Late last night Tesla started rolling out update 2024.26.20 which contains the latest FSD v12.5.1.5. This release comes on the heels of version 12.5.1.4 which was in employee testing just the day before.
Hardware 3 Support
With this update, Tesla is once again supporting HW3 vehicles in the latest FSD release. HW3 vehicles haven’t been supported since FSD 12.4.x which was only rolled out to a small portion of the fleet before the update was pulled in favor of FSD 12.5.
FSD 12.5 Features
As soon as FSD 12.5 was released to HW4 late last month, it was praised for its extreme smoothness and human-like driving. Some of the features from FSD 12.4 will also be new for HW3 owners such as nag-free FSD, which eliminates the need to add torque to the steering wheel under certain conditions.
Differences from HW4
After we broke the news that FSD 12.5 was being tested on Tesla employee vehicles with HW3, Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s Autopilot lead, replied to our article going over some of the differences between HW3 and HW4 FSD. He mentioned that HW3 will run a smaller AI model compared to HW4, but he expects FSD performance to be similar due to other factors. HW4 also features much higher-resolution cameras, so it’ll be interesting to see if those are playing a role in the smoothness of FSD 12.5. Ashok also talked about what Tesla needs to do to have HW3 run the same FSD model in the future.
This appears to be a standard Tesla rollout so far. This update has already gone out to customers outside of the early-access group, but the rollout remains small as usual. If major issues aren’t found, we expect to see the update go to additional vehicles tonight or tomorrow. Since most HW3 owners are still on FSD 12.3.6 with update 2024.20.9, this will be a massive update for them, not only in terms of FSD capability and the nag-free feature but also in terms of vehicle features such as YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Parental Controls and much more that’s included as part of Tesla’s Summer Update. Keep an eye on our statistics pages to follow the rollout.
Tesla’s refreshed Model Y is currently being manufactured as Tesla prepares for its first deliveries next month. While we’ve already seen quite a few cool new features, there’s more that has yet to be revealed. A recent video interview with Tesla’s engineering team hosted by Tesla Owners Silicon Valley reveals that the vehicle includes a new 4D cabin radar.
4D Radar
While Tesla has included an in-cabin radar since 2022, this appears to be a new, more capable radar. The current cabin radar is used to verify seat occupancy, but Tesla plans to add more functionality to this new system.
This updated radar will be used to provide a lot more detail than the current radar or cabin camera can provide today. The radar is located in the same location as the current version, directly above the rearview mirror.
Classify Passenger Size
This new radar has several new safety-focused features, and they’re all quite exceptional. First off, the radar will detect and classify passenger size to determine which airbags to deploy dynamically. That means that if a shorter individual is sitting up front, the dashboard airbag may not activate - but the curtain airbag will.
That will reduce injuries in impacts from airbag activation while also reducing repair costs by not activating unnecessary airbags. By having a better idea of the passenger’s size, height, and weight, the vehicle can also better determine when to activate the airbag.
Children Left in Car
But that’s not all - because of that classification system, the radar can differentiate an adult passenger from a baby or child sitting in the second row - and automatically make the necessary dynamic safety adjustments.
The cabin radar will also detect heart rate and breathing, and Tesla will automatically send a reminder through the Tesla app if it detects a child is left unattended in the vehicle. If this occurs, the vehicle will perform a variety of functions, the first being to turn on the HVAC system and send you a reminder. And if that’s not enough - in the case of an emergency, your vehicle will automatically call emergency services for you and report its location.
It’s important to note that while vehicles outside North America have eCall capabilities, in North America, they cannot call 911 unless a phone is connected to the vehicle via Bluetooth. We hope that Tesla can contact 911 via an alternative method or add eCall capabilities to these vehicles.
While the refreshed Model Y will be shipping in March, this new radar and its associated features won’t be available immediately. Tesla intends to activate these new safety features in Q3 2025 - so sometime in late summer or early fall. We’ll dive into this new feature once it’s available later this year.
A member of Tesla’s AI development team, Kalena Brown, took to X to mention that an update is on its way for AI 4 vehicles on older FSD V13.2 builds.
It seems that Tesla has caught an issue that has been preventing vehicles from safely updating from FSD V13.2.2 to newer builds such as FSD V13.2.4 or V13.2.6.
The Bug
Tesla usually catches these issues early in testing, but sometimes, they make their way out into the wild, necessitating a stop to a rollout. In this case, the rollout was likely halted to prevent this issue from spreading to other vehicles.
There have been a lot of comments on social media that users haven’t seen an update since late December or early January. While that’s not completely abnormal, this update, version 2024.45.25.5 includes an issue that prevents it from being updated.
Please be patient! Found an issue specific to that update path, but fix is coming soon
Many folks on older builds also waiting and we're working hard to get everyone covered 🙂
Brown says that Tesla is aware of the issue and is working hard to get a build with the fix released soon. It may be a couple of weeks before it’s ready, but you can expect Tesla to roll this one out slowly to make sure the issue is addressed.
The issue appears to be specific to FSD V13.2.2, so anyone on another update should not be affected. Keep an eye out on our feeds - and we’ll let you know once the update is released.