First Look at Tesla FSD V12.6 and How It Compares to FSD V13

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A couple of weeks ago, Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s VP of AI, announced that Tesla would finally roll out an FSD update for vehicles with Hardware 3. Earlier this week, on December 30th, Tesla did just that and started a public rollout of FSD V12.6.

Since the initial rollout, the update has gone out in several other waves, but they’ve been extremely small. Thanks to several users, we know have our first look at FSD V12.6 and how it compares to the previous FSD version and to the latest version for Hardware 4 vehicles — FSD V13.2.2.1.

How FSD V12.6 Compares to 12.5.4.2

Vehicles receiving the FSD V12.6 update are coming from Tesla’s Holiday update, version 2024.44.25.2, which includes FSD V12.5.4.2.

While FSD V12.5 was a big step up from FSD V12.3.6 for most users, it did include its share of issues. The big two have been lane selection and behavior at traffic lights.

While the release notes for FSD V12.6 highlight features such as End-to-End on Highway, Improved City Streets Behavior, and Smoother and More Accurate Tracking, FSD V12.6 is noticeably smoother and more capable. It now handles turns and scenarios that it struggled with or simply couldn’t perform on FSD V12.5.

How it Compares to FSD V13

One of the key features of FSD V12.6 is a redesigned controller for smoother and more accurate tracking. This feature actually comes from FSD V13, so users should think of FSD 12.6 as a hybrid between FSD V12 and FSD V13. In fact, it seems like Tesla considered calling this version V13, but more on this later.

The controller referenced in the release notes is responsible for tracking objects around the vehicle. The vehicle can only drive as well as it can see, so the improved tracking accuracy directly improves FSD decision-making, leading to smoother driving. This is very evident in FSD V12.6, which now delivers a level of smoothness comparable to what users are experiencing in FSD V13.

Thanks to Rhys Samson, who has both FSD V12.6 and FSD 13.2, they directly compare the two versions and say that FSD V12.6 now operates as smoothly and confidently as his Cybertruck on FSD V13.2.

In their eyes, FSD 12.6 has done a lot to reduce, if not eliminate, the anxiety of not having AI4/HW4 in their Model S. This may change as AI4 vehicles continue to receive improvements while HW3 vehicles are expected to lag in FSD updates, but FSD V12.6 is a big step forward and could have arguably been called FSD V13.

Which Vehicles are Receiving V12.6

Right now, FSD V12.6 is only rolling out to Model S and Model X vehicles with Hardware 3. So far this has only been “refreshed” models, so it doesn’t include Model S/X cars prior to 2021. When the update was released on December 30th, Ashok Elluswamy stated that the update would be available for “other platforms,” presumably the Model 3 and Model Y, within a week. This puts us at around January 6th for other models. Ashok’s timelines have been extremely accurate and we believe Tesla will deliver this update sometime next week.

The Model 3 and Model Y are expected to be supported, but it’s not clear whether it’ll also include legacy Model S/X vehicles as well.

We expect this release to eventually become available for everyone soon, the only question would be whether it’d become available for legacy S/X vehicles with MCU 1. While the upgrade to MCU 2 isn’t cheap, any owners with an MCU 1 vehicle and HW3 would receive a much more capable vehicle by upgrading to the newer infotainment unit.

What About FSD V13 for HW3?

Rhys Samson

While we expected Tesla to release an FSD update for HW3 vehicles with the new end-to-end highway stack, FSD V13 was more of a wildcard. Would Tesla wait to upgrade HW3 vehicles with newer hardware or spend the time creating a smaller V13 model for HW3 vehicles?

Due to a small bug, it looks like we may have some insight into this question. Users who have installed FSD V12.6 will notice that while the release notes and the vehicle will call update 2024.45.25.10 FSD V12.6, the version shown in the app is actually quite different.

At the bottom of the main screen in the Tesla app, Tesla will show several bits of information, including your vehicle’s software version and the FSD version. While the vehicle software is correctly labeled as 2024.45.25.10, the FSD version actually mentions an unreleased FSD version — v13.2.3.

While this could simply be a bug or a typo, it could also be an indication that Tesla was considering calling this release FSD V13.2.3 and that it may have been a last-minute decision. While this may not mean much, it could be a sign that is already thinking about or developing FSD V13 for HW3 vehicles.

Keep in mind that many features for FSD V13 take advantage of the more powerful hardware, such as larger AI models and improved video feeds. However, other features could potentially be carried over to HW3.

Roll Out

While FSD V12.6 is still only available for the Model S and Model X, it continues to go out in increasingly larger waves. The last wave occurred overnight, and there’s a possibility of us seeing more today. Given the continued waves, it looks like everything is on track for a release to other models this weekend or early next week.

You can keep an eye out on our statistics page to track additional roll outs, and we’ll be sure to cover the release when it becomes available to more vehicles.

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New Tesla Features Coming: Tire Fill Assist and Routing Improvements

Not a Tesla App

There were a lot of undocumented features with Tesla software update 2025.8, and now our favorite Tesla hacker, Greentheonly, has once again spotted two more upcoming features that are being added in the near future.

It is always nice to get sneak peeks into what Tesla is doing next, so let’s take a look at these two upcoming features and see what’s on the software team’s bucket list.

Tire Fill Assist

The first new feature that’ll be coming soon is simply titled “Tire Fill Assist.” Unfortunately, there isn’t much more to go on for this one, but we have a few ideas of what it could be used for.

Tesla already uses smart TPMS sensors (and also Smart Tire Treat Sensors) to relay information to the vehicle over Bluetooth, which makes it easy to keep track of your tire pressure. However, when you need to inflate one of your tires, you’ll either need a tire pressure gauge or head inside the vehicle to see what the vehicle is reporting.

Tire Fill Assist could be an option available in the vehicle’s Service panel that actively checks the Bluetooth TPMS while you’re filling them. Normally, these readings aren’t reported in real-time, so this feature could increase the rate at which tire pressure data is transmitted for a period of time. It could also give you audible feedback through the vehicle’s internal speakers or outside speaker (PWS) where the tire is approaching the set limit.

This is a feature available on other vehicles, so it isn’t too surprising that Tesla is adding something similar in their own software-focused way.

Routing Option: Lower Price

Another new option, according to Green, is a new routing option built around lower prices. This could consider toll roads, but one thing it’ll focus on is Supercharger pricing. Since stations offer variable pricing that also changes based on the time of day, Tesla could offer drivers different routing options.

Users will be able to tap a “View Lower Cost Charging” option to view cheaper nearby chargers that may be slightly more out of the way. This creates a balance and lets drivers choose whether they want to prioritize speed or savings.

Earlier this year, Tesla introduced new routing options in China, so this could be the start of a similar feature set in other regions. In China, Tesla added options such as fastest, least congested, prefer highways, and others, so hopefully we’ll finally see the long-awaited option to avoid highways.

Tesla already warns users when a site has a wait period and will automatically redirect vehicles to nearby alternative Superchargers, so this will be a similar feature, but instead of being based on congestion, it’ll be based on the user’s price preference.

While these are two small additions, they’ll undoubtedly improve the experience when a driver is in one of these circumstances. Green spotted these features in the production build of 2025.8. While they’re not active yet, it seems like it won’t be long before we get to experience these features for ourselves.

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Tesla to Render Cybertrucks and Trailers in Visualizations

@kedlinco

Back in 2020, Elon Musk said that Tesla would start rendering other Teslas within the Autopilot/FSD visualization on screen. Almost five years after Musk’s original comment, this idea may finally come to realization — at least partially. Tesla may not add vehicle color renderings like originally planned, but it looks like we may at least be getting the Cybertruck rendered on the screen, along with a few other items.

Will put it on the list. Right after making it recognize trailers instead of looking like a semi truck is trying to mate with Cybertruck

— Wes (@wmorrill3) April 6, 2025

Rendering Vehicles

Wes Morrill, Cybertruck’s Lead Engineer, mentioned that displaying Cybertrucks on the in-vehicle visualization will get added to Tesla’s list of upcoming features. However, it looks like Tesla has a few other items to add to visualizations as well.

Another visualization Wes mentions is getting trailers to render on the screen properly instead of being displayed as a truck or semi. For drivers who partially depend on the visualization while driving, this could be a helpful change.

This also means Tesla has the visual bandwidth to identify and categorize vehicles more closely than the generic “car” or “truck” we see today.

Musk’s Original Comment

While Musk’s original comment back in 2020 called for rendering all Teslas in their proper colors on the screen, this is unlikely to be what Tesla is going for here. Tesla’s original plan likely caused too much clutter or distractions in the visualization, preventing drivers from being able to quickly identify critical items. Tesla currently uses colors to categorize different things, such as a light gray vehicle meaning the vehicle is parked, or a dark gray vehicle being a lead vehicle.

If you’re interested in all of Tesla’s visualizations and what they mean, such as a blue car, take a look at our guide that lists all of Tesla’s visualizations and what they mean.

Regarding rendering Teslas in the vehicle visualization, Wes’ comment on X leaves a little up to interpretation. It’s not clear whether Tesla is only going to add the Cybertruck or potentially other Teslas as well to the visualization. We don’t believe they’ll add colors for the reasons above, but we’ll have to wait to see what they roll out in the future.

Depending on how far Tesla goes with these visualizations, the type of MCU in your vehicle could play a role in whether they’re included in your car.

How Tesla Identifies Objects

Tesla uses a rather complex system that quickly compares objects on the road to their nearest estimated shapes, and displays that on the visualization, which is why you can get some oddities like people with shopping carts looking like they’re riding motorcycles or bicycles in a parking lot.

Having further optimization on that aspect also means more system accuracy  - something Tesla has been striving for, especially to improve Actually Smart Summon and eventually bring Banish to the FSD feature set.

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