including the ability to drive nag-free with sunglasses.

Alongside that, there is an expected stack merge for the highway driving stack – which has been running on an older V11 build for quite some time. Alongside other significant improvements, like vehicle-to-fleet communications, V12.5 will still be a rather large update.

Who’s Eligible?

Vehicles on 2024.20 and below, including those on 2024.15.15 and 2024.14 should be eligible for the update. The few vehicles (under 1% of the tracked fleet) on 2024.26 will not be eligible for this update.

2024.20 brings along some new features including Power Front Doors for the Model X, Improved Adaptive Headlights, a new Beach Buggy Racing 2 Leaderboard, Location Privacy details and optimizations for hot weather.

What’s quite important here is that most Cybertrucks are on 2024.20.9 – which means they’ll be eligible for the update, as FSD V12.5 is also supposed to bring FSD and Autopilot features to the Cybertruck for the first time. Some Cybertrucks were spotted with LiDAR units for FSD accuracy testing recently, which means we’re likely to see FSD enabled on these vehicles once this 2024.20.10 update arrives.

Tesla is Updating Vehicles on 2024.14.9

Similar to what we saw during the Spring Update, tonight Tesla started rolling out update 2024.20.9 to FSD customers in North America who are still on update 2024.14.9.

This update will bring FSD owners the latest Tesla features in the 2024.20 update such as the Beach Buggy leaderboard game and more, but the FSD version will remain the same at v12.3.6.

This confirms that the rollout of FSD 12.4.3 is dead since since vehicles on 2024.20 will no longer be eligible to receive FSD 12.4.3 which is update 2024.15.15.

It’s looking like the next FSD update will be FSD v12.5, but the door remains open for a possible revision of FSD v12.4.4.

If you’re in North America and are on update 2024.14.9, go check out if you’re being updated to 2024.20.9.

Tesla to Allow Drivers to Display License Plates in Vehicle Visualization

By Karan Singh
Rendering of what Tesla's license plate feature could look like
Rendering of what Tesla's license plate feature could look like
Not a Tesla App

Tesla update 2024.38 has started rolling out to several regions and vehicles. Thanks to Tesla hacker Greentheonly, we have a behind-the-scenes look at some new features coming to Teslas.

License Plate Display

According to Greentheonly, it looks like Tesla may soon let you display your actual license plate in the vehicle’s visualization on the screen. In our article, The Most Request Tesla Features, several readers suggested displaying the vehicle’s license plate in the visualization instead of a blank, white plate.

It looks like Tesla will be doing just that, at least in China. Green found references that appear to conclude that you’ll be able to display your vehicle’s plate on screen. This will likely be user input, so you could have it say anything you’d like, and it doesn’t have to be your actual license plate.

For many owners, who may find it difficult to remember their license plate, this could serve a practical purpose in addition to adding to the visualization's realism.

While Green was only able to say it’ll be available in China, we expect this is due to China’s software development team working on it and that it’ll eventually be released worldwide.

We’ve seen several features originally released in China and later applied to everyone. Some of these include the Air Quality Index display, the trip meter that displays traffic along your route, and even the ability to change your vehicle’s color.

While code for this feature was found in update 2024.38, we may not be turned on in China yet. We suspect this feature may be a strong candidate for Tesla’s upcoming holiday update.

FSD Hardware Version Display

As part of the 2024.38 update, Tesla has now made it easy to determine whether your vehicle includes Hardware 3 or Hardware 4. You can now simply navigate to Controls > Software and tap Additional Vehicle Information. In addition to other hardware information about your vehicle, your Autopilot hardware version will now be listed as well.

You can see whether your vehicle has HW2.5, HW3, or AI4. This in-car display is useful, but if you don’t have access to the vehicle, you can always use our guide on how to determine the hardware version of a Tesla.

New Battery Health Test & Service Mode Improvements

Green found some additional things as well. There’s a new and improved Battery Health Test. The new test will show you how your car scores compared to similar vehicles in the Tesla fleet.

In addition, maintenance records can now be permanently stored “in the car.” It doesn’t appear that this feature is activated yet, but it’s likely in active development with some parts leaking out in the 2024.38 update.

Tesla has included various Service Mode improvements and new visualizations in this update.

Leaked Images of the Tesla Model Y Juniper Refresh

By Karan Singh
Mr Li on X

It’s been a while since we saw the last batch of leaked images of the Model Y Juniper refresh. That inspiring photo, alongside other images, set the blood of many concept artists on fire. We saw a ton of awesome concepts of Project Juniper, and now there are even more leaked images.

Mr Li on X came across some covered-up Project Juniper vehicles recently and he managed to get various shots of the vehicle.

Juniper Images

This front image reveals what looks like two rows of lights, possibly confirming the front light bar for the Model Y refresh — similar to the one on the Cybercab.

The rear side has a lot of lights on it!
The rear side has a lot of lights on it!
Mr Li on X

The rear side shows a ton of brake lights, but it’s not clear why. While it looks like the Model Y refresh will also feature a rear light bar similar to the Cybertruck, there isn’t strong evidence of that in this photo.

Mr Li on X

There's an obvious set of lights at the bottom, so it looks like the Model Y refresh will be similar to the new Model 3 where the bottom lights can operate as brake lights when the one-piece tail lights and trunk are up.

Mr Li on X

In the last photo, we see that the overall form factor of the refreshed Model Y will remain unchanged, and Tesla is focusing the changes on the front and rear ends of the vehicle, much like the Model 3 refresh. However, in this one shot, we can also see what appears to be red light leaking out of the rear camera cover opening, possibly due to the rear light bar.

The Model Y is not only Tesla’s best-selling vehicle but also the world’s best-selling car in 2023. This year, it’s expected to be the best-selling vehicle in the United States and again in the world, so this refresh will be huge for Tesla.

We expect most of the interior to remain the same as the Model 3 refresh, which saw substantial improvements in quality, noise reduction, and performance. Check out our wishlist of more things we hope to see in the Model Y refresh.

Dominic’s Concept

Dominic's Concept, in all its glory.
Dominic's Concept, in all its glory.
@DominicBRNKMN on X

@DominicBRNKMN made another fantastic set of concepts based on these new images. Given he had the most accurate Model 3 Highland concept before the official launch, we’re pretty sure his latest work be close here as well.

@DominicBRNKMN

We’re super excited to see the eventual reveal of Project Juniper, which is expected in the first half of 2025. However, expect to see a few more leaks before production kicks off at Giga Shanghai.

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