More than a month after the release of Full Self-Driving (FSD) Beta 10.12.2, Tesla CEO Elon Musk says the next iteration is going out to internal testers today.
Musk says that FSD Beta 10.13 will be released next week to external testers. This is assuming that internal testing goes well and no serious issuses are discovered.
10.13 goes to internal beta tomorrow, external next week. Should handle Chuck’s complex left turn.
Beta v11 hopefully end of next month, which just amounts to incorporating highway. Importance of “v11” has been reduced by all the 10.x releases. We’re already mostly at v11.
Musk noted that this upcoming version should be able to handle “Chuck’s complex left turn,” a reference to FSD Beta tester @chazman’s unprotected left turn that the FSD beta software has had difficulty with in the past.
In addition to unprotected left turns, 10.13 is going 'deep on roundabouts,' and should be noticeably better in this next update according to Musk.
Another significant feature we could see in the 10.13 release is the ability for the vehicle to navigate on roads without map data. Musk has stated the vehicle should be able to navigate to a pinned location without using GPS. This includes a hotel entrance or a complex surface parking lot.
10.13 is also expected to have smoother intersection control, hopefully reducing the vehicle's hesitation and steering jerkiness that can happen on busy intersections.
In Musk's recent tweet, he also gave an optimistic timeline for the arrival ofFSD Beta v11, saying that it should arrive by the end of August.
Musk added that the main purpose of the v11 update is to move to a “single tech stack” in which city street and highway Autopilot would work with the same technologies.
With Karpathy’s departure, many Tesla supporters expressed their concerns that the FSD Beta program may be hindered. Musk, however, reassured users that Tesla’s FSD Beta progress will not be impacted.
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Tesla has begun installing new anti-theft measures on some Supercharger cables, consisting of an exterior wrap called DyeDefender and engravings on the copper wiring inside the cables.
Like other high-speed EV charging stations, Superchargers have been frequent targets of vandalism and theft. While vandalism can often be mitigated through increased security, theft presents a bigger challenge. Thieves primarily target the copper inside the charging cables, which is densely packed and valuable as scrap metal.
DyeDefender
To address this, Tesla is trialing DyeDefender, a theft deterrent system commonly used to protect catalytic converters. It consists of a pressurized staining dye housed within a stainless steel hose called CatStrap, which wraps around the Supercharger cable. The CatStrap is highly resistant to cutting, but if breached, it releases a bright blue dye. While harmless, the dye is difficult to remove, making it easier to identify suspects.
Engraved Cables
Engraved -
Not a Tesla App
In addition to DyeDefender, Tesla is also engraving the actual copper wiring inside the cables, making stolen material harder to sell since scrapyards often reject marked metals.
This solution is more scalable, cost-effective, and doesn’t disrupt service operations or the customer experience—it simply involves engraving the copper inside the cables. Supercharger cables will be permanently marked with “Property of Tesla Motors,” engraved directly at the factory in Buffalo, New York.
Recycling companies and scrap yards will immediately recognize that the cables belong to Tesla and refuse to accept them. Instead, they may notify Tesla that they’ve received stolen goods. While this may not have an immediate impact, over time, as thieves realize that stolen Supercharger copper is unsellable and could get them caught, they’ll be less inclined to target them.
It’s interesting to see Tesla experiment with unique ways to protect Supercharger sites. While the company will likely focus on DyeDefender deployments in high-theft areas, this remains a trial phase. The full impact of cable engraving may take time to materialize, but it should prove effective in the long run.
In the meantime, continue reporting any downed Supercharger sites through the Tesla app by navigating to Location > Charging > Select Site > Report an Issue.
If you have any creative ideas on how Tesla can prevent vandalism and theft, share them with us on social media.
Tesla has released software update 2025.2.6, and while minor updates typically focus on bug fixes, this one introduces a major new feature. With this update, Tesla has activated the in-cabin radar, a sensor that has been included in some vehicles for more than three years but remained unused until now.
Why Not Vision?
Unlike vision-based systems, radar can precisely measure object dimensions and even detect movement behind obstacles by bouncing radio waves off surrounding surfaces. This allows for more accurate and reliable measurements of objects that vision may not even be able to see, such as behind the front seats.
What Tesla Announced
Tesla recently highlighted the 4D radar in the new Model Y, explaining how it will improve passenger safety. Tesla executives stated that the radar would be used to properly classify passengers and improve the way airbags deploy.
Tesla went on to say that in a future update, Tesla will use the in-cabin radar to detect any potential passengers left in the vehicles. Since radar can even pick up on heartbeat and breathing patterns, it can provide a much more accurate method of detecting children left in a vehicle. Tesla talked about how the vehicle will send owners a notification via the Tesla app and enable the HVAC system if it detects a passenger in the vehicle. It’ll even call emergency services if needed.
New Feature in Update 2025.2.6
Tesla has officially named this feature in update 2025.2.6, “First-Row Cabin Sensing Update,” which appears to align with the first portion of what Tesla discussed in the new Model Y video.
In the release notes, Tesla describes the update as:
“The first-row cabin sensing system has been updated to use cabin radar, which is now standard in all new 2025 Model Ys. Your Model Y was built pre-equipped with the necessary hardware, allowing Tesla to also bring this technology to your vehicle.”
For now, it appears that Tesla is using the radar to detect and classify passengers in the front seats. This could eventually replace traditional seat sensors, reducing the number of hardware components and lowering production costs.
Not all Model Y vehicles with the cabin radar are receiving this feature yet. Tesla is likely testing it in select vehicles and will roll it out to more vehicles in the near future. The Model Y is also the only vehicle currently receiving this feature, even though additional models include the interior radar.
Tesla also plans to expand the feature later this year, bringing rear-seat passenger detection in Q3 2025. While Tesla talked about the feature for the new Model Y, we expect it to be available for all vehicles with the in-cabin radar.
Supported Models
Although Tesla is vague in their release notes, this feature is being added to all Model Ys that include a cabin radar. Tesla started including the cabin radar in 2022, but its availability may vary by region and model. The Model 3 didn’t receive the cabin radar until it was redesigned in 2024, while all Cybertrucks already include it.
The owner’s manual for the redesigned Model S and Model X doesn’t specifically mention the interior radar, although Greentheonly believes the vehicles also include one, so we’ll have to wait to determine whether those vehicles also receive this new feature.
At this time, the feature appears to be only going out to Model Y vehicles, but we expect it to become available on other supported models soon.
We love to see these kinds of updates. Tesla is increasing the safety of existing and new vehicles through a software update while also making them more affordable to own.
![The Design & Engineering Behind the New Model Y [Video]](https://www.notateslaapp.com/img/containers/article_images/model-y-2025/2025-model-y-speaker.webp/e933556c6b2b4ce77ab652524f3a8ac0/2025-model-y-speaker.jpg)
