Tesla FSD Beta v12 Adds New Automatic Speed Setting

January 23, 2024

By Kevin Armstrong

FSD v12 Automatic Set Speed Offset Option

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Tesla's Full Self-Driving Beta version 12 has a new feature that makes the computer on wheels drive much more naturally. As we’ve reported, v12.1.2, which is now going out to some customers, is not just another FSD update; it’s said it removes more than 300,000 lines of code and replaces it with an end-to-end neural network.

The neural network has been trained on millions of video clips, improving the system's capability to handle complex driving situations. Now AI is regulating another aspect of FSD, automatic speeds. Instead of following the speed limit and the offset you provide in settings, FSD will now determine appropriate speeds based on a variety of factors.

Automatic Set Speed Offset

FSD Beta v12 automatically adjusts the vehicle's speed to match the surrounding environment better. This optional feature, found under the "Controls > Autopilot" menu, gives the vehicle more freedom regarding its speed, allowing it to keep up with traffic even if it’s higher than the speed limit (which is already in the current FSD Beta), and the vehicle ends up acting more like a human.

In FSD Beta v11.4.7, Tesla added the ability for the vehicle to override the maximum speed set by the user. When this happened, the vehicle’s max speed on the display would turn blue and the message “Maintaining speed for traffic flow” would appear. This allowed the vehicle to temporarily increase its maximum speed to keep up with traffic. The new ‘Automatic Set Speed Offset’ seems to be a natural progression of this feature.

FSD Beta will sometimes override the user's max speed to keep up with traffic

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With this update, Tesla owners no longer need to manually set a speed offset as a percentage of the speed limit. Instead, the "Automatic Set Speed Offset" option allows Autopilot to determine the most natural driving speed based on road type, traffic and other conditions. When the option is enabled, Tesla will display “Auto” on the vehicle’s display where the vehicle’s max speed is normally shown.

How Automatic Speed is Determined

Tesla explains the feature in the vehicle’s menu, stating, “Automatic Set Speed Offset allows Autopilot to drive at the speed that it determines is most natural. This considers factors like road type, traffic flow, environmental conditions, speed limit, and the selected Full Self-Driving (Beta) Profile setting (Chill, Average, or Assertive).”

This feature was also observed in action during Elon Musk's livestream, where his maximum speed was set quite high yet the car consistently maintained a reasonable speed limit. This demonstrates the feature's ability to adapt to various driving conditions while ensuring safety and compliance with traffic laws.

Tesla FSD V12.4 - Features and Release Date

May 16, 2024

By Not a Tesla App Staff

The greatly anticipated FSD v12.4 is around the corner, with Elon Musk mentioning that it will be going to employees this weekend, with limited external testers next week.

Several significant improvements are coming with V12.4, which is being compared to the leap in performance that was previously seen between V12 and V11.

Improved Comfort and Reduced Interventions

There are quite a few improvements expected with V12.4, which Musk has said will be focused on user comfort by reducing hard accelerations and sudden braking. According to Musk, FSD v12.4 is also expected to have a 5-10x improvement in time between user interventions, which means that Tesla is rapidly approaching its goal for the Robotaxi announcement on August 8, 2024.

Steering Wheel Nag Removal

FSD V12.4 is expected to eliminate the steering wheel nag, as Musk confirmed its removal last week. The camera-based driver monitoring system will be taking over, providing a hands-free experience. These improvements will most likely benefit owners who have cabin cameras with infrared lights the most, while Tesla may continue to use steering wheel nag as a fallback mechanism.

Driverless Autopark

The second key feature that may be included in v12.4 will be Banish Autopark, previously known as Reverse Summon, allowing you to choose a parking spot, exit the vehicle and have the car park itself. Whether this feature makes it in v12.4 is yet to be seen, but Musk has mentioned that parking without a driver is coming soon.

Automatically Seek Parking Spot at Destination

Finally, your Tesla will now traverse a parking lot and automatically enter Autopark mode when arriving at a destination, according to a post from Musk.

Eligibility and Branch

Tesla recently added FSD v12.3.6 to the 2024.14 branch with updates 2024.14.5 and 2024.14.6. This makes it very likely that Tesla’s next FSD version will also be based on 2024.14, meaning that it will be available to any vehicle on 2024.14.x.

For users on update 2024.3.25, this means that they’ll receive all of the features included in updates 2024.8 and 2024.14, which should make it a massive update.

Release Date

Musk has mentioned that FSD V12.4 is going out to employee vehicles for internal testing this weekend, with external testing starting next week. The rollouts typically go slower than predicted but looks like we may see this begin shipping to customers by the end of the month.

U.S. Raising Tariff Rates on Imported EVs and Batteries From China: How It Affects Tesla

May 15, 2024

By Not a Tesla App Staff

Today, as part of a broader change of tariff rates on Chinese goods, U.S. President Joe Biden announced that he’ll raise tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China, increasing the rate from 25% to 100%, effective this year.

This increase won’t just impact the import of vehicles, but also the rate for lithium-ion batteries produced in China, which will be moving from 7.5% to 25%.

Impact on Competition

The immediate impact of this new regulation is significant for Chinese manufacturers, who have been regarded as Tesla’s largest and greatest competition. Given the tariff hike, this means that new Chinese manufacturers, such as Nio, XPeng, or BYD, will either need to set up production in North America, or be subject to the increased import tariff.

Nio’s vehicles cost between $40,000 USD to $70,000 USD in China based on today’s conversion rates, and with an import tariff of 100%, an imported vehicle’s price would be doubled to $80,000 USD to $140,000 USD, not including other fees. Chinese manufacturers will have to closely weigh the advantages and disadvantages of opening up the North American market, with challenges including vehicle homologation, new tariffs, and a difficult EV market.

Tesla and Chinese Tariffs

Elon Musk recently visited China, engaging with officials to build a foundation for what is currently the world’s largest electric vehicle market. With the potential import of Chinese EVs becoming restricted to the United States, this places Tesla in an advantageous position over its Chinese competitors who have yet to establish their brands in North America.

On the other hand, this could also impact Tesla, as they import Chinese batteries for usage in some vehicles in the United States.

Tesla does not import Gigafactory Shanghai vehicles to the US, but has been increasing North American battery production lately, with expansions in Lathrop, California and a new facility in Sparks, Nevada.

Canadian Tariffs

In Canada, the Model 3 and Model Y are currently being imported from Gigafactory Shanghai. Given Canada’s close following of US foreign policy, this could impact either the prices of Tesla vehicles in Canada or have Tesla shipping vehicles from Fremont and Texas to the United States once again, should Canada also adopt a similar tariff policy.