Tesla recently launched another round of FSD Trials for both new and current customers. Like before, the trial is for 30 days. However, Tesla is now sending out emails to users that the trial is being extended — letting users get FSD for about an extra week.
FSD is built into every Tesla vehicle, but it comes with a hefty up-front price tag or a more economical subscription of $99 USD/CAD per month. Since not every customer has tried out the latest version of FSD, Tesla is sending out more trials, hoping it will stick with some customers. A longer trial could do just that, as users start relying on it for everyday drives instead of just trying it out.
The timing of the trial and extension is also interesting. Thanksgiving takes place in the United States on November 28th, which means many of these trials will still be active during the holiday. Having this trial active during the Thanksgiving holiday could expose many non-Tesla owners to FSD.
Update: This article has been updated to accurately reflect the 30-day trial. Users who are receiving the trial now are getting a 30-day trial. For users who received the free trial earlier, Tesla has extended it by 30 days from the day of the email, which ends up being about an extra week.
FSD V12.5.4.1
When a user receives the FSD trial, Tesla updates their cars to 2024.32.10, which includes FSD V12.5.4.1, alongside hands-free driver monitoring with sunglasses, as well as Actually Smart Summon. Essentially, this is a big moment for Tesla to show off the latest FSD features to as many customers as possible.
At the recent Q3 2024 Earnings Call, Tesla also confirmed that the FSD rate has been up since the We, Robot event. This is likely due to more people seeing the robotaxi and the fact that there were no incidents while moving thousands of people. This, plus the recent success of FSD V12.5, which has a lower intervention rate than earlier versions, is opening more people up to the idea of autonomy.
Trial Extension
Tesla is announcing the trial extension to some users through email or a message in the Tesla app, so keep an eye out for both. The email and message are going out to users in North America who subscribe to FSD or don’t have FSD at all. It does not include customers who have bought FSD since those owners already have it for the life of the vehicle.
Tesla appears to be phasing in the FSD trial, as not all users have received it yet, but we expect most users to receive it in the next few weeks.
Enable the Trial
Once you receive the email, check your vehicle to see whether it asks you to activate FSD. Keep in mind that it may take up to a day for FSD to show up in your vehicle. Once it does, FSD will be activated on your current software version, which is likely FSD 12.3.6, but update 2024.32.10 should be available to you shortly after.
Although Tesla has moved away from the FSD Beta wording and it’s now officially called FSD (Supervised), always remember that this feature requires you to be constantly aware of your surroundings and to monitor the vehicle closely. While FSD will navigate, change lanes, and even take turns, it's imperative to stay attentive and cautious—the system is designed to assist, not replace, the driver.
What If I Already Subscribe
In the previous FSD trial earlier this year, Tesla also gave a free trial to Tesla owners who already subscribe to FSD. This essentially gives you a month of FSD for free. We have confirmed that this trial is functioning the same way, and users who are already paying for FSD are receiving a free month.
If you receive the free FSD trial message in the app, you should see the payment date for FSD skip a month so that you only get charged the next FSD payment after your free month ends.
How to Get the FSD Trial
You don’t need to do anything to get the free FSD trial. Tesla isn’t sending it to everyone at once, but most owners who live in the U.S. or Canada should receive the free 30-day trial soon.
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.
