Tesla spent a good part of AI Day talking about their big improvements in vision and AI where they’ve been making amazing progress as shown with some of the latest FSD Betas. They also talked about Dojo, their new supercomputer used for AI which will become operational next year. They even announced a humanoid robot, Tesla Bot.
However, one thing that wasn’t part of the official event, but we were able to find out more in the questions and answers portion of the event is Tesla’s FSD hardware 4.0 computer.
Tesla released FSD hardware 2.5 in 2017 and hardware version 3.0 was introduced in 2019. So we’ve been expecting an updated version of the FSD computer for a little while now.
All of Tesla’s vehicles today include Tesla’s hardware 3.0 computer, including the newly designed Model S. Normally, you’d see companies shy away from talking about new hardware that wasn’t part of the event, but Tesla had no problem answering questions about a possible new FSD computer.
When asked if there was a new FSD computer on the horizon, Elon Musk said that he expects the current hardware to be capable of autonomous driving safer than a human, but of course Tesla wants to continue expanding and improving so they’re always developing more powerful computers.
Elon guessed that we may see hardware 4.0 next year with the introduction of the Cybertruck. He hinted at hardware 4.0 providing about 4x the compute power of hardware 3.0. For those of you with Cybertruck reservations, this makes that vehicle even more exciting.
In another question related to new hardware, Elon also said that Tesla is looking into new cameras. He was clear that the current cameras aren’t a hindrance, but if they can think they can do better, then they would. He didn’t go into details whether this would be tied to the Cybertruck or hardware 4.0, but it seems likely. He also didn’t mention specifically whether they would be higher resolution, larger sensors, or possibly even better placement on the vehicle.
It’s been shown before that although the current camera placement on Teslas today allow for human-like capabilities and provide a similar view as a human being in the driver seat, it could be further improved by having cameras placed near the headlights looking off to the side.
Although it could be disappointing for some to see new hardware announced so soon after they bought a hardware 3 equipped vehicle, Tesla needs to continue advancing and new hardware may not necessarily provide new capabilities, but introduce a higher level of safety.
Tesla has changed how they advertise and sell Full Self-Driving on their website. Although the text changes are small, this change could have greater implications in the future.
Previously, customers were offered the option to purchase “Full Self-Driving Capability,” with text saying that FSD will “continuously improve”. This specific text is no longer offered, and instead, customers can now only purchase “Full Self Driving (Supervised),” which no longer mentions continuous improvement.
You can view the old text on the Web Archive page (photo below) for the Model Y. This change comes right before the upcoming Robotaxi event, so we’re not quite sure what to make of it. Let’s look at what else has changed on Tesla’s website on FSD before we dive into the wording changes.
This news comes hot on the heels that Tesla recently pulled its blog pages for Elon Musk’s Masterplan Part II, which mentioned that all future Tesla vehicles would be Robotaxi capable. However, this has since turned out to be part of regular website trimming and maintenance. However, this FSD change is more intentional.
The previous FSD option you could buy from Tesla (left), and the new one (right)
Not a Tesla App
Definition Changes
These text changes are pretty broad, but that’s not all. There are a few other items that changed, including the removal of the following text:
The activation and use of these features are dependent on achieving reliability far in excess of human drivers as demonstrated by billions of miles of experience, as well as regulatory approval, which may take longer in some jurisdictions. As these self-driving features evolve, your car will be continuously upgraded through over-the-air software updates.
This has now been changed to say:
The activation and use of these features are dependent on development and regulatory approval, which may take longer in some jurisdictions.
That’s a pretty big difference overall, so let’s dig in.
Can Only Buy FSD (Supervised)
Tesla is now only offering the purchase of “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)”, instead of “Full Self-Driving Capability." This has a bit of an implication for the many people who have paid for FSD in the past, expecting their vehicles to become fully autonomous, without supervision being required. With the specific terms on Tesla’s website today, that promise doesn’t seem to be in place for future sales of Full Self-Driving.
Instead, future customers should expect that they may only receive Full Self-Driving (Supervised), which will always require some form of supervision. Tesla no longer states full autonomy on this page, but on the other hand, the Autopilot/FSD Support Page still contains the text for full autonomy.
This seems to be a legal wording change to prevent Tesla from making promises it may not be able to fulfill. On the other hand, Tesla has recently had a fantastic spate of updates this year, with the huge upgrade from FSD V11 to FSD V12. However, they’ve more recently had more trouble with moving on from FSD V12.3.6, which is what most vehicles are still on today. Tesla initially pushed FSD V12.4 and its subversions to early access testers but quickly halted that push. They moved on to FSD V12.5, and V12.5.3 with Actually Smart Summon will begin going out wide sometime next week, to both Hardware 3 and AI4 vehicles.
What Does This Mean for Customers?
For future customers, this likely means that Tesla is intending on only offering Full Self Driving (Supervised), rather than Full Self Driving. This could mean that Tesla will launch a new package for Full Self Driving (Unsupervised) for commercial entities or that it could only be available for Robotaxi vehicles.
For older customers – those who have purchased “Full Self-Driving Capability”, as the feature was previously called, we’re not quite sure whether Tesla will include you in this new ‘Supervised’ description, or if you’ll be offered Full Self-Driving (Unsupervised) when that ultimately becomes available. As for subscribers, Tesla can change their offerings at any point since you’re only paying for what’s available for that month.
Today, we’re not quite sure what to make of this change, especially since that same change hasn’t been reciprocated elsewhere on Tesla’s website. The changes could be anywhere from a protective legal change, to Tesla offering a new FSD (Unsupervised) package in the future, or fully autonomous FSD being something that Tesla will not commit a date or price to.
In Tesla’s upcoming update, 2024.32.3, Tesla has added hands-free support for opening the vehicle’s frunk. This follows the Spring Update (2024.14), which added Hands-Free Trunk support for certain vehicles.
When hands-free trunk support was added earlier this year, it was supported on vehicles that include an ultra wideband chip, which includes the refresh Model S, new Model X, and the 2024 Model 3. Due to the hardware requirement, these will be the same vehicles that support the new Hands-Free Frunk feature. Legacy vehicles without UWB will unfortunately not support either feature due to the hardware requirement. UWB enables far more accurate tracking of the phone key, allowing Tesla to pinpoint its exact location relative to the vehicle.
The Cybertruck interestingly also includes an ultra wideband chip, however, it didn’t include the automatic opening of the gate earlier this year. However, we expect the Cybertruck to also receive the hands-free frunk opening in this 2024.32.3 update or relatively soon afterward.
Update: The Cybertruck is receiving hands-free frunk support in the 2024.32 update as well.
Hands-Free Frunk
The Hands-Free Frunk works similarly to the trunk feature – with an iPhone 11+ and a recent version of the app, you’ll be able to stand in front of your vehicle, and the Frunk will unlatch after sounding a chime. On some vehicles, the frunk will immediately open after being unlatched, however, you’ll need to manually close it.
This new feature isn’t enabled by default – you’ll need to go to Settings > Locks > Hands-Free Frunk to enable it.
At this time, Tesla doesn’t support UWB on Android devices, though both the Hands-Free Trunk and Hands-Free Frunk support will come to Android users in a future app update, according to Tesla.
Exclude Home
With the addition of the hands-free frunk opening, Tesla has also added a new option. You can now choose to disable the automatic opening when your vehicle is located at home to prevent you from accidentally opening. This will apply to the automatic frunk and trunk. In addition, in the Model X, you’ll also be able to disable the self-presenting doors at home. This is a great addition as many people have kept the hands-free feature disabled due to it awkwardly opening in the garage.
In the 2024.32.3 update, Tesla also mentions that they’ve improved the detection of the phone key, which should make the feature more reliable and faster when approaching the vehicle from the front or rear.
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