Tesla reduces the need for the steering wheel nag with FSD v12.4
Not a Tesla App
Tesla has just rolled out its latest FSD software, v12.4 to employees. Elon Musk announced that this update would be available to employees this past weekend, with plans to release it to the public in small numbers later this week.
However, as we predicted, Tesla will still leverage the steering wheel to detect attentiveness when the cabin camera is inconclusive.
The car can only rely on the vehicle's cabin camera, and therefore remove the steering wheel nag under certain conditions:
the camera is not occluded
there is sufficient lighting
the driver is looking forward
the driver is not wearing sunglasses
the driver is not wearing a low-brim hat or another object that covers their eyes
If any of these situations occur, or if the vehicle doesn't have a cabin camera, then the vehicle will continue to use the steering wheel to determine driver attention.
Tesla is careful to state that images and video from the cabin camera are not saved or transmitted unless you enable data sharing.
Updated Strike System
With FSD v12.4, Tesla has also updated its Autopilot Suspension feature which is designed to enforce the responsible use of FSD.
The current system lets the driver receive up to five strikes (three strikes for vehicles without a cabin camera) before Autopilot and FSD become unavailable. If that happens, then FSD is unavailable for one week. Strikes are only removed once the driver has accrued five strikes, or when Tesla wipes out strikes for everyone, which happens about twice a year.
The new system is more gracious about removing strikes. The vehicle will continue to issue strikes whenever the driver isn't paying attention, however, now the vehicle will gradually remove strikes for the driver after a certain period of time.
Tesla states that one strike will be removed for each 7-day period the driver goes without receiving a strike. So if FSD gets disabled due to strikes, the driver will still go one week without FSD, although now strikes are removed on an ongoing basis. This new strike system is expected to apply to vehicles with and without a cabin camera.
They include a focus on improved driver comfort by reducing the amount of hard braking, automatically seeking a parking spot when arriving at a destination and more. Driver interventions are also expected to be drastically reduced with Musk stating that Tesla expects to see a 5-10x improvement in interventions.
Eligibility
Unfortunately, due to FSD v12.4 being on branch 2024.9, it's expected to only be available to owners on update 2024.8 and below, which includes everyone currently on update 2024.3.25.
If no major issues are found with FSD v12.4, we could see it start to roll out to the public later this week.
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date on the latest Tesla news, upcoming features and software updates.
Tesla has issued a strong denial in response to a Wall Street Journal report (Paywall) which claimed that Tesla’s Board of Directors had initiated a search for a new CEO.
In a statement posted directly on Tesla’s X account, Board Chair Robyn Denholm denied the report unequivocally. As per the statement, Tesla’s board did not reach out to recruiting firms in search of a new CEO.
Earlier today, there was a media report erroneously claiming that the Tesla Board had contacted recruitment firms to initiate a CEO search at the company.
This is absolutely false (and this was communicated to the media before the report was published).
The statement reaffirmed the board’s position on Tesla’s current leadership and that the board is highly confident in Elon’s ability to continue executing Tesla’s plans and future growth.
This confidence behind Elon follows his recent statements made during the Q1 2025 Earnings Call that he would be stepping back from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the coming days and significantly reducing time spent there. Instead, he would be returning to focus on Tesla’s operations and the upcoming deployment of Robotaxi.
Shortly after the denial was posted, Elon Musk also commented on the report, specifically tagging the Wall Street Journal and criticizing their handling of the report.
It is an EXTREMELY BAD BREACH OF ETHICS that the @WSJ would publish a DELIBERATELY FALSE ARTICLE and fail to include an unequivocal denial beforehand by the Tesla board of directors! https://t.co/9xdypLGg3c
We’re glad to see Tesla and Elon set the matter straight, but there could have been a better way to spread this message and maybe even prevent the report from WSJ from going out.
We recently published an opinion piece on why Tesla needs its PR team back, and this specific incident is a good example. Relying solely on platforms like X for critical corporate communications - and in this case, late at night (1 AM EST), with limited reach outside the existing follower base seems like an ineffective way of communicating important company information.
We’d love to see Tesla really put some thought into managing its image, as it seems that several recent reports from major financial news organizations have apparently been wrong.
Either way, the board’s stance is clear - there is no active search underway, and Elon has the full backing and support of the board to lead Tesla toward the future.
Tesla’s Megapack is rapidly becoming a key component in energy storage and grid modernization efforts worldwide. Though often associated with powering AI infrastructure or industrial operations, Megapack’s true strength lies in its ability to stabilize electrical grids during blackouts and brownouts.
In a recent behind-the-scenes reveal, Tesla showcased the impressive scale of Megapack production at its Mega Lathrop facility, along with real-world examples of how these systems are already transforming energy resilience across the globe.
Mega-Scale Megapack
Tesla is operating the largest utility-scale battery manufacturing facility in North America at Mega Lathrop, which has the capacity to produce 10,000 Megapacks annually. Thanks to a highly automated assembly process that uses over 30 welding robots to assemble the core Megapack structure. This is the largest manufacturing fixture Tesla uses— likely to only be matched by future developments at Mega Shanghai.
Tesla uses a highly automated powder coating process, utilizing over 90 robotic paint atomizers to apply more than 140 pounds of powder coat to each Megapack. This process delivers Tesla’s signature white reflective finish, engineered for long-term durability and corrosion resistance that lasts up to 20 years, even in harsh coastal or high-heat environments.
All of Megapack’s power electronics are designed and built in-house. Each Megapack uses 24 battery modules, electrical busing, and thermal management systems to ensure grid reliability and help to maximize energy density. The architecture pairs each inverter with a battery module to maximize energy availability and overall uptime. Plus, before each Megapack ships its way across the world, Tesla performs rigorous on-site quality control to ensure that the installation process is as seamless as possible.
Watch Tesla’s video of the manufacturing process below:
Megapack’s Real-World Impact: Hawaii
The core purpose of Megapack is to make power grids more stable and resilient while also reducing reliance on dirty peak power plants like coal. They achieve this by balancing energy supply and demand in real-time, smoothing out fluctuations from variable renewable sources like solar and wind, which helps to prevent grid shortages.
Hawaii actually provides the most real and down-to-earth example of Megapack’s impact. In mid-2024, the Kapolei Energy Storage facility in Hawaii came online. Hawaii utilized 258 Megapacks with a combined capacity of 565 MWh, successfully replacing the state’s last coal-fired power plant. This single facility can power approximately 20% of Oahu’s peak electricity needs by itself for approximately 4 hours.
The project is more than just removing coal plants, though. It serves as an example of Megapack’s grid integration and grid forming technology. The Kapolei Energy Storage facility can manage grid fluctuations caused by weather changes impacting renewable energy, improving stability and preventing blackouts. Thanks to their rapid inverter response times of under a millisecond, Megapacks participate in complex grid balancing activities, including fast frequency and voltage support, which helps to maintain grid balance throughout the day. Beyond that, Kapolei also allows Hawaii to black-start the grid in case of a major power outage that takes out a large section of the grid.
This functionality would be especially useful in Spain, where black-starting the grid took over eight hours recently and is still disrupting the day-to-day life of people there.
You can check out Megapack’s real-world impact in this video from Tesla below:
![Tesla’s B-Pillar Recording Requires HW4 [Update: New Dashcam Viewer Included on HW3 / Ryzen Vehicles]](https://www.notateslaapp.com/img/containers/article_images/tesla-screen/dashcam-viewer-hw3.jpg/ba8281c93679d2cf4a405a771e96b167/dashcam-viewer-hw3.jpg)
![Tesla Semi Keynote: New Features, 46 Charging Sites, Upgraded Battery & More [VIDEO]](https://www.notateslaapp.com/img/containers/article_images/semi/semi-new-features.jpg/c7df4e0d32f8cb0beee080ad201e943b/semi-new-features.jpg)
