Tesla has just opened up their Early Access Program, which we found out about just a few days ago - to FSD owners and subscribers in the United States. This new Early Access Program will offer regular owners the ability to get early FSD updates before they get widely released.
Early Access
Tesla has begun to slowly roll out a pop-up (and button) in the Tesla app, offering users the ability to enroll in the FSD (Supervised) Early Access Program in the United States. This update is rolling out slowly, so don’t be surprised if you don’t have it yet.
For now, this program appears to be limited to the United States. Users in Canada and Mexico, even those with existing Early Access, have not yet received an invite to the program.
Once you join the Early Access Program, at the very bottom of your app, where your VIN and software version normally appear, you’ll see a new “Early Access” link. Tapping this will show your status as a member of the Early Access program and also offers you the opportunity to leave the program if so desired.
The bottom Early Access Button
Sawyer Merritt
How to Get In?
To be offered the program, you must own an AI4/Hardware 4 vehicle with FSD, either purchased or actively subscribed. Unfortunately, HW3 owners are not receiving this right now.
A pop-up will be displayed in your Tesla app once you get selected to join the program. If you dismiss the pop-up in a hurry, don’t worry. The ability to join Early Access stays as in the image below, and you can join the program at any time.
Ending your subscription while part of Early Access means your vehicle will be removed from the program.
The post pop-up opportunity.
Sawyer Merritt
Privacy
In exchange for receiving early builds of FSD, Tesla will increase the amount of data, video, and audio gathered from your vehicle, and the data will be VIN-associated, meaning less privacy and anonymity for users.
Any software updates or release notes you receive, both in-vehicle and in-app, will be watermarked with your vehicle's VIN. Tesla has been watermarking employee release notes since June of 2024 to reduce leaks, and this new Early Access program appears to follow a similar format, even though it is more widespread.
A watermarked release note.
@BrianX2023 on X
Cautions
Of course, earlier FSD builds are usually less stable and potentially less safe than wide release, so it’s important to remain more vigilant during FSD’s use. If anyone else uses the vehicle, make sure they’re also aware of the situation.
On the flip side, this is really exciting for many Tesla owners. Tesla’s Early Access program has normally been limited to employees and influencers, so it’s awesome to see regular owners getting an opportunity to get in on all the fun of testing out Tesla’s latest FSD functionality.
This new Early Access program could also mean that Tesla has a new level of confidence in future builds, where it’s now willing to make them available to more users. It could also have to do with Tesla’s FSD Unsupervised ambitions, where they may need more data than was already collected in order to successfully launch their Robotaxi this June.
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Tesla’s Vice President of Vehicle Engineering, Lars Moravy, recently took to X and opened the floor for user input. There, he asked the community for features and improvements they’d like to see to make Teslas better heading into 2026.
This post generated thousands of suggestions - and we recapped the best of them. There were also a few that Lars responded to, giving owners hope for some much-requested future changes, so let’s take a look at what may be coming
Lumbar Profile Support
Today, lumbar support is one of the few items that is not saved in the Tesla profile. That means if you have multiple drivers who use the same vehicle, you’re often left adjusting this setting manually, as it retains the setting that was last used. One community member suggested saving your lumbar setting to your profile just like Tesla does for other seat settings.
Lars said making this change seems doable, but it’ll take some engineering magic. The lumbar support isn’t tied to an absolute sensor like the other seat settings. This suggests that Tesla does not have an exact value to save, as it does with other seat functions, but Lars believes Tesla can find a way to save lumbar preferences. Tesla could potentially time how long the motor runs to get to the user’s lumbar setting and save this value.
With that said, it seems the vehicle engineering team may take a look at this one, and we may see it included in a future update.
Model 3 Signal Stalk Retrofit
The move away from traditional stalks in favor of the steering wheel buttons on the Refreshed Model 3 has been a point of debate. While the author is squarely in the camp of steering wheel buttons (at least with the Cybertruck), many dissent and say that the buttons on the Refreshed 3 aren’t as satisfying or easy to use.
Many other drivers also prefer the tactile feel and muscle memory of a physical stalk for signaling. Tesla appears to favor stalks, as they retained the turn signal stalk with the new Model Y. There are also rumors that Tesla is going to reintroduce the turn signal stalk to the Model 3.
If Tesla adds stalks back to the new Model 3, current 2024+ Model 3 owners are still left without stalks. However, a user suggested adding stalks as a retrofit option. Lars said that he would try to consider a retrofitted signal stalk for the Refreshed Model 3, similar to the simplified version in the Refreshed Model Y.
While less definitive than the lumbar support response, it appears that Tesla may at least consider offering a stalk retrofit for the new Model 3. If you’re a lover of signal stalks and can’t wait for Tesla to get an official one - we recommend the Enhauto S3XY Stalks, which are customizable and feel very close to Tesla’s original fit and finish.
With that said, it’s nice to see Tesla incorporating more community feedback into its vehicle design these days. Perhaps one day, they’ll address the infamous auto wipers. They have gotten better, but they’re still not as reliable as what’s available in most other vehicles. With that said, we look forward to the changes that will emerge from these recent conversations.
Sometimes, even with Tesla’s intensive bug-testing regime, bugs manage to make it out into the wild. In this particular case, a European user (@darkwaffle48484 on X) noticed that their 2024 Model 3 was using up more battery than normal while parked. Normally, they noted that the vehicle would lose about 1-2% per week; however, recently, they noticed much larger drops of 3-4% per night.
They monitored their Tesla widget and noticed the car wasn’t entering deep sleep. The widget consistently showed a recent connection time—usually within the past 45 minutes.
Fix Inbound
After discussing the issue with other Tesla owners and realizing it was somewhat widespread, they contacted Tesla Service. The service team confirmed that it was a firmware bug affecting the Telematics Control Unit (TCU), which prevented the vehicle from entering deep sleep mode.
The TCU is essentially the communications hub of your Tesla - and is mounted on the ceiling of newer vehicles such as the Model 3 and the new Model Y. It enables cellular and location services (via GPS) and also handles Wi-Fi and Bluetooth services. Tesla Service stated that this bug is planned to be fixed in update 2025.14.6, although the exact version number could change. However, they confirmed that they are aware of the issue and it is being addressed.
@darkwaffle48484
When the user reached out to Tesla Service, Tesla Service responded with the following (translated from Dutch):
“It has been confirmed that this is a firmware bug. The fix is in one of the next updates. Currently, it is planned for 2025.14.6 (subject to change). Do you have any more questions?”
Potentially Region-Specific
This bug could potentially be region-specific. TCUs often require specific hardware components, such as modems, as well as specific firmware versions that support different regions and cellular providers. These enable Tesla to comply with local cellular standards and regulations and ensure that your vehicle can connect to the networks available in that particular region.
At this point, it’s not clear when the fix will roll out, but given that update 2025.14.1 has practically stopped rolling out, Tesla may be waiting to resume the rollout with update 2025.14.3 or this 2025.14.6 version.
If you’ve noticed this issue and are in a non-European nation, let us know.
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