Before the update, Tesla's routing system estimated energy usage by distance, elevation changes, and some additional information such as your vehicle type and its wheel configuration.
The new Navigation Energy Prediction makes this projection even more definitive by forecasting wind conditions, assessing if you will be driving into a headwind or crosswind, determining the humidity, and gauging the ambient temperature.
Since Tesla is relying on additional weather information for these predictions, your vehicle will need to have an active cellular connection, but Premium Connectivity is not required.
All Teslas in supported regions (US included) will have access to this information except for older Teslas (2015 and older) that only supported 3G cellular networks which have recently gone offline in the US. Tesla offers an upgrade for those owners affected.
This latest update may not be the most significant factor for short trips; it could be a meaningful upgrade for those who use their Tesla for long-distance traveling when every acceleration and regenerative braking matters.
Also, for those who live in regions with a wide range of inclement weather conditions. One of the biggest rebuffs about Tesla, and all EVs, is that they are not as efficient in extremely cold conditions. Certainly, using the heater will use more energy.
Those concerned about traveling in the winter months now have access to even more detailed information about consumption and can better plan for stops along their way to the chilly destination.
Tesla first included environmental factors in a 2018 update, and the wind calculations have been showing up in the code since March 2022, but it's now available in the production build of 2022.16.
Although these changes are completely invisible to the owner they will help reduce range anxiety on long trips and increase our confidence in the vehicle's predictions.
These changes will also improve the accuracy of your suggested wait time at a Supercharger before you're able to move on to your next stop or destination.
Energy App
A great way to track your energy usage on a long trip is by using the graph in the Energy app.
The energy app will also use these new predictions and will now more accurately display the predicted energy curve.
The energy graph displays two graphs. Your predicted energy usage and your actual energy usage. You may sometimes see your vehicle performing worse or better than the prediction. With 2022.16, these graphs should be even more similar, as the predictions have become more accurate.
Before 2022.16, if you were driving against a headwind, it was possible to use significantly more energy than anticipated, but those instances should be far reduced now.
The energy graphs are still a great way to keep tabs on your energy usage on a long trip and a reliable way to see how your car is performing compared to its prediction.
The Energy app is available on all Teslas, except the new Model S and Model X. Tesla appears to still be tweaking the app to work on the larger display, but there is a little workaround to get it to work.
If you have a new Model S or Model X, you can access the Energy app by using the voice command 'Open Energy'.
Increasing Range
There are several ways to increase the range of your Tesla's energy consumption with or without the Navigation Energy Prediction enhancements.
These include driving in Chill Mode and using Speed Assist to monitor bursts of speed. Tesla also encourages users to understand how to control the accelerator pedal to slow down instead of using the brake pedal.
Then, of course, regenerative braking slows the car and puts energy back into the battery. Drivers can also reduce the use of creature comforts such as heat, air conditioning, driver assistance, and even the Toy Box.
However, Caraoke is a must for long trips, so you may want to better plan your route by using the Energy app.
This action ensures you can sing all the tunes you want to entertain, or annoy, your passengers.
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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.
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