Tesla Owners Get Antsy Waiting for FSD V12.4, Start to Unsubscribe to Receive Latest Update

By Karan Singh
Not a Tesla App

Elon Musk mentioned in May that FSD V12.4 was in the final touches stage and would probably start rolling out in mid-May. However, May is now gone and we haven’t heard an update on the FSD V12.4 timeline.

The biggest features for V12.4 include no-nag, an updated strike-out system, automatic parking spot seeking, and a reduction in interventions.

Software Branches

FSD V12.4 was released to employees with update 2024.9.5, which means it’s behind the Spring Update – 2024.14. This means that cars on the Spring Update can’t receive 2024.9.5 – if it eventually goes out to consumers.

Additionally, Tesla has been working on bug fixes for 2024.14 and just announced update 2024.20, which brings Adaptive Headlight support to the United States and Canada.

Employee Rollout

At this point, only employees have received the 2024.9.5 update. User darwizzy333 on Reddit, an employee who received the update on the Early Access Program, originally said that it was unusable, suggesting that it was the cause for the delay. He initially also provided a screenshot of his vehicle running FSD V12.4 but has since taken it down.

After giving specific reasons why FSD 12.4 was unusable a few days ago, today he stated that his cameras were the cause for the issues. After calibrating his cameras, he says that V12.4 is incredible and that his usual commute is now down to zero interventions.

This gives us some hope that Tesla may still release FSD 12.4 to public users, however, it’s not clear what could be causing the delay. Employees are still testing FSD 12.4, so Tesla is either still working on a revision or still plans to release V12.4.

Owners Unsubscribing

Unfortunately, Tesla owners who bought or subscribed to FSD are stuck on the update they’re on until Tesla releases FSD 12.4 or updates V12.4 to be based on a newer software branch. Once you subscribe to FSD, Tesla would like to send you the latest FSD updates, which we call the “FSD track.” The problem is that the latest FSD updates are usually several releases behind Tesla’s main updates. With Tesla’s redesign and beautiful new parked visualization in update 2024.14, owners are having a hard time waiting for the latest features.

Tesla even officially announced update 2024.20 yesterday, which means that users on update 2024.3.25 are now three major updates behind. Some users are now unsubscribing from FSD, not because they don’t enjoy it, but just so they can receive the newer 2024.14 update.

Once an owner unsubscribes from FSD, Tesla no longer has a reason to hold them back on an update and will push the latest update they’re eligible for — currently 2024.14. However, this requires your FSD subscription to expire, which could take several weeks depending on when you renewed. Unfortunately, owners who bought FSD don’t have much of an option.

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

By Karan Singh
@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

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

By Karan Singh
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 10th 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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