In a relatively surprising move, GM announced that it is realigning its autonomy strategy and prioritizing advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) over fully autonomous vehicles.
GM is effectively closing Cruise (autonomous) and focusing on its Super Cruise (ADAS) feature. The engineering teams at Cruise will join the GM teams working on Super Cruise, effectively shuttering the fully autonomous vehicle business.
End of Cruise
GM cites that “an increasingly competitive robotaxi market” and “considerable time and resources” are required for scaling the business to a profitable level. Essentially - they’re unable to keep up with competitors at current funding and research levels, putting them further and further behind.
Cruise has been offering driverless rides in several cities, using HD mapping of cities alongside vehicles equipped with a dazzling array of over 40 sensors. That means that each cruise vehicle is essentially a massive investment and does not turn a profit while collecting data to work towards Autonomy.
Cruise has definitely been on the back burner for a while, and a quick glance at their website - since it's still up for now - shows the last time they officially released any sort of major news packet was back in 2019.
Competition is Killer
Their current direct competitor - Waymo, is funded by Google, which maintains a direct interest in ensuring they have a play in the AI and autonomy space.
Interestingly, this news comes just a month after Tesla’s We, Robot event, where they showed off the Cybercab and the Robotaxi network, as well as plans to begin deployment of the network and Unsupervised FSD sometime in 2025. Tesla is already in talks with some cities in California and Texas to launch Robotaxi in 2025.
GM Admits Tesla Has the Right Strategy
As part of the business call following the announcement, GM admitted that Tesla’s end-to-end and Vision-based approach towards autonomy is the right strategy. While they say Cruise started down that path, they’re putting aside their goals towards fully autonomous vehicles for now and focusing on introducing that tech in Super Cruise instead.
NEWS: GM just admitted that @Tesla’s end-to-end approach to autonomy is the right strategy.
“That’s where the industry is pivoting. Cruise had already started making headway down that path. We are moving to a foundation model and end-to-end approach going forward.” pic.twitter.com/ACs5SFKUc3
With GM now focusing on Super Cruise, they’ll put aside autonomy and instead focus solely on ADAS features to relieve driver stress and improve safety. While those are positive goals that will benefit all road users, full autonomy is really the key to removing the massive impact that vehicle accidents have on society today.
In addition, Super Cruise is extremely limited, cannot brake for traffic controls, and doesn’t work in adverse conditions - even rain. It can only function when lane markings are clear, there are no construction zones, and there is a functional web connection.
The final key to the picture is that the vehicle has to be on an HD-mapped and compatible highway - essentially locking Super Cruise to wherever GM has time to spend mapping, rather than being functional anywhere in a general sense, like FSD or Autopilot.
Others Impressed - Licensing FSD
Interestingly, some other manufacturers have also weighed into the demise of Cruise. BMW, in a now-deleted post, said that a demo of Tesla’s FSD is “very impressive.” There’s a distinct chance that BMW and other manufacturers are looking to see what Tesla does next.
BMW chimes in on a now-deleted post. The Internet is forever, BMW!
Not a Tesla App
It seems that FSD has caught their eyes after We, Robot - and that the demonstrations of FSD V13.2 online seem to be the pivot point. At the 2024 Shareholder Meeting earlier in the year, Elon shared the fact that several manufacturers had reached out, looking to understand what was required to license FSD from Tesla.
There is a good chance 2025 will be the year we’ll see announcements of the adoption of FSD by legacy manufacturers - similar to how we saw the surprise announcements of the adoption of the NACS charging standard.
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We’ve known for a while now that Tesla has been using a custom build of FSD to allow its newly produced vehicles at Giga Texas and Fremont to autonomously navigate themselves from the production line to the outbound delivery lot.
While we knew they were using a custom build of what was likely FSD Unsupervised, thanks to a recent post from Tesla AI on X, this has now been confirmed. Tesla has also confirmed it has accrued over 50,000 driverless miles, totalled from vehicles autonomously driving themselves to delivery lots.
Giga Texas production now uses FSD Unsupervised to deliver cars from end of line to the outbound logistics lot.
Over 50,000 driverless miles have been accrued between California and Texas factories so far pic.twitter.com/79zKY0U6Ox
For most of Tesla’s vehicles - that’s a 1.4-mile trip that is shared with pedestrians, cars, trucks, and construction equipment. You can see in the video that the Teslas are navigating public roadways and encountering real human drivers.
That’s great news, especially since many were wondering whether Tesla would secure the necessary approvals in time to launch their Robotaxi network in June.
Increased Confidence
Following Tesla’s post to X, Musk followed up by saying that when Tesla launches FSD Unsupervised soon, it will be the first time there will be a generalized, pure AI solution to autonomy. Tesla and several executives continue to post more content about autonomy and the Robotaxi network, leading us to believe they’re feeling confident in the June launch.
Model Ys autonomously navigate a 1.4 mile trip on a road shared with pedestrians, cars, semi trucks, construction equipment & more pic.twitter.com/iPx2fs78v2
Back when Tesla initially announced the autonomous travel of its vehicles from production to loading lots, they mentioned that the Cybertruck was the only vehicle at Giga Texas not receiving that same treatment.
Now, that’s changed - Cybertruck is now also navigating through the Cybertunnel to make its way from the factory directly to the loading docks, all on Unsupervised FSD. And that’s making us even more excited, especially because Tesla was supposed to launch an FSD Update for the Cybertruck a little while ago - but it hasn’t made it to production yet. This update is set to bring Start FSD from Park, as well as Actually Smart Summon - bringing the Cybertruck to feature parity with Tesla’s other AI4 vehicles.
Cybertrucks autonomously navigate a 0.6 mile route traversing beneath one of America's fastest highways, emerging through a steep 17% grade to reach their destination pic.twitter.com/3ZMYCRPhIj
Now that Tesla is confidently using a build of Unsupervised FSD to navigate the tight confines of the tunnel and park, we’re pretty sure that Tesla will likely launch the expected FSD update in the near future.
FSD Update Soon?
It’s been a while since any FSD hardware variant has received an FSD update. It appears that Tesla has been focused on Unsupervised FSD and launching FSD outside of North America.
It seems like we may get a new FSD update soon, and we don’t believe it’ll be just for the Cybertruck. Those who have the opportunity to sign up for Tesla’s new Early Access program will likely be some of the first recipients to receive the FSD update, so stay tuned.
Lars Moravvy, Tesla's Vice President of Vehicle Engineering, recently took to X to pose a question to the community: “Let's make Teslas better… what do you all want for 2026?”
The question absolutely took off, and there were tons of fantastic suggestions about what Tesla owners would love to see from their vehicles in the future.
There were more than 12k suggestions, so let's take a look at some of the most popular feature requests.
Top Suggestions
CyberSUV - A classically styled SUV with a stainless steel exterior.
Faster Charging & Better Charge Curves - Tesla vehicles start off with fast charging speeds, but usually taper off quickly in comparison to other brands. This is especially true when compared to some Chinese brands, which sustain 500 kW charging at up to 70% state of charge. Let's get improved charging speeds on Teslas as well, especially with the 500 kW Superchargers coming in Q3.
450mi / 500mi range vehicles - Lots of customers want longer range vehicles, even though Tesla's analysis says the 300-mile range is ideal for 90% of its customer base. Range really does matter - especially for customers in more rural locations or those who choose to tow or haul with their vehicles.
Ambient Lighting Reacts to Music - This one is pretty straightforward, and it's surprising we don't already have this feature. Having basic integration with the currently playing audio is a neat feature, and really helps to make the entire experience even more seamless and premium.
Refresh Model 3 Signal Stalk Retrofit - Some people really love their signal stalks. While there aren't retrofits available just yet, we do recommend the Enhauto Stalks. For those who want an official retrofit, there is now some hope - Lars responded and said he'll try.
Lumbar Support in the Profile - Right now, lumbar support is the only seat item not saved to the Tesla Profile. This may change soon, as Lars followed up and mentioned that there are a few technical issues preventing it, but Tesla could make it work with some of their magic.
Model 3 Track Pack - The Model S has an exclusive Track Pack as a post-factory retrofit offered by Tesla, including premium brakes, tires, and wheels. The Refreshed Model 3 Performance is a killer track vehicle - but getting real track support from Tesla would be a game-changer for those who love to race.
Some of Our Favorites
Sentry Mode Improvements - Several users suggested adding B-pillar recording to Sentry Mode. And it looks like Tesla has already been working on this, and it'll be available in the upcoming 2025 Spring Update, which will be update 2025.14. Unfortunately, it'll be limited to what appears to be HW4 vehicles due to the additional processing.
Massaging Seats - A touch of luxury for Tesla's most premium models would be nice. Many other luxury brands already offer massaging seats so it’d help keep the Model S on par with these brands. Edit: Corrected that the Model S has never come with massaging seats.
Powershare for More Vehicles - Powershare is a fantastic feature, and bringing it to every Tesla is a must, especially as many other brands, including Ford, Kia, and Hyundai, offer either Vehicle to Load or Vehicle to Home capabilities as an option on their EVs. Tesla recently introduced the Mobile Connector with Powershare capabilities and an Outlet Adapter, but it's still exclusive to the Cybertruck for now.
Starlink Integration - Tesla currently uses cell networks for connectivity, which can sometimes be spotty. Starlink is a clear, high-tech solution that could provide data to vehicles when they have a clear line of sight to the sky.
Grok in Vehicles - Musk has already confirmed that Tesla will be integrating Grok into Tesla vehicles. We expected it to be included in Tesla's Spring Update, but it looks like they'll need a little bit longer. One of the lead xAI/Grok developers mentioned the request with a wink emoji, so it's clear it’s a feature that Tesla and xAI are actively working on. The way users will be able to naturally talk to AI will be game-changing for many users who are used to driving alone.
There was a lot of positivity in the comments, as well as a ton of interesting requests that could eventually be implemented in Tesla vehicles. Lars also responded to quite a few of the comments, which was nice to see.
While nothing is certain, some of these popular requests may come in a future update, while others may need hardware changes if Tesla wants to implement them.
2026 may seem far away, but there's already plenty of coming this year with a cheaper vehicle and the launch of the Robotaxi network.
If you love reading about feature suggestions, we also recently covered the top feature requests for Tesla, based on the many requests we hear about.
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