Tesla to Add Reliable Third-party Chargers to Their In-Car Navigation

Tesla improves access to third-party charging stations

Tesla

Tesla has made significant strides in improving access to fast chargers around the world. This is an important development, not only for the company but for the future of sustainable transportation. Tesla aims to make charging an EV as convenient and practical as driving an internal combustion vehicle.

Tesla continues to improve the charging experience in a variety of ways. In addition to continually expanding its own Supercharger network, Tesla is also partnering with companies like EVgo in the U.S. to install Tesla connectors at their charging stations. Tesla has also recently opened up access to its own charging connector and charge port, allowing other companies to use Tesla's tech free of charge.

Tesla opening up its charging connector is a generous move but also a clever, strategic play. There is no doubt that electric vehicles are here to stay. The question is, what will the nozzle be on the gas pump of the future? With more private companies getting into the EV charging game, this move makes it easy for them to add the Tesla connector to their equipment. Tesla has already been in discussions with some of those companies. Tesla states, "network operators already have plans in motion to incorporate NACS at their chargers, so Tesla owners can look forward to charging at other networks without adapters."

Part of the Tesla experience is having access to its vast charging infrastructure that is as reliable as it is fast. Unfortunately, not all fast chargers are as reliable, which has prevented Tesla from displaying other charging options in their vehicles.

However, Tesla will now display select third-party charging stations that meet Tesla's performance and reliability standards.

Tesla will first roll out this update across Europe and Israel, allowing Tesla owners to find third-party charging stations directly in the vehicle's navigation system. This will not only allow users to easily find and navigate to compatible chargers but also allow the vehicle to preheat its battery to maximize charging speed.

Charger Criteria

For a charging station to be added as a 'Qualified Third-Party Charger' and appear in Tesla's navigation system, it must meet these conditions over a 60-day period:

• At least one compatible charging connector
• Frequently used by Tesla drivers at least once every four days
• Average charge success rate is 90% or higher

Stations will be removed from Tesla’s navigation system if any of the following conditions are met over a 14-day period:

• No charge sessions detected
• Average charge success rate falls below 70%

Tesla's efforts to improve access to third-party fast charging will make it easier and more convenient for Tesla owners to charge their EVs, ensuring a smooth charging experience. By expanding its network of charging stations and making it easier for drivers to access and pay for charging, the company is making it more practical for drivers to own and use their electric vehicles.

Expect this improvement to Tesla's navigation system to expand to additional regions in the future as Tesla tests and evaluates its software and additional charging stations.

Tesla FSD V13 Makes Big Improvements Around Emergency Vehicles, School Buses and Speed Zones [VIDEO]

HABiBtheDWEEB / bilalsattar

Tesla’s FSD V13.2.2 continues its rollout to the HW4 fleet, now complete with holiday goodness that makes it available to all HW4 vehicles. While FSD V13 is capable of some incredible feats, such as three-point turns, there are some additional capabilities Tesla hasn’t talked about yet.

Emergency Vehicle Handling

First up, better handling for emergency vehicles. While Tesla works on gathering audio data to make emergency vehicle detection even better, Tesla improved how it handles emergency vehicles with FSD V13.

FSD previously had issues handling emergency vehicles - sometimes pulling over and stopping on V12, other times requiring driver intervention to do the job. This led to lots of user interventions when an emergency vehicle was detected. Ensuring you’re out of the way of an ambulance can save precious seconds - which is enough to save lives.

V13 now does a much better job of pulling overly safely to the side for emergency vehicles. Check out the video below of FSD pulling the vehicle over to the side of the road.

First time ever witnessing FSD pull over for an ambulance! @edgecase411 pic.twitter.com/pZlort36PF

— Bilal Sattar (@bilalsattar) December 21, 2024

School Buses

Another issue that FSD had trouble handling previously was school buses. Previously, FSD would ignore the stop sign and flashing lights and attempt to drive around the bus.

School buses often required driver intervention, but it seems Tesla has dedicated time to training FSD V13 to handle them properly now. Check out this post of FSD now successfully stopping and waiting for a school bus.

FSD v13 stopped for a school bus! Waited till the stop sign folded in and then proceeded forward! pic.twitter.com/ReU4enxnNB

— HAB!B (@HABiBtheDWEEB) December 19, 2024

Speed Zone Handling

Reduced speed zones, including school zones, have had mediocre handling by FSD in previous versions. Now, some initial speed zone handling has arrived in V13.2. However, while it does handle some speed zones with blinking signs, it doesn’t necessarily handle all speed zones. For now, while Supervising, drivers will need to make sure their vehicles don’t exceed the speed limit, especially in school zones. In the meantime, look at this speed video of the vehicle handling a speed zone with FSD V13.

Slightly better video of FSD V13 responding appropriately to flashing yellow lights indicating it’s temporarily a 20mph zone. It didn’t exceed 25 despite being set to a much higher max speed

Wish I had it engaged before the turn though, my brain wasn’t working pic.twitter.com/D091lqmROh

— Geoff Coffelt (@Skate_a_book) December 20, 2024

Camera Cleaning

As part of V13, Tesla included some interesting features addressing hardware - namely camera cleaning, The initial changelog was slightly vague: “Improved Camera Cleaning” and nothing else.

It turns out this actually refers to the camera heating elements around the vehicle, including those around the B-Pillar. According to FSD engineer Yun-Ta Tsai, this is far more complex than just heating the camera up.

The system integration team does a lot of energy and thermal optimization across the entire vehicle, to optimize autonomy.

This is just one example. The heating is actually more complex than just heating it up.

Yes, real world AI cares about these things, a lot!

Join us, if… https://t.co/EprJ805FYi

— Yun-Ta Tsai (@YunTaTsai1) December 21, 2024

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Tesla Addresses Cybertruck Tonneau Cover Leaks with New Rubber Seals

The new Rubber Seal on the Aero Flap

theMONK11/Reddit

The Cybertruck features an automatic tonneau that lets you lock in valuables. It rolls back and forth along a track and is somewhat water-resistant. Tesla never said that the tonneau would be waterproof, but many owners have encountered a lot of water flowing into their tonneau covers.

The place where the glass roof meets the plastic strip - the aero flap- seems to be the location where most of the water gets in, and this has been noted by many as a constant source of leaks - while the rest of the bed stays mostly dry.

Tesla has attempted to fix this by adding additional slats to the tonneau, which ensures that there are slats left over underneath the aero cover, thereby providing some additional water resistance. However, it looks like they’re doing more now to prevent these leaks. 

New Rubber Seals

Tesla intends to issue a service code - the term they use for service bulletins to fix common problems - for this particular issue. This service code will include the removal of the old aero flap and the installation of a new aero flap that has additional rubber seals - similar to the ones used on windows. Thanks to theMONK11 on Reddit for catching this and providing the photo.

The service code hasn’t gone live yet, so it looks like Tesla is only testing this new part for owners who have complained about excessive water intrusion. We’ll likely see this new flap, with the additional rubber seals, become a standard part on newly built trucks to resolve this issue.

For everyone else, you’ll need to put in a service ticket with Tesla, but we would recommend waiting a few weeks before doing so. That will give them time to finalize the process and have the new part sent around to service centers across North America. Given that this isn’t a critical issue to the functionality of the vehicle, Tesla likely will not issue a recall for this - so it’ll be up to owners to create a service ticket and have the new applique installed.

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