Tesla recently launched FSD in China, which has led many people to wonder exactly how they did it so quickly. Tesla isn't allowed to send training data out of China, meaning that it can’t leverage the capacity of the new Cortex Supercomputer Cluster at Giga Texas.
Instead, Tesla is using their generalized model, in combination with Synthetic Training Data, to train FSD for China. Of course, Tesla also uses this same synthetic data to supplement training for North America and for training for Europe. With European FSD on the horizon, we’ll likely see more and more use of synthetic training data for a sure-fire means to handle edge cases.
Simulated Content
Tesla officially refers to the synthetic training data as “Simulated Content” throughout their patent, which is titled “Vision-Based System Training with Synthetic Content.” Let’s break it down into easier-to-understand chunks.
Vision-Only Training
As you may well know, Tesla’s approach to autonomy focuses on using Tesla Vision. That means cameras providing visual data are the primary - and really only - means of acquiring data from outside of the vehicle. They no longer use radar and only use LiDAR to ensure vision sensor accuracy during training.
Capturing all the information from around the car builds a 3D environment that the vehicle uses to plan its path and conduct its decision-making. All that data is processed to build a fairly comprehensive view of what is around the vehicle and what is predicted to be around the vehicle in the future. All of that is also tagged and characterized to help the system prioritize various decisions.
Supervised Learning Model
Tesla’s FSD training is done through a supervised learning model. That means that the training model is fed data that is already labeled, either by humans or by Tesla’s unique AI model. The objects in the images that are being fed are identified and also tagged with position, velocity, and acceleration. This information acts as a ground truth for the AI model to learn from, allowing it to recognize and interpret similar objects and situations when encountered in real-world driving.
Ground Truth Label Data
The ground truth label data is a critical portion of this supervised learning process. The labeled data provides the model with accurate information about objects and their characteristics in the images. This enables Tesla to develop FSD’s robust understanding of the environment around it while it's driving. This data is typically collected from real-world driving scenarios and is either manually or automatically annotated with data.
Generating Simulated Content
Supplementing the real-world ground truth label data, Tesla employs a simulated content system to generate synthetic training data - which is really the key portion of this patent. This system generates synthetic training data that closely resembles the labeled ground truth data from above.
Content Model Attributes and Contextual Labeling
The generation of that simulated content is guided by what Tesla calls “content model attributes,” which are essentially the key characteristics or features that are extracted from the ground truth label data. These could include things like road edges, lane lines, stationary objects, or even dynamic objects like vehicles or pedestrians.
By varying these attributes, the system can create a wide array of simulated scenarios - which means that FSD’s training program is exposed to as many unique and normal situations as possible.
In addition to the attributes, the system also incorporates contextual labeling - which involves adding labels to the simulated content to help refine it with even more detail. These labels can include things like weather conditions, time of day, or even the type of road or environment the vehicle is driving in. All this information is useful context to help develop FSD’s understanding of driving environments.
Training Data Generation
Tesla’s simulated content system generates vast amounts of training data by creating variations of the content models. These variations generally involve making tweaks to the attributes of the objects in the scene - thereby changing environmental conditions, or introducing new types of driving scenarios, like heavy traffic or construction.
Training FSD
Wrapping it all up - the combined dataset of both real-world data and simulated data is then used to train FSD. By continuously providing new sets of both types of input, Tesla can continue to refine and improve FSD further.
Why Use Simulated Content?
It might seem counterintuitive that Tesla utilizes simulated content for training their autonomous driving system when their vehicles already collect vast amounts of real-world driving data. Their vehicles drive hundreds of millions of miles a month, all across the globe - providing them access to an unfathomable amount of unique data. Well, there are a few reasons to do so.
Not a Tesla App
Cost Reduction
One of the primary advantages of using simulated content is cost reduction. By not having to collect, transmit, sort, label, and process the incoming data from the real world, Tesla can instead just create data locally.
That cuts costs for data transmission, data storage, and all the processing and labeling - whether by human or machine. That can be a fairly significant amount when you think about just how much data goes through Tesla’s servers every single day from vehicles all around the world.
Simulating Challenging Conditions
Simulated content allows Tesla to train FSD in a wide range of environmental conditions that might be rare, difficult, or even dangerous to encounter consistently in real-world driving. This can include challenging conditions like heavy rain, fog, or snow - or even nighttime driving in those conditions.
By training the system on this type of content without trying to pull it from real vehicles, Tesla can ensure that FSD remains operable and fairly robust even in more difficult scenarios in the real world.
Edge Cases & Safety
Another crucial benefit of simulated content is the ability to train FSD on edge cases. While we sometimes jokingly refer to edge cases as things like stopping for a school bus, there are real edge cases that may not be frequently encountered in real-world driving scenarios but can pose real safety risks for drivers, occupants, pedestrians, or other road users. Think of things that you could see happening but have never actually seen, like a car falling off a transport trailer or a highway sign falling down.
As such, Tesla simulates many unique edge cases, including sudden pedestrian crossing, unexpected obstacles in the road, or even erratic behavior from other drivers. All these unique simulations are fairly hard to capture regularly in the real world, which means simulating and training on them is essential to ensure safety.
Efficient and Continuous Optimization
Finally, the vast amount of diverse training data that can be generated by Tesla on demand means that they can quickly and efficiently iterate on FSD without needing to wait for real-world data. This means they can keep a continuous learning process going, ensuring that FSD is always improving bit by bit.
If you’re interested in reading more about the guts that make FSD tick, check out our entire series on FSD-related patents from Tesla here.
We’d also recommend our deep dive into Nvidia’s Cosmos - which is a training system for autonomous vehicles that primarily uses synthetic data to train machine models. It's a different take on Tesla’s FSD training cycle that primarily relies on real data, but it does have some similarities to this particular means of using simulated content.
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date on the latest Tesla news, upcoming features and software updates.
Elon Musk has always been a bit of a celebrity and not always one that has been well received. With his many different companies - including Tesla, SpaceX, Boring, Neuralink, X, and xAI, he’s spread throughout many high-tech fields and has a massive say in the way technology impacts the lives of many.
Most recently, Elon has taken to the fore of the US government under the Trump Administration and is running the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Here, he’s been tasked with reducing government spending.
These moves, in addition to what looked like an inappropriate hand gesture at a Republican rally last year, have led to him being labeled a Nazi - and those who own his cars or support his companies - as Nazi sympathizers. This is particularly true for Cybertruck owners.
We’re not calling for Elon to step down or stop - that’s beyond the scope of this opinion piece. Instead, we’re hoping that we make a point - harming real people and their property is a step too far, especially when they haven’t done anything other than spend their money or choose their place of employment.
Boycotts and Protests
Few CEOs are as active in politics as Elon is - and that’s made him and his companies the targets of protestors who don't agree with the changes and policies. This has led to boycotts of Tesla, protests outside factories, Supercharger sites, and showrooms.
Interestingly, some protestors at several locations throughout the United States have admitted they are being paid to protest. This isn’t surprising or new - political activist organizations sometimes bring in paid protestors to pad crowd numbers or guide the protestors toward their goals. While we can’t say whether this is true or not at this time, Elon appears to believe so, as per a post on X on the 8th of March.
Some of the protests have descended into violence, which has likely been escalated by people in a crowd mentality. An example of this is the incident at Tesla’s NYC Meatpacking showroom - where the crowd attempted to break down the doors and enter the showroom, putting the lives of innocent employees and customers at risk.
While protesting is a right, harming others and harming private property is not, regardless of personal beliefs or political opinions. This is what we’d like to emphasize here - harming or threatening Tesla’s employees and their customers isn’t making for a better world - it is hurting real people - members of your community. Some of them may have stood in solidarity with you just mere months ago at the voting booths, but now the simple ownership of a Tesla vehicle is considered extreme.
Vandalism and Who It Impacts
The protests are really just the tip of the iceberg. There have been ongoing and escalating incidents of vandalism - both at Tesla’s showrooms and Superchargers, as well as of private vehicles.
Vandalism is a crime - full stop. Attacking others and their private property with the intent to harm them isn’t an effective means to portray a message - it is political violence. Harming others is never the correct option - and is the worst way to push your message.
Vandalism of a private vehicle doesn't hurt Tesla. That vehicle will be repaired with parts sold by Tesla, paid for by the owner’s insurance. Those insurance costs will be passed down to customers everywhere - whether they’re Tesla-specific or not. Tesla will have made money replacing parts or replacing a vehicle because nearly 70% of Tesla’s customers continue to buy Tesla.
The vandalism isn’t focused on just private vehicles either - much of it has hit Tesla’s showrooms - which have been shot at in the US - and one was even burned down overnight in France. These vandals have also been targeting Tesla’s lots - and damaging cars on their way to customers. Once again, Tesla is insured against all of this - and will only be making replacement vehicles and fixing the damage - just like they did with the arson incident at a Supercharger site - where they replaced the Supercharger in under 48 hours.
Superchargers are public charging infrastructure. Damaging them doesn’t just affect Tesla owners - it impacts all EV drivers. Many Supercharger sites are open to other electric vehicles and serve as a vital charging option, especially in remote areas where charging options may be limited.
Additionally, some Supercharger stations are sometimes partially or fully funded by government grants aimed at expanding EV infrastructure. Acts of vandalism only harm local communities by undermining efforts to build essential public resources.
Sales and Stock
Tesla’s stock and sales have also been hit hard by the recent boycotts and response to Elon’s political activity.
Several analysts are predicting that Tesla’s deliveries in Q1 2025 are expected to be the lowest in the last three years - which will likely be a big hit. On the flipside, Elon is still optimistic about the stock - and has mentioned that the long-term benefits of holding Tesla far outweigh the short-term tensions.
However, Tesla’s stock also swings heavily with the market and is one of the most actively traded stocks by retail investors - both regular stocks and options included. The US markets have been on a relatively downward trend, with the Trump administration telling people to tighten their belts and prepare for a potential recession in the coming months.
These indicators aren’t very clear - and the ramp of the refreshed Model Y will have an impact on sales as Tesla won’t be able to deliver as many vehicles as they normally do.
Musk Owns Only 12% of Tesla
At the end of the day, these protests and all this vandalism only serve one purpose. It hurts hardworking citizens of the countries these events are happening in - whether the United States, Canada, Germany, France, or others.
They don’t impact Elon as much because he owns a small percentage of Tesla. Elon owns 12.8% of Tesla as of February 28, 2025. There are several other large stakeholders who own nearly as much as he does - and hundreds of thousands of retail shareholders. His fortune is so large that even if he lost his entire stake in Tesla today, he’d still be worth over $200 billion.
This amount of money is almost unimaginable. If you were to be given $400,000 every single day since 0 BC - until today - you still wouldn’t be worth as much as Elon Musk. That amount of money is absolutely insane and ridiculous—when you consider how little it affects him and how much real harm it causes to everyday people, it’s clear it’s not the correct approach.
Tesla employs about 130,000 people worldwide. That’s 129,999 people who aren’t Elon Musk that are directly harmed by these actions, all for choosing to work at one of the most innovative tech companies - whose mission is to electrify the world.
Putting all that together - the protests, boycotts, and vandalism aren’t hurting Elon as much as they’re hurting everyone else. They’re hurting regular people. And these people who have been threatened or hurt are never going to look in the same direction as these misguided activists.
Instead, these would-be vandals would be better off redirecting their efforts to reach out to the political leaders in their regions and working on getting better representation - and ensuring that people come to the stands to vote next time there is an election. There is a proper, legal, and moral way to change someone’s mind - with discussion. Threats to damage their property and hurt them are not the way.
Wrapping it all up - harming people and their property is a crime - and it isn’t the way to change people’s minds in a democratic society. It does nothing to harm Elon Musk, and all it hurts are your neighbors and friends.
Following Tesla’s Q1 2025 All-Hands Meeting, the company quietly updated the Cybertruck’s webpage. When we first checked it during our Live Space, nothing immediately stood out. At first glance, the changes seemed to be mostly stylistic—aligning the page’s format with the rest of Tesla’s site while adding a Cyber-inspired twist with unique fonts and boxed media elements.
But this morning, we took a closer look—because if there’s one thing Tesla loves, it’s hiding details in plain sight. And sure enough, we found an interesting change around Sentry Mode — playing loud music.
Sentry Mode Music
Tesla quietly updated the Sentry Mode section on the Cybertruck’s about page, adding new text that reveals Sentry Mode will soon be able to play loud music when it’s triggered. The text on Tesla’s site states:
“Enable Sentry Mode to monitor your unattended vehicle or trailer, and automatically activate the alarm, increase the touchscreen brightness, and play music at max volume if a threat is detected.”
This latest change appears to build on that, leveraging the Cybertruck’s Superhorn and external speaker, which can already play music when parked via the Boombox feature. We suspect this feature won’t rely on the internal speakers, as the music would have to be extremely loud in order to be heard outside the car.
And given how loud the Superhorn and external speakers are—powerful enough to function as a proper horn—this could be an effective deterrent for vandals or intruders.
Other Models Too?
While this feature was spotted on the Cybertruck’s page, it’s unlikely that it’ll be exclusive to the stainless steel beast. We did a quick scan of Tesla’s other vehicle pages, but the change hasn’t made it over to other pages yet. While Tesla’s other vehicles don’t include the Superhorn, most are equipped with an external speaker for the Pedestrian Warning System (PWS)—which also powers the Boombox feature.
If your Tesla supports Boombox, it’s likely that Sentry Mode Music will roll out across the lineup once the update is released. However, legacy vehicles without a PWS will likely miss out on this feature.
When Will It Be Released?
To answer everyone’s favorite question, we know it’s not in Tesla’s 2025.8 update, which has recently started rolling out. Given the small 2025 releases so far (2025.2 and 2025.8), Tesla may be preparing a larger 2025 Spring Update similar to last year’s.
We’re about a month away from the arrival of Tesla’s Spring Update, and this could be one of the included features.
The real question is: Will Tesla allow custom sounds or music via USB? If so, the possibilities just got a whole lot more entertaining.
![Tesla Adds HEPA Filter to New Model 3, Will it Get Bioweapon Defense Mode? [Update: Tesla Edits Post]](https://www.notateslaapp.com/images/news/2023/new-model-3-hepa-filter_300w.jpg)
![Tesla Updates Energy App in Update 2025.8.3: Adds Reset and Distance Filter [VIDEO]](https://www.notateslaapp.com/img/containers/article_images/2025/updated_energy_app.jpg/979943fb17df5ae4e9fa668b8cd61fca/updated_energy_app.jpg)
