Tesla launches FSD Beta 10.69.3 with a huge list of features

Tesla has started releasing FSD Beta 10.69.3 to employees

Not a Tesla App

It may be one the most anticipated software updates in recent years. Finally, after weeks of Elon Musk tweeting that Full Self Driving Beta 10.69.3 will come out “next week,” it started to appear on Halloween night. Just before midnight on the west coast @WholeMarsBlog tweeted pictures of the FSD Beta 10.69.3 release notes as they appeared on a Tesla employee's screen. That’s right, pictures, plural, as it took three screenshots to gather all the FSD enhancements packed into this update.

FSD Beta 10.69.3 is update 2022.36.15, which means that it includes all of the features on Tesla's 2022.36 update as well, including popular features such as Tesla's new Energy app, Cabin Overheat Protection and more.

It doesn’t take much reading to understand why Tesla’s CEO has been hyping what he has referred to as a “major update.” Several members of the Autopilot team explained the improvements during A.I. Day 2022. It’s worth a watch to understand just how complex the system is and all the work that goes into it.

Many bullet points from the release notes indicate improvements from 6 percent to more than 50 percent, even reducing the runtime of one system by 80 percent. These are incredible achievements for an already highly advanced platform.

Although it was controversial, Tesla’s numbers appear to back up why it removed the ultrasonic sensors and now relies on the cameras, also known as Tesla Vision. An update to the Object Detection network to photon count video streams refers to a particular emphasis on low visibility scenarios.

The architecture for Vulnerable Road Users (VRU), which encompasses pedestrians, cyclists and people on motorcycles, has a 20 percent improved precision. In addition, there is a two-stage VRU Velocity network to adjust how the car responds to crossing pedestrians. The system also has reduced false slowdowns near crosswalks by better predicting pedestrian movements.

The Vector Lanes, which first appeared a year ago, have also been overhauled. According to the notes, it has improved accuracy “of lanes by 9.2 percent, recall of lanes by 18.7 percent, and recall of forks by 51.1 percent.” Additionally, there is a new road marking module to assist with intersections and a “full network update where all components were re-trained with 3.8x the amount of data.”

To summarize the notes regarding vehicle behavior, FSD will provide a smoother ride, with fewer “unnatural slowdowns” thanks to its improved trajectory systems and quicker decision-making.

When Tesla increased the price of FSD in September, Musk said it will soon be worth even more. The CEO has also said this program will prove to regulators that it is safer than humans driving, potentially saving thousands of people from injury or death as Musk hoped. It’s expected this release will go out to approximately one thousand testers and then be expanded quickly if no issues are detected.

Musk has also committed that every FSD subscriber will have access to the program by the end of the year.

Not only is this a huge update regarding FSD, it also includes many features that were previously unavailable to FSD Beta testers since they're still on one of the 2022.20 updates.

Other Features in This Update

Once FSD Beta testers receive this update, they'll gain access to a slew of new features that were previously included in updates 2022.24, 2022.28 and more recently 2022.36.

Energy App

Tesla's new Energy App that will be available in 2022.36

Not a Tesla App

These features include the new Energy App (video), which displays the vehicle's energy usage down to individual components, letting you easily see how much power is being used by the climate system, versus driving and more.

Alternate Routes

Alternate Routes will now display up to three routes for each destination added to the vehicle's navigation system. This will give you more control over the route the vehicle takes.

Cabin Overheat Protection

The long-awaited feature that lets you customize the temperature of Cabin Overheat Protection is also included in this update. You will be able to choose from three different temperature settings at which COP activates.

Blind Spot Camera Placement

One of the more exciting updates of recent was the enhancement of the Blind Spot Camera feature (video). On Model 3s and Model Ys, you'll now be able to pick from three locations for the Blind Spot Camera.

Tesla App

Tesla's adding song title and artist information to the mobile app

@longzheng

The Tesla app has recently been updated to include additional features, although many of these features required a newer vehicle update, which meant that existing beta testers didn't have access to them. However, with the latest FSD Beta, you'll now have access to features such as the ability to view the vehicle's destination and ETA in the app, as well as details on the music currently being played. You'll also be able to unlatch the driver's door on a Model 3 or Model Y if the door handle has become frozen shut.

Minimize Tesla Theater

Another big feature included in this update is that you'll now be able to minimize Tesla Theater (video) when adjusting vehicle controls instead of having to exit the video streaming app completely. When viewing a video in full screen, you'll be able to tap the top of the screen to reveal a minimize button that when pressed will let you access vehicle controls and menus.

Tesla Cloud Profiles

In update 2022.24 Tesla launched cloud profiles which save your vehicle's profiles to the cloud. This is especially useful if you have multiple Teslas or finding yourself renting a Tesla in the future. You'll now be able to carry your vehicle settings and profiles from one vehicle to another.

Car Left Open Notifications

Tesla has recently updated the notifications that you'll receive when the vehicle is parked. You can now choose to receive an alert if the vehicle doors have been left unlocked for a period of time as well.

Undocumented Changes

In addition to all the documented features in this update, there is also an extensive list of undocumented changes that never made it to the release notes.

One of the most interesting is that Tesla will now display suggested destinations when you tap on the Navigate box. The destinations at the top will be suggestions that will vary depending on your location, time of day, history and user profile.

Other undocumented changes include the ability to view tire pressure data in the Service tab even when the vehicle is parked, improvements to vehicle alerts and HomeLink and the capability to uninstall games.

The list of features and enhancements included in this update is huge. To see a complete list of all the changes, check out the release notes for this update.

Tesla Is Now Offering Cybertruck Test Drives [List of Locations]

@brandonhd

Tesla has begun to reach out to customers in the United States and is offering demo drives of the Cybertruck on an invite-only basis. @brandonhd on X shared the first invite image, and it looks like it's going out quite quickly to multiple locations that have Cybertrucks on display.

Up until now, display vehicles have been for just that – looking, but no touching. Some Tesla delivery centers and showrooms have also allowed viewers to take a seat inside and open it up, but most are still locked away behind the velvet rope.

It’s exciting to see that Tesla has begun to demo them – and it can only be so long until demo drives open up to everyone.

Advisor-led Demo

This Demo Drive is led by a Tesla Advisor – while you’re driving, the advisor will be in the passenger seat, walking you through the experience. They’ll explain steer-by-wire, off-road controls, and will introduce new-to-Tesla buyers to all the features that are currently available.

Once FSD V12.5 comes to the Cybertruck, we’re sure they’ll be demoing its capabilities FSD capabilities as well.

Locations

The list of locations so far for demo drives appears to be fairly limited, but we will hopefully see demo drives roll out throughout the United States, and eventually Canada too. Here is the current list of city/state locations that have seen demo drive invites.

• Manhasset, New York

• West Covina, California

• Los Angeles, California

• Houston, Texas

• Orlando, Florida

• Westmont, Illinois

• Tucson, Arizona

• Phoenix, Arizona

• Delaware

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Musk Confirms 'Actually Smart Summon' is Coming in a Revision of FSD V12.5

Not a Tesla App

Actually Smart Summon, the successor to Tesla’s Smart Summon feature, has been confirmed to be coming as soon as next month as per Elon Musk. Colloquially known as “ASS”, Actually Smart Summon is supposed to improve on the regular Smart Summon capabilities, which have historically used ultrasonic sensors (USS) to navigate parking lots.

We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon, and we’re quite excited about what other features will be unlocked once it finally shows up at our doorstep.

Vision-based Improvements

ASS is supposed to bring Smart Summon to vehicles that don’t have USS – using Tesla Vision. Most recently, Tesla has brought Autopark to vehicles without USS, and Vision-based Autopark has been a huge success. It is faster, more reliable, and smoother than the older USS-based solution. It can also park and maneuver in tighter locations.

Just recently, Tesla returned the Model X’s self-presenting doors, using Tesla Vision. Vision has seen some fantastic improvements, and many people are waiting for ASS to bring forth these improvements to Smart Summon.

Smart Summon Today

Today, Smart Summon is sometimes useful at best, usually a party trick, or downright dangerous at worst. It’s excellent and best used in straight lines, where you have a clear line of sight of the vehicle, and can stop it if doesn’t see an obstacle.

I used Smart Summon today, just before writing this article – my 2022 Model Y (with USS) – did manage to show up just fine – in a straight-line location from where I was parked, after exiting the parking spot fairly cleanly. However, I’ve previously used Smart Summon and have had the vehicle turn towards obstacles, such as cart returns or curbs. Overall, it’s a sometimes-useful feature that has a lot of drawbacks right now.

Smart Summon is also restricted to a certain distance – and it's pretty small. The max distance is shorter than most parking lots, being only about 215 ft (65m). If you’re lucky enough to park close, it's very useful to bring your car right to you.

Actually Smart Summon

ASS will bring FSD V12-like capabilities to Smart Summon – the vehicle will primarily use Vision to drive toward you (or the location you’ve indicated). ASS has been supposed to be coming since about September 2022 and has seen many delays – we’re almost at the 2-year point today.

We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon being able to bring the vehicle – safely – right to you. ASS is also one of the key steps towards bringing some other cool features that Elon Musk has previously mentioned – Park Seek and Banish Autopark.

We’re also hopeful that Actually Smart Summon will increase the maximum range a vehicle can be summoned, because the current range is fairly small. Alongside Park Seek and Banish Autopark, we’re closing in on a Robotaxi-based future.

Park Seek and Banish Autopark

When the FSD v12.4 showed up, Elon also mentioned that going forward, vehicles would automatically park themselves when arriving in a parking lot – Park Seek – and that if you got out of the car at the entrance to a business, you could get it to automatically park itself in the parking lot – Banish Autopark. These are two features that are needed for Robotaxi to work – which itself is delayed to October 10^th of this year. We’re looking quite forward to them – as in combination with Actually Smart Summon, Tesla has reached the cusp of vehicle autonomy.

A vehicle that arrives, driverless, at the location you’re at, then drives somewhere, parks itself there, and waits for you – is the definition of a Robotaxi.

While we’re likely to have to wait for Banish Autopark and Park Seek just a bit longer, Actually Smart Summon being around the corner is exciting! Gone will be the days of having to run out to your car when you forgot your umbrella – your car will just come right to you instead.

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