Tesla's Full Self-Driving will finally be updated to v11
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Tesla's FSD Beta version 11 is expected to arrive next week, according to Tesla CEO Elon Musk. This comes a few days after Tesla started rolling out FSD Beta 10.69.3.3.
The outspoken CEO responded to a comment from Tesla Owners Silicon Valley’s account asking about FSD Beta version 11’s release. To which Musk responded, “Next week.”
The Austin-based automotive company has slowly started rolling out FSD Beta v11 to select employees, but now it's rumored to be a part of Tesla's Holiday Update. The update, which is perhaps one of Tesla’s biggest to date, is chock-full of exciting features such as Steam and Apple Music integration, new media cards and controls, and hopefully a single-stack for Full Self-Driving Beta.
Unifying highway and city driving into a single stack is expected to bring big improvements to highway Autopilot use. In technology, a single stack refers to using the same technologies for multiple applications instead of having separate technologies for different features or services. Applying the much better and recent FSD Beta technology to highway driving will allow Tesla to combine all of the data it has gathered from city driving and apply it to its Navigate on Autopilot feature.
This integration between all of Tesla’s technologies will likely mean much smoother merging, lane changes and cornering on the highway. The city-driving visuals are also expected to be applied to highway driving.
One of the recent builds of FSD Beta v11 was spotted last month and the release notes have recently been leaked, showing that this new beta will in fact merge highway and city driving. This internal only version was version 2022.40.5, is not expected to be the build that will go out to the public.
Merging of FSD Beta and Production Updates
When FSD Beta v11 goes out to beta testers next week, it's expected to be a part of the Holiday Update, which means that FSD Beta and regular production builds will finally be merged and beta testers will no longer remain on a separate track.
For owners who are not in the FSD Beta, this means that they'll finally have access to the FSD Beta by simply turning on the option in the vehicle. FSD Beta will no longer be a separate version or update.
For exisiting beta testers this will also be a big deal. Beta testers will now stay current with the latest updates and features and will not have to wait months between updates.
Tesla's single-stack was exected as early as this summer, but that timeframe conveyed by Elon was likely overly optimistic.
But now that it’s going wide in about a week, the wait is almost over. And we’re likely going to see major improvements to Navigate on Autopilot and FSD in 2023 and beyond, especially as Tesla gears up to add HD radar next month, the announcement of hardware 4, and the revamped 2023 Model 3.
We’re anticipating 2023 to be a big year for Tesla.
For the first time in quite a while, Tesla has increased the price of one of its vehicle offerings. The Model S Long Range and the Model S Plaid have both received a hefty price increase. However, not all is bad - as Tesla also added a new benefit for buyers.
Price Increase
The price increase for the Model S is $5,000 - currently only in the United States. This price increase will likely impact other markets, including Canada, in the coming days.
The Model S Long Range now starts at $79,990, while the Model S Plaid now starts at $94,990. The Model S and Model X now have the same starting price. Interestingly, that’s also the same pricing point for the Cybertruck AWD and Cyberbeast Trimotor non-Foundation Series.
The vehicle configuration does not appear to have changed, so the new pricing is simply an increase rather than the addition or removal of features. Tesla previously cut the price of the Model S and Model X by 15% in 2023, so this could simply be an adjustment to ensure that the vehicle pricing stays in line with inflation and other factors.
Free Lifetime Supercharging
For those on the fence about ordering a Model S, Tesla has brought back Free Lifetime Supercharging when you order a new Model S on or after December 13, 2024. As always, Free Lifetime Supercharging is restricted to the buyer’s Tesla account and to that specific vehicle. It cannot be transferred to another vehicle or another owner after ownership transfer. It’s worth noting, that it also doesn’t exclude the owner from receiving Supercharger idle fees or congestion fees. There is currently no end date for this promotion.
There are currently no changes to the Model X, neither a price increase nor the addition of Lifetime Superchargering. However, when Tesla makes changes to one of their premium vehicles, it usually affects the other one as well. So be on the lookout for potential changes to the Model X offering in the coming days.
We’ve seen Tesla value Lifetime Supercharging at $5,000, so this falls in line with the price increase we’re seeing. It’s possible that Tesla will begin to bring back Lifetime Supercharging as a perk for buying into their more premium Model S and Model X cars, or this could be another temporary promotion to get buyers who are on the fence to go ahead and make their purchase while this promotion lasts.
Tesla recently showed off a demo of Optimus, its humanoid robot, walking around in moderately challenging terrain—not on a flat surface but on dirt and slopes. These things can be difficult for a humanoid robot, especially during the training cycle.
Most interestingly, Milan Kovac, VP of Engineering for Optimus, clarified what it takes to get Optimus to this stage. Let’s break down what he said.
Optimus is Blind
Optimus is getting seriously good at walking now - it can keep its balance over uneven ground - even while walking blind. Tesla is currently using just the sensors, all powered by a neural net running on the embedded computer.
Essentially, Tesla is building Optimus from the ground up, relying on as much additional data as possible while it trains vision. This is similar to how they train FSD on vehicles, using LiDAR rigs to validate the vision system’s accuracy. While Optimus doesn’t have LiDAR, it relies on all those other sensors on board, many of which will likely become simplified as vision takes over as the primary sensor.
Today, Optimus is walking blind, but it’s able to react almost instantly to changes in the terrain underneath it, even if it falls or slips.
What’s Next?
Next up, Tesla AI will be adding vision to Optimus - helping complete the neural net. Remember, Optimus runs on the same overall AI stack as FSD - in fact, Optimus uses an FSD computer and an offshoot of the FSD stack for vision-based tasks.
Milan mentions they’re planning on adding vision to help the robot plan ahead and improve its walking gait. While the zombie shuffle is iconic and a little bit amusing, getting humanoid robots to walk like humans is actually difficult.
There’s plenty more, too - including better responsiveness to velocity and direction commands and learning to fall and stand back up. Falling while protecting yourself to minimize damage is something natural to humans - but not exactly natural to something like a robot. Training it to do so is essential in keeping the robot, the environment around it, and the people it is interacting with safe.
We’re excited to see what’s coming with Optimus next because it is already getting started in some fashion in Tesla’s factories.
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