The much anticipated FSD Beta 10.69 (formerly known as 10.13) went out to its first 1,000 testers on August 20th.
This release has been one of the most anticipated updates since the early FSD Betas. While part of that was due to the expected improvements in this beta, the other part is that it's been a while since the last update.
The last beta that went into wide release came out in late May, which means that for some testers it has been more than three months since their last update; an awfully long time for Tesla enthusiasts.
Unfortunately, that means that testers have remained on the 2022.12 branch as well. With about 8% of the fleet already on update 2022.24, one can't help but feel left out in all of the latest features.
Beta 10.69 includes a ton of improvements, which is why Tesla is being a little more cautious with its rollout. Tesla rolled out 10.69 to 1,000 testers and plans to roll it out to additional testers with the release of beta 10.69.1.
Elon Musk has just taken to Twitter to announce that beta 10.69.1 will be released Monday night. Based on his previous comments, this will have a wider release than 10.69, although it's not expected to go out to all testers. We'll likely see the original testers receive it first then hopefully Tesla will expand it to some additional testers.
FSD Beta 10.69.2 is where Tesla is expected to release the beta to all existing FSD Beta testers, with it tentatively scheduled 'about a week or so later.'
It's not clear whether Tesla will add any new testers after beta 10.69.2, but it's certainly possible that Tesla will increase the number of testers after a couple of bug-fix releases.
Although Beta 10.69 has many improvements, a major focus of the beta has been Chuck Cook-esque unprotected left turns. These turns can be tricky in high-traffic situations even for human drivers. They require patience, great timing and a good sense of the surrounding environment.
In that regard, this beta appears to be much improved. The car will now utilize the median to its advantage and use it as a stopping point.
FSD Beta also appears more confident in heavier traffic, moving forward when it has an opening. Below you can see one of Chuck's latest videos and see how this beta is performing.
There is one new visualization in beta 10.69 and it's actually extremely helpful for anyone testing FSD. When the vehicle is creeping forward, a blue 'wall' will now be displayed, letting you know where the vehicle is expected to stop. When the vehicle is creeping forward in high traffic it could certainly make the driver feel uneasy and this visualization should help with that. Although this is the only new visualization spotted so far, you can view all FSD visualizations here.
FSD Beta 10.69 is based on update 2022.16 and beta 10.69.1 is expected to be as well. This means that testers will still be a little further behind than non-FSD Beta customers, but they can expect some of the new features included in the 2022.16 branch, including separate media accounts per profile, navigation energy prediction, automatic Supercharger rerouting and more.
Beta 10.69.1 is expected to only include minor fixes, so check out the FSD Beta 10.69 release notes to see everything you may receive in 10.69.1.
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Back in 2023, Tesla put together a rather unique Supercharger site idea - one with a CyberCanopy. This canopy is intended to provide solar power for Supercharging, helping to reduce the impact on the local grid while also providing a futuristic and Cybertruck-themed location that would set it apart.
Unfortunately, the plans never moved beyond the filing stage. Instead, Tesla opened a standard-looking Supercharger at the same Canton, Massachusetts location. However, the site is still well-situated just off the highway and benefits from natural tree cover in the parking area.
However, Tesla is at it again with a concept for another CyberCanopy with RGB lighting. Thanks to MarkoRP for spotting this. No April Fool’s this time.
We want to build a few Superchargers cool enough to be worthy of the trip itself. - Max de Zegher
CyberCanopy 2
This second Supercharger with CyberCanopy is set for Roswell, New Mexico, at the Whataburger in town. Featuring just eight stalls, this will be one of Tesla’s smaller Supercharger sites, but for what it lacks in size, it makes up for it in uniqueness. The charging stalls are covered from the rain by a futuristic, Cybertruck-themed canopy, which will have solar panels installed on the top of it.
According to the plans, the CyberCanopy boasts 20.88kW of solar panels on its roof, providing shelter from the elements while also providing some power back to the grid.
RGB Lighting
At nighttime, the Supercharger will make a big statement. Tesla intends to light the long edges of the canopy, which will not only look amazing, but it’ll actually make finding the Supercharger easier in a large parking lot.
The lighting coming off the edge of the canopy reminds us a lot of the lightbar on the Cybertruck and now the new Model Y. It’s definitely the direction Tesla is moving for all their models, so expect all future models to have it, including the new Roadster and the next-gen model.
Tesla’s Max de Zegher also took to X after the plans for the new Supercharger were found and shared the image above. He stated that Tesla wants to build a few cool Superchargers that will be worth stopping at, even if they’re out of the way a little bit. So it seems like this isn’t just a concept, but an idea that Tesla wants to expand to several areas around the country or world.
We want to build a few Superchargers cool enough to be worthy of the trip itself. Wish we could have kept it under wraps for longer, but submittal was needed for Planning Approval. We can't hide anything from @MarcoRPi1! 🙂 pic.twitter.com/X2WaKDd408
This particular site doesn't have a Megapack or other form of energy storage, unlike the upcoming Harris Ranch Supercharger site in California. That means that Tesla won’t be storing the solar energy gained from this site, but instead will be either offsetting the immediate grid impact or serving energy back to the grid when the site isn’t actively charging.
Tesla will likely be incorporating V4 Superchargers, including both V4 posts and the new, more powerful V4 Cabinets, as the permit states that Tesla will be redesigning the site internally before beginning construction. For Cybertruck owners, 500kW charging may be around the corner.
We’re hoping Tesla continues to deploy these kinds of Supercharger sites around the world - they make a stylistic statement about Tesla’s futurism, like the Shell gas station that was upcycled into a Supercharger site earlier this year in Spain.
They also make a big impact for ownership because it is a far more comfortable charging experience when you stop at a site that’s shaded from the elements - and one that’s better for the environment with offset emissions.
It was a rainy April 1st when a news-searching author went on a delve into the depths of April Fools to find fact from falsehood. And while we found a lot of fantastic jokes, we also found some good ideas.
So, with a shoutout to MarcoRP on X, whose April Fool’s Joke gave us a good run for our money for a couple of minutes, we thought to ourselves - what would a Cybercab Charging Station / Cleaning Hub really look like?
Cybercab Wireless Charging Sites
Now, before continuing, we’d like to point out that the image up top is a joke from Marco - it isn’t an accurate or real site map submission from Tesla. However, it gave us the impetus to think critically about what is required for a Robotaxi fleet, based primarily on the Cybercab, to be able to service a city.
Requirements
Tesla will likely need to charge a small fleet of Cybercabs at a single time and in a single place. That means that the site needs to be large enough to cover a major metro area while also still being compact enough to not cost too much money to build out.
In addition, we need to factor in charge times. The Cybercab is likely to launch with a battery around 50 kWh, which will result in a range of approximately 300 miles. With that much range, the average Cybercab may not need to charge more than once or at all during daytime shifts, so instead, most of the vehicles will charge overnight.
MarcoRP
Math and Charge Times
The overnight charging means that most of these vehicles could be charged slowly. When we did some back-of-the-napkin math last year, we determined that Tesla’s wireless charger will likely peak around 17 kW (for comparison, Tesla’s Wall Connector at 32 amps charges at about 7 kW). If we scale Tesla’s wireless charger down slightly to 10 kW, accounting for some energy loss and the potential size of the site, that means a Cybercab will be able to charge in about 5 hours.
Tesla’s upcoming V4 Supercharger unit can currently handle 1.5MW per cabinet, but this slower-speed charging is A/C, not DC, which means there is a step-down loss of about 3-5%. Let’s make that a comfortable 10% for any other overages, but we can estimate around 1.35MW of power. That 1.3MW will easily handle charging up to 100 Cybercabs at once - all wirelessly, using Tesla’s unique beam-forming and beam-steering technology to keep efficiency high at every single stall.
Within about 5 hours, a whole fleet of 100 Cybercabs could be charged overnight when electricity rates are cheaper and still be out in time for the morning commute.
While this is all just hypothetical, it really does make sense that Tesla will be establishing these sites that won’t require much space or a ton of energy.
Tesla recently curtained off a large section of the parking garage at Giga Texas, as well as some of their chargers on the eastern end of the facility, leading us to believe they may just be testing this at scale internally.
There’s a lot to look forward to with Tesla’s V4 Supercharger deployment coming this year and with Robotaxi launching in just a couple of months.
