Today at midnight Tesla released update 2021.4.18.13, better known as version 9.1 of the FSD Beta. Tesla is releasing these like clockwork. Beta 9.1 comes on the heels of Beta 9, which was a major release that saw huge improvements. In 9.0 Tesla reworked how they determined object distance and started determining distance using cameras instead of relying on radar. Radar is extremely accurate, but it can’t be used in all situations, and Teslas only had a single radar sensor facing forward. As you can imagine, being able to accurately determine distances with vision is a huge leap forward.
This version has only been available for less than 12 hours, so first impressions are still light, but we’re seeing people report that 9.1 is more refined than 9.0 was and is even smoother when accelerating and decelerating.
Okay so after driving about 100 miles today doing deliveries, I'm very impressed with how good FSD Beta 9.1 is. It's more confident, and the acceleration and deceleration are smoother and more "defined", if that makes sense. Looking forward to using this even more. @elonmusk https://t.co/kd7DlFlgvV
— Nick, FSD Beta 9.1 (@nickwhoward) July 31, 2021
Early videos are already showing noticeable improvements. @teslaownersSV on Twitter shows how the car avoided a person on the road by crossing over the center yellow line then back again. It performed exactly like if there was a person behind the wheel.
#FSDBeta handles a person on the side of the road a bicyclists. Can’t wait for everyone to be driving this one day. It’s the future. @elonmusk https://t.co/fClXFqFxaN pic.twitter.com/2uJvguvMzi
— Tesla Owners of Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) July 31, 2021
It looks like Tesla plans to iterate as fast as possible and Elon alluded to on Twitter that we can expect a beta in about two weeks.
If we’re seeing improvements after just two weeks and we continue on this trend, I’m starting to feel very positive about the final product.
We leave you with one more video where James Locke shows off his first impressions of the new FSD Beta in his test loop.
