Elon Musk says Tesla is making progress on its Steam integration
Tesla
Tesla CEO Elon Musk says that the company is getting closer to integrating Valve's Steam gaming platform into its in-car gaming console. This integration would result in a huge array of video games inside Tesla vehicles.
Elon says that Tesla is making progress on Steam integration and the automaker is aiming for a demonstration next month.
Coincidently Tesla has its AI Day 2 event scheduled for September 30th, which was pushed back from its original August 19th date. Tesla plans to show off its humanoid robot among other "many cool updates." This may be a good time for Tesla to share its progress on Stream integration as well.
We’re making progress with Steam integration. Demo probably next month.
Tesla's current in-car gaming adds a lot of value to the Tesla ownership experience, but the automaker has bigger plans for gaming inside its vehicles.
Elon recently stated that “entertainment will be critical when cars drive themselves,” which he believes Tesla can achieve later this year.
In addition to Steam integration, Tesla offers video games inside its vehicles through "Tesla Arcade", which could eventually compete with other gaming platforms such as Apple's AppStore, the Playstation Store, or the Xbox Marketplace.
The new Model S and Model X feature a new gaming computer that is capable of 10 teraflops of processing power, enabling in-car gaming on par with today’s newest consoles.
The new gaming system is integrated and connects to both the front and rear screens inside the Model S and Model X.
Elon also revealed that the new computer has more storage to store more games on the platform. Tesla's Bluetooth controller compatibility will allow gaming from any seat.
The website videocardz compared Tesla's specs with next-gen consoles, showing that at least spec-wise, Tesla's gaming platform in the Model S and X is on-par with the latest generation of gaming consoles.
Tesla owners are excited about the potential for Steam integration coming to their cars soon. While this has been an exciting development, according to Tesla hacker @GreenTheOnly, only the new Model S and X feature the discrete AMD GPU that provides "next-gen" level graphics.
MCU 3-based Model 3 and Model Y vehicles do not include the discrete GPU, which means that some games may be exclusive to the Model S or X.
It's not clear whether Steam integration will be available for MCU 2 vehicles, although Tesla has a history of creating software that supports as many of their cars as possible.
Tesla still occasionally updates their original 2012 Model S vehicles with UI improvements and new features.
Tesla previously highlighted high-end games such as The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077. We should know more soon.
GPU comparison in the Model S/X to the latest video game consoles
videocardz.com
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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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