Tesla Releases FSD V13.2.1 - What's New

DirtyTesla

Last night Tesla released FSD V13.2.1 with software update 2024.39.15. While the update is still going out in very small waves, it’s the first time FSD V13 has gone out to users beyond the initial early-access testers.

The update is going out to all HW4-based models, including the new Model S/X and the Model 3/Y, and includes the Cybertruck for the first time.

FSD V13

FSD V13 adds various new features, including the ability to start FSD from Park, Reverse, and Park at Destination. However, not all features are available on the Cybertruck yet. You can check out our detailed examination of the FSD V13.2 features here.

Start FSD from Park is also called Unpark - and it means that you can select your destination, and then tap and hold the new Start FSD button. FSD will engage, shift out of park, and into drive or reverse to get to your destination.

Next up, FSD is now capable of driving in reverse. It can now shift into reverse as required and will shift between the three gears as needed (Reverse, Drive, and Park). This means that FSD can now perform 3-point turns when necessary.

Finally, when FSD reaches its destination, it will navigate to an open parking spot if one is nearby and available. For now, FSD will only look for open parking spots, but soon you’ll be able to pick what the vehicle should do when arriving at its destination.

Take a look at the video below of one of the first drives of FSD V13.2.1.

V13 is MINDBLOWING.

Here’s the first drive video with FSD v13.2.1. 31 mins from parking lot to parking spot with ZERO disengagements or interventions. I can’t believe how smooth it is- it’s incredible.

This is it folks, it’s here. @elonmusk @Tesla_AI pic.twitter.com/uZvxsgRmJA

— Zack (@BLKMDL3) December 16, 2024

What’s New

This update is essentially a bug fix for the Model S, 3, X, and Y. However, the Cybertruck is receiving a modified release that’s missing several features compared to the other vehicles receiving 13.2.1. Here’s what’s missing from the Cybertruck version:

First off, Cybertruck does not get integrated Park, Unpark, and Reverse for the time being. In addition, there still isn’t support Actually Smart Summon in this release. With this update, Tesla is calling out the “Start FSD (Supervised) from Park” feature as a separate item in the release notes due to some changes (more on this below), but this is also not available on the Cybertruck.

This is likely because further refinements are needed for Cybertruck to be able to park itself or move accurately in tight spaces. The Cyebrtruck is significantly larger than other Tesla vehicles, and Tesla is likely waiting for more validation tests before releasing Summon or the Park-related features outside of Auto Park. T

Two other items missing from the Cybertruck version are Improved Camera Cleaning and the Redesigned Controller for smoother and more accurate tracking. Both are listed in the upcoming improvements section for the Cybertruck. Everything else in the release notes is identical to the other models.

Interestingly, this update still does not include the holiday update, so while users on FSD V13.2.1 get to enjoy the latest FSD build, they still do not have access to the features in the Holiday Update.

Start FSD From Park

WifeDirtyTesla

While FSD V13.2 included Start FSD from Park, it’s getting some changes in this update. Tesla is now specifying that the driver must be in the driver’s seat and buckled and that the camera camera must be unobstructed.

The process for starting FSD from Park has also been slightly adjusted. By default, you’ll need to tap and hold the Start FSD button after meeting the requirement above, but after pressing the on-screen button, you’ll also need to press the brake pedal before FSD is activated.

This seems like an additional safeguard to prevent accidental use of the feature, but it is optional. You can turn off the additional safety measure by going to Controls > Autopilot and turning on Start FSD (Supervised) from Park.

This feature is expected to arrive for the Cybertruck in a future release.

Upcoming Improvements

The Upcoming Improvements section doesn’t mention any features that weren’t previously mentioned in the FSD 13.2 update, which includes the following features:

• 3x model size scaling

• 3x model context length scaling

• Audio inputs for better handling of emergency vehicles

• Improved reward predictions for navigation

• Improvements to false braking and slower driving in parking lots

• Support for destination options including pulling over, parking in a spot, driveway, or garage

• Efficient representation of maps and navigation inputs

• Improved handling of camera occlusions

That’s an extensive list of upcoming improvements for FSD V13, so we’ll be seeing lots of changes and improvements as FSD approaches its Unsupervised phase in the near future.

Hardware 3?

Sadly, Tesla did not mention HW3 in their previous roadmap update and hasn’t referred to it since the original roadmap update. HW3 vehicles recently received the Holiday Update alongside FSD V12.5.4.2, which is the latest FSD build for HW3.

Besides saying that a future hardware upgrade will be available if Tesla can not achieve Unsupervised FSD on HW3, Tesla has been mum on the situation. However, there’s no word on whether FSD V13 will be made available on HW3 vehicles before such an upgrade is available.

There’s a good chance that Tesla will create a smaller model version of FSD V13 that’s capable of running on HW3 and is capable of some of the same abilities we’re seeing on HW4-based vehicles running FSD V13. However, it’s clear that Tesla’s focus is achieving Unsupervised FSD and meeting their goal of running it out next year.

HW3 vehicles are still waiting on the merger of the city and highway stack, so we’re hopeful we’ll see that, at least that, if not V13 in the coming months.

Update: This FSD update (V13.2.1) is now going out to all HW4 vehicles in the U.S. and Canada. Read our article here on when you can expect to receive it.

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Tesla Plans Massive 10x Robotaxi Expansion: A Look at the Potential New Area

Not a Tesla App

With Tesla’s first major expansion of the Robotaxi Geofence now complete and operational, they’ve been hard at work with validation in new locations - and some are quite the drive from the current Austin Geofence.

Validation fleet vehicles have been spotted operating in a wider perimeter around the city, from rural roads in the west end to the more complex area closer to the airport. Tesla mentioned during their earnings call that the Robotaxi has already completed 7,000 miles in Austin, and it will expand its area of operation to roughly 10 times what it is now. This lines up with the validation vehicles we’ve been tracking around Austin.

Based on the spread of the new sightings, the potential next geofence could cover a staggering 450 square miles - a tenfold increase from the current service area of roughly 42 square miles. You can check this out in our map below with the sightings we’re tracking.

If Tesla decides to expand into these new areas, it would represent a tenfold increase over their current geofence, matching Tesla’s statement. The new area would cover approximately 10% of the 4,500-square-mile Austin metropolitan area. If Tesla can offer Robotaxi services in that entire area, it would prove they can tackle just about any city in the United States.

From Urban Core to Rural Roads

The locations of the validation vehicles show a clear intent to move beyond the initial urban and suburban core and prepare the Robotaxi service for a much wider range of uses.

In the west, validation fleet vehicles have been spotted as far as Marble Falls - a much more rural environment that features different road types, higher speed limits, and potentially different challenges. 

In the south, Tesla has been expanding towards Kyle, which is part of the growing Austin-San Antonio suburban corridor spanning Highway 35. San Antonio is only 80 miles (roughly a 90-minute drive) away, and could easily become part of the existing Robotaxi area if Tesla obtains regulatory approval there.

In the East, we haven’t spotted any new validation vehicles. This is likely because Tesla’s validation vehicles originate from Giga Texas, which is located East of Austin. We won’t really know if Tesla is expanding in this direction until they start pushing past Giga Texas and toward Houston.

Finally, there have been some validation vehicles spotted just North of the new expanded boundaries, meaning that Tesla isn’t done in that direction either. This direction consists of the largest suburban areas of Austin, which have so far not been serviced by any form of autonomous vehicle.

Rapid Scaling

This new, widespread validation effort confirms what we already know. Tesla is pushing for an intensive period of public data gathering and system testing in a new area, right before conducting geofence expansions. The sheer scale of this new validation zone tells us that Tesla isn’t taking this slowly - the next step is going to be a great leap instead, and they essentially confirmed this during this Q&A session on the recent call. The goal is clearly to bring the entire Austin Metropolitan area into the Robotaxi Network.

While the previous expansion showed off just how Tesla can scale the network, this new phase of validation testing is a demonstration of just how fast they can validate and expand their network. The move to validate across rural, suburban, and urban areas simultaneously shows their confidence in these new Robotaxi FSD builds.

Eventually, all these improvements from Robotaxi will make their way to customer FSD builds sometime in Q3 2025, so there is a lot to look forward to.

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Caught on Video: Tesla FSD Tackles a Toll Booth — Here’s How It Pulled It Off

@DirtyTesLa on X

For years, the progress of Tesla’s FSD has been measured by smoother turns, better lane centering, and more confident unprotected left turns. But as the system matures, a new, more subtle form of intelligence is emerging - one that shifts its attention to the human nuances of navigating roads. A new video posted to X shows the most recent FSD build, V13.2.9, demonstrating this in a remarkable real-world scenario.

Toll Booth Magic

In the video, a Model Y running FSD pulls up to a toll booth and smoothly comes to a stop, allowing the driver to handle payment. The car waits patiently as the driver interacts with the attendant. Then, at the precise moment the toll booth operator finishes the transaction and says “Have a great day”, the vehicle starts moving, proceeding through the booth - all without any input from the driver.

If you notice, there’s no gate here at this toll booth. This interaction all happened naturally with FSD.

FSD 13.2.9 pulls up to a toll booth, waits for me to complete my transaction, then pulls away without a gate. 😳 Incredible. https://t.co/OsH1YAY8Ty pic.twitter.com/9hWAbLNrVa

— Dirty Tesla (@DirtyTesLa) July 27, 2025

How It Really Works

While the timing was perfect, the FSD wasn’t listening to the conversation for clues (maybe one day, with Grok?) The reality, as explained by Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s VP of AI, is even more impressive.

It can see the transaction happening using the repeater & pillar cameras. Hence FSD proceeds on its own when the transaction is complete 😎

— Ashok Elluswamy (@aelluswamy) July 27, 2025

FSD is simply using the cameras on the side of the vehicle to watch the exchange between the driver and attendant. The neural network has been trained on enough data that it can visually recognize the conclusion of a transaction - the exchange of money or a card and the hands pulling away - and understands that this is the trigger to proceed.

The Bigger Picture

This capability is far more significant than just a simple party trick. FSD is gaining the ability to perceive and navigate a world built for humans in the most human-like fashion possible.

If FSD can learn what a completed toll transaction looks like, it’s an example of the countless other complex scenarios it’ll be able to handle in the future. This same visual understanding could be applied to navigating a fast-food drive-thru, interacting with a parking garage attendant, passing through a security checkpoint, or boarding a ferry or vehicle train — all things we thought that would come much later.

These human-focused interactions will eventually become even more useful, as FSD becomes ever more confident in responding to humans on the road, like when a police officer tells a vehicle to go a certain direction, or a construction worker flags you through a site. These are real-world events that happen every day, and it isn’t surprising to see FSD picking up on the subtleties and nuances of human interaction.

This isn’t a pre-programmed feature for a specific toll booth. It is an emergent capability of the end-to-end AI neural nets. By learning from millions of videos across billions of miles, FSD is beginning to build a true contextual understanding of the world. The best part - with a 10x context increase on its way, this understanding will grow rapidly and become far more powerful.

These small, subtle moments of intelligence are the necessary steps to a truly robust autonomous system that can handle the messy, unpredictable nature of human society.

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