Tesla to add WiFi to Superchargers

One advantage Tesla has over its competition is its Supercharger network. No one else comes even close to having such a vast charging network. That's not even taking other considerations into account such as the speed of chargers.

Tesla to add WiFi to their Superchargers

Tesla's v3 chargers can charge at rates of to 1,000 miles per hour according to Tesla. It really starts rivaling the speed of gas stations. Of course, you may not always see those speeds, since there are various factors to consider. You'll need to have a battery that's at least 50% depleted. Usually having a battery around the 30% mark is what will result in the fastest charging speeds.

The car will also need to have a warm battery in order to achieve such a high rate of charging. Your car will do automatically warm up the battery as long as you have a Supercharger destination set in your GPS. And of course, the Supercharger can't be crowded or that could affect the amount of power available to each vehicle as well.

The other big advantage that I feel is often overlooked is the simplicity of the whole thing. When you arrive at a Supercharger, you know what to expect, you're not dealing with different charging networks or figuring out how to pay. You literally just plug it in. It couldn't be simpler.

Adding WiFi

Now, Tesla is going to add another advantage to it's already great charging network. Elon tweeted that Tesla will be adding WiFi networks to all of their Superchargers.

This will be especially useful for those of us without Tesla's Premium Connectivity package. Connecting to Tesla's WiFi network will allow you to stream video services like Netflix and others. It will also give you the ability to use the web browser, Caraoke and the many features that are only available with Premium Connectivity.

Even for owners with Premium Connectivity, the WiFi access will be nice if you have other devices in the car that are WiFi only, such as a gaming device, laptop or an iPad.

They will

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 14, 2021

Why This is a Win for Tesla

Adding WiFi to Superchargers actually makes a lot of sense for Tesla. The amount of data Tesla vehicles use is probably fairly small, with the exception of video streaming.

Considering that streaming YouTube or Netflix is likely one of the more popular entertainment options if you're waiting in the car while charging, this could lead to large amounts of data usage.

If Tesla added WiFi to Superchargers, they'll likely greatly reduce the amount of data that is being consumed through the car's cellular network.

In the US, Tesla has a partnership with AT&T. Since the very first Model S in 2012, all Teslas have used AT&T's network. We don't know the exact details of Tesla's partnership with AT&T, but Tesla is likely paying AT&T based on the amount of data used. After all, there's a reason why Tesla forces software updates to be downloaded over WiFi.

This move is likely to improve the customer experience at Superchargers while also saving Tesla some money.

Software Updates

Tesla is selling almost a million vehicles a year. Many of these are now being sold to owners who may not be able to get their car close enough to their homes in order to connect to WiFi and download the latest updates.

By adding WiFi to Superchargers, Tesla will now give owners a reliable and easy way to download software updates, regardless of their connection at home.

How to Connect to Tesla WiFi

We discussed earlier how easy it is to use a Supercharger. There's no need to authenticate, process payments or anything. It's all seamless. Expect Tesla to provide a similar experience when connecting to their WiFi network. You may not have to do anything. Just driving your car within range of Tesla's WiFi network will be enough to get it to automatically connect.

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Tesla Releases FSD V12.6.1 for Model 3 & Model Y

Not a Tesla App

Last night, Tesla released software update 2024.45.25.15, which includes FSD V12.6.1. This update adds support for all HW3 vehicles, including the Model 3 and Model Y. We’re excited to see the continued support for HW3 owners. 

FSD V12.6.1

V12.6.1 is now going wide, according to Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s VP of AI. This update is going to the Model 3 and Model Y for the first time - as only the Model S and Model X were included in FSD V12.6. 

V12.6 is a big step forward for HW3 - it includes End-to-End on Highway, Improved City Streets Behavior, and Smoother and More Accurate Tracking - all contributing towards a better, smoother, and more comfortable build of FSD. You can read our comparison between FSD V12.6 and V13.2.2 here. 

In short, FSD V12.6 performs considerably closer to V13 than V12.5.4.2 - which is a massive improvement. It performs as well as the Cybertruck version of FSD V13, which is still missing a few features when compared to other HW4 vehicles, but it’s a great sign for HW3. A lot of the improvements can be pointed to in the improvements to lane selection and decision-making - the vehicle tends to hesitate far less on V12.6, meaning the ride is a lot smoother. Many early V12.6 testers mentioned that it felt more like V13-mini than anything else.

Legacy Model S & X

We haven’t seen this update hit any legacy Model S and Model X vehicles just yet. We’re not sure whether Ashok’s statement of “generally” applies here - but it should. If you do get the update, please let us know.

Legacy Model S and Model X vehicles are still on an older FSD build and potentially won’t see another FSD update for a little while longer. While they do have the same FSD hardware as other vehicles, there are enough hardware differences that require a build specifically for these vehicles.

Release Date

FSD V12.6.1 is going out now to the redesigned Model S and X with HW3 and all Model 3 and Model Y vehicles with HW3. The initial wave went out last night, and we expect to see more later today or tomorrow. If this release ends up going “wide,” we should see much larger waves go out next week.

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Tesla Issues Physical & OTA Recall for Hardware 4 Computer

Not a Tesla App

Tesla has issued a recall for some vehicles due to issues linked to a revision of the Hardware 4 (HW4) computer that was introduced this past November. This recall affects all vehicles with the revised hardware except for the Cybertruck, as it uses a slightly modified version of the HW4 system.

Many vehicle owners have reported a complete failure of their Autopilot computer, which not only leaves the vehicle without FSD and Autopilot but also disables many of the active safety features that make a Tesla what it is.

Let’s take a look at this recall - because the recall is partially physical and partially a software recall.

HW4 Failure

Tesla has identified the failure and flagged it to the U.S. NHTSA (but not Transport Canada or Euro NCAP at the time of publishing) as a recall.

Tesla mentions that the vehicle’s FSD computer circuit board may short circuit, resulting in the loss of the rearview camera image. The recall itself is focused on the rearview camera - as not having a functional rearview camera breaks a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard. However, it does impact more than just the rearview camera.

As previously mentioned, users have experienced the full loss of Autopilot and FSD on these vehicles, as well as reduced traction control and removal of safety features such as automatic emergency braking, collision avoidance assist, and forward collision warnings. 

While the vehicle remains driveable, it is not necessarily a good idea to drive the vehicle with many of these features, especially with the reduced traction control noted by many people. We’ve already noted that while Tesla has been sending tow trucks to pick up some vehicles, it is also prompting owners to drive the vehicle to their service center in some cases.

Remedy

Unlike most of Tesla’s recalls, this one isn’t entirely an OTA recall, owing to the fact that people have already experienced circuit board shorts and are already waiting for replacements.

The software portion of the recall has already been mostly completed for any vehicles with Tesla software update 2024.45.25.3 or greater. However, a significant portion of the tracked fleet remains on update 2024.44.25.2 (approximately 20%), so we recommend updating your HW4 vehicle whenever you receive the notification.

On the hardware side, Tesla is immediately identifying and replacing hardware that has had circuit board failure. Tesla is also reaching out to customers who have expressed intermittent issues with Autopilot features, active safety features, or vehicle cameras that don't display correctly. If you have experienced any of these issues in a late 2024 vehicle, we recommend submitting a service ticket with Tesla to ensure that your vehicle isn’t affected by this recall.

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