Tesla offers Long Range model owners the ability to increase their vehicle's performance
The Kilowatts/Twitter
If you haven't driven a Tesla, you might not be familiar with the rollercoaster-like feeling of going from 0 to 60 mph. The Long Range Model 3, for example, can accomplish this in 4.2 seconds as-is. All Teslas pull you off the line almost instantly and are already quicker than most internal combustion engine vehicles.
What if, though, you could increase the speed of your Tesla even more? We break down what Tesla's Acceleration Boost is, and whether it's worth the price tag.
What Does Tesla's Acceleration Boost Do?
If you drive a Long Range Model 3 or Model Y, you may be able to purchase the 'Acceleration Boost' upgrade that increases your vehicle's acceleration and lowers your 0-60 time.
The Tesla Model 3 Long Range already has an acceleration from 0 to 60 mph time of about 4.2 seconds. With Acceleration Boost, Tesla claims that time is reduced to 3.7 seconds.
The Tesla Model Y Acceleration Boost shaves off half a second on the vehicle’s 0 to 60 mph time, dropping its run from 4.8 seconds down to 4.3 seconds.
It’s worth highlighting that these are the only two vehicles that are eligible to purchase this upgrade. When Tesla first started delivering the new Model Ys with the 4680 cells, owners of the Standard version were able to upgrade, but the company has since removed this option.
Acceleration Boost vs Performance Times
While Acceleration Boost will give you a very noticeable boost in all performance aspects, it will not turn your vehicle into a Performance model.
Here are the 0 to 60 mph time comparisons between the Long Range model, Long Range with Acceleration Boost and Performance models.
Model
Long Range
Acceleration Boost
Performance
Model 3
4.2 seconds
3.7 seconds
3.1 seconds
Model Y
4.8 seconds
4.3 seconds
3.5 seconds
As you can see from the table above, a Long Range model with the Acceleration Boost upgrade falls roughly between a Performance model and the Long Range model in terms of acceleration.
An owner independently tests out Tesla's Acceleration Boost
MagnusMako/Tesla Motors Club
The graph above was created by an independent owner and displays the vehicle's performance from 0 to 10, 0 to 20, 0 to 30 and 0 to 60 mph after purchasing Tesla's Acceleration Boost. From the graph we can see how the vehicle's acceleration rate remains fairly constant from 0 all the way to 60 mph.
Does Acceleration Boost Add Track Mode?
Track Mode is a feature that is exclusive to Performance models. It allows you to adjust how your vehicle handles and performs. For example, it allows you to adjust features that may be useful on a track, such as adjusting the motor bias from front to rear, reducing traction control or adjusting vehicle cooling.
Although vehicles with Acceleration Boost have better performance than their Long Range counterparts, they do not include Tesla's Track Mode feature.
Is Acceleration Boost Worth It?
While the Acceleration Boost update can be a costly one at $2,000, it unquestionably gives drivers acceleration capabilities that are comparable to those of the Performance model.
According to Tesla drivers who have purchased the upgrade, the actual acceleration boost is quite notable and affects all speeds, not just 0-60 mph.
On the other hand, your Model 3 or Model Y's quick acceleration will result in quicker tire wear. Additionally, it can result in decreased efficiency, which results in higher ownership costs. However, this does depend on the individual and how often they take advantage of the speed boost.
Performance models are usually quite a bit more expensive than the Long Range models, so in terms of value, the Acceleration Boost upgrade is a good deal that will increase the vehicle's value. If you own your vehicle, you'll also likely recoup some of the upgrade's cost if/when you decide to sell the car or trade it in at some point in the future.
Cost and How to Purchase
The price for Acceleration Boost hovers around USD 2,000, depending on your region and local tax rate. Owners can conveniently purchase the upgrade directly from their Tesla app, or through Tesla's website.
To purchase or see if the upgrade is available for your vehicle, open the Tesla app and navigate to the Upgrades section.
Then tap on Software Upgrades and if the feature is available for your Tesla you will see Acceleration Boost listed.
If you'd like to purchase the upgrade, make sure your vehicle is in Park and connected to Wi-Fi or has a strong cellular connection so that the vehicle can download an updated configuration.
You can add the Acceleration Boost upgrade to your cart and follow the payment instructions.
The upgrade is a one-time payment that can be made with a credit card, debit card, or Apple Pay. However, it is not possible to add the cost of the upgrade to your lease or vehicle loan payments.
Once the payment has been processed, the update should only take a few minutes to show up in your vehicle.
How to Check if Your Vehicle Has Acceleration Boost
Once you've made the purchase, you can confirm that you have received the upgrade by tapping on Controls (car icon) and navigating to Software. Below your vehicle's image, you'll see a list of features, including possible features like Full Self-Driving, Premium Connectivity and more.
If your car has received the upgrade, you should now see Acceleration Boost listed.
In addition to the upgrade appearing under the Software tab, you can also navigate to the Pedals & Steering section and your acceleration choices will now be 'Chill' and 'Sport,' instead of the previous options of 'Chill' and 'Standard.'
Your vehicle should now be noticeably faster.
An owner independently tests out Tesla's Acceleration Boost
Smvarg/Medium
Is there an Acceleration Boost Trial?
Although not formally promoted as a trial period, Tesla does provide you the chance to get a refund for your original purchase within 48 hours of purchase, if you change your mind or the upgrade didn't meet your expectations.
It is not possible, however, to receive another refund if you re-purchase the Acceleration Boost upgrade at a later time. Any future purchases for Acceleration Boost will be final.
The Acceleration Boost upgrade might be worthwhile for you if you frequently travel on long, open highways or appreciate experiencing the acceleration surge when you depress the pedal. But if you use your Tesla for routine activities like grocery shopping or being stuck in traffic on the way to and from work, it might not be the best bang for your buck.
However, if you initially had your eye on the Performance model and ultimately decided on the Long Range version, Acceleration Boost is a great way to get closer to the performance of the higher-end trim.
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Tesla has published a 16-post series covering a wide range of unique scenarios against which the company tests each FSD release. Tesla’s VP of AI, Ashok Elluswamy, also provided some additional context, which we’ll cover below.
These scenarios could be difficult for a regular driver to respond to and are a good demonstration of FSD’s capabilities. Let’s take a look at all the different scenarios that Tesla regularly tests against. According to Ashok, these tests are only one of 10 ways Tesla validates their software. These tests were done against FSD v12.5.6.3, the HW4 build that’s on approximately 20% of the fleet.
We’ve embedded each video below and also provided some additional information.
1. Reverse Cut-in (Occluded)
Every FSD release is rigorously tested, including rare and adversarial scenarios on closed courses — Here's 16 examples:
This first test is for a car reversing out of a parking space, while occluded (vision blocked) by another car or obstacle. In the test, the Model Y notices the incoming car and then brakes with space left over.
In this video, it's hard to even spot the car on the right that’s “peeking” forward—it's occluded by bushes on the side of the road. FSD notices and stops in time to let the other vehicle safely pass.
An incoming vehicle that takes a left turn to enter the same lane of travel as FSD - spotted, stopped, and then continuing smoothly. In the second shot, you can see FSD left a considerable amount of space to let the vehicle cut in.
This is honestly one of the most common scenarios on a highway - someone cuts in while obscured into your lane of travel. Once again, FSD does its thing with plenty of space to spare.
FSD’s path planner plans an overtake around a stationary vehicle here, sees the oncoming traffic, and politely waits its turn to continue. This is another everyday scenario, especially on urban and suburban streets.
There are a surprising number of people who don’t know how stop signs work. However, FSD does know how they work and also knows what to do if others act unpredictably. This is one of the best demonstrations of FSD’s capability to react quickly and effectively to unpredictable behavior on the roads.
Another overtake scenario, but this time the vehicle being overtaken throws open its door into traffic. Not necessarily the wisest of moves, but humans are unpredictable. Good to see Tesla working to save its vehicles from both hitting the door or having the door hit with its new Blind Spot Monitoring While Parked feature.
This scenario is another common one - someone is taking a right turn, and you expect them to complete the turn, but instead, they slam on the brakes. Here, you can see the vehicle’s Forward Collision Warning goes off due to the sudden reduction of distance between the Tesla and the vehicle in front of it. FSD still manages to brake in time before Automatic Emergency Braking kicks in.
This one is pretty clean-cut - someone takes a left turn even though you’re on your way through the intersection. This particular accident is one of the most common - 53% of cross-path accidents involve a left turn through an intersection where a side impact will be lethal. FSD can make a big difference - over 8,000 people die in North America alone in this particular scenario.
Here, FSD smoothly reacts to an object on the road as the vehicle ahead dodges it. We’d love to see this scenario done with different types of objects or debris, as this is another common item - especially with roadkill on country roads. A good demo of FSD’s collision avoidance maneuvers too!
Taking it one step further, FSD successfully notices, slows down, stops itself from hitting the bouncing cone, and then makes it around safely. If you’ve ever seen someone strap something down in the bed of a pickup and forget to say “This ain’t going anywhere” - this is that exact scenario.
Another high-speed occluded cut-in, this time for a vehicle making a U-Turn from an oddly shaped intersection. FSD started braking the moment the first couple pixels of the Model Y were beyond the bush occluding vision. With a human’s reaction time, this would have resulted in a T-bone.
Ashok Elluswamy mentioned that this is possible because of low latency and high intelligence - combined together, it enables FSD to make a threat assessment and decide what to do, very quickly. It also considers the potential of a rear-end collision - and there is collision avoidance baked into that decision-making.
Similar to the cone cut-out, this one happens at 73mph (117km/h)! FSD sees the car dodging, notices there’s an obstacle, and moves out of the way without dropping speed.
Another common scenario - in fact, the number one reason why pileups occur on highways is the harsh, sudden braking of vehicles in front. FSD once again notices and comes to a safe stop here.
Tesla has been previously greatly criticized for its ability to come to a safe stop for children playing on the road. Here, Tesla is demonstrating its capability of doing so - once again with highway speeds of 73mph.
And to really make the point - it can do it with a crossing child too. Tesla has made a strong commitment to safety for vulnerable road users, and this is a good way to show how it works.
That’s a lot of unique scenarios that Tesla tests against - and each and every build has to be vetted against this huge list of different safety tests in order to ensure that the build that ends up in customer hands is as safe as possible. With FSD v13 looking like it's coming soon, we’re excited to see where this takes Tesla next.
With Musk announcing that FSD v13 is coming soon, it really is starting to feel like Unsupervised FSD and Robotaxi could be pushed out sometime next year.
Tesla announced an updated roadmap for FSD in late October. With it, they announced that FSD v13, the one that’s expected to make Unsupervised FSD feature complete (although not 100% reliable), would start being sent to employees by the end of the week.
We have yet to see any hints or sightings of employees testing FSD v13, but Elon Musk has now stated that FSD v13 is coming soon.
It sounds like Musk is talking about the employee release as it usually does, but it’s not immediately clear. Tesla originally predicted that select owners would receive FSD v13.3 around Thanksgiving.
Musk also mentioned that FSD v13 is trending to be about 500% better than the current build of v12.5.5.3 on the Cybertruck. If that’s true, Unsupervised FSD is just a regulatory leap away, rather than a technical or training challenge. However, let’s remember that Musk has often thrown out these vast improvement numbers that don’t appear to materialize when the update rolls out to customers. There’s no doubt that FSD v13 will be a big milestone and have several new features, such as Autopark at destination, Unpark and more, but the much lower miles per intervention will likely come in later revisions.
Tesla has already seen drastic improvements this year, moving from V11.4.9 to v12.3.6, and then more recently to V12.5.4.2. Each successive build has had major improvements in how FSD is able to react and respond in real-time while also becoming smoother and safer.
We’re in for some exciting times as an even better FSD version makes its way to customers soon. And in order to really make the point, Tesla has also shown off how they conduct FSD Safety Testing in a series of videos, which we’ll include below.
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