There was a crash in Florida recently where a Tesla hit a stopped Florida Highway Patrol vehicle that was stopped on the side of the road. The trooper was assisting the driver of a disabled vehicle. Fortunately, the trooper wasn't in their vehicle and was uninjured. The driver of the Tesla and the driver of the disabled vehicle had minor injuries.
There have been a series of episodes in which a Tesla on Autopilot has hit a stopped emergency vehicle, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened an investigation. We Tesla drivers, at least those of us who pay attention, already know the root cause of these accidents. And there are two solutions coming down the pipeline.
The basic problem is that plain old ordinary Autopilot doesn't seem to “see” parked vehicles. We see on our center screen what our cars seem to see, Go ahead out to your car. Drive to a street where there are painted lane lines and parked cars. Engage Autopilot and drive down the street. Your car will stay in its lane, but parked cars, for the most part, won't show up on your center screen. Go ahead and do that. I'll wait...
See, most of the parked cars didn't show on your center screen. Some did, but not all of them. Now imagine what would happen if you're on a limited-access highway. There's a disabled car, and a police car stops behind it. The police car parks with its light bar flashing, and it's sticking out into the travel lane a bit to notify drivers that they need to move over to the next lane. That's the procedure for protecting the disabled car and its driver. But your Tesla, on Autopilot, is firmly glued to the center of the travel lane. Since it doesn't see the parked police car, even with the light bar flashing, the right front fender of the Tesla hits the left rear fender of the police car. Computers don't do what you want them to do. They do what they're programmed to do.
And why does this accident happen? Because most drivers don't fly planes. What? How does flying have anything to do with this? If you're a pilot, you've been taught that engaging the autopilot in a plane doesn't absolve the human pilot of any responsibility. All it does is make the job of flying the plane less labor-intensive. The pilot knows that they still need to pay attention. That message doesn't seem to have reached all Tesla drivers even though Tesla tells them that they need to keep paying attention. If the driver had been paying attention, they'd have seen the flashing lights in plenty of time to shift over manually to the next lane.
Driver Monitoring
So, what are the two solutions in the pipeline? The first solution is that Tesla software update 2021.32.5 is going to activate the little camera inside the car above the rearview mirror. It will be watching the driver's eyes. If the driver starts looking somewhere else besides the road for more than a few seconds, the car will notify the driver. If the driver doesn't start paying attention after about thirty seconds, Autopilot disengages with a loud alarm and a big red steering wheel icon on the screen. And the driver had better be ready to take over. The camera-based driver monitoring system is rolling out to radar-equipped cars.
FSD Beta
The other item coming down the pipeline is the beta version of Full Self Driving. Of course, that's only available to people who have shelled out for FSD. But if you do have it, you can see from this video that FSD beta v 9.2 does see parked cars. It still doesn't see white concrete columns that hold the Seattle monorail up, so there are improvements yet to be made.
Tesla FSD V9.2 Review & Monorail Test
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Tesla recently introduced Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) payment options in the United States and Canada for items in the Tesla Shop, letting owners pay later for new vehicle accessories.
However, with Tesla app update 4.46, they’re expanding support to a much more critical area — Tesla Service. Qualifying owners in the U.S. and Canada will now be able to use Pay Later options for service performed by Tesla, which includes maintenance or repairs.
Services are provided by Affirm and Klarna, as per Mark Fonte, a Senior Software Engineer working on the Tesla app.
The new feature is seamlessly integrated into the existing service workflow within the Tesla app.
On the Service Estimate, before work on the vehicle begins, you will see a new message on the estimate screen: Pay over time - see if you qualify.
Tapping this link opens the payment calculator, which allows you to view potential payment structures and monthly costs. This provides a clear picture of what a payment plan would look like before you commit to servicing your vehicle.
Additionally, after service is complete and you are ready to pay, the final payment screen will present Affirm and Klarna (region-dependent) as selectable payment methods, alongside the usual options of Tesla Credit or your primary payment card.
Tapping Affirm or Klarna here will reopen the payment calculator, and a confirmation prompt will appear before selecting either BNPL option.
Service Now, Pay Later
Overall, the integration of BNPL providers for service is a thoughtful one for vehicle owners. The terms can vary widely, so it’s important to compare them to other payment options you may have access to. The additional financial flexibility, when faced with a large repair bill, allows more owners to get their vehicle professionally and properly serviced by Tesla.
For those getting larger work done, such as high-voltage battery pack replacements, this is an excellent option to spread payments over a longer period, helping reduce the burden of vehicle repair.
With the launch of Tesla’s Robotaxi Network, we didn't just get a peek into the future of transportation—we got a detailed look at the next version of FSD.
Videos from early access riders revealed some additional capabilities over current public FSD builds, showing off how it handles emergency vehicles and more.
Safety First for First Responders
One of the biggest changes in FSD’s capabilities is its improved handling of emergency vehicles. During a ride in Austin, Robotaxi is seen identifying an approaching ambulance using a combination of visual and audio data, activating its turn signal, and smoothly pulling over to the side of the road to let the ambulance by (video below).
This is a driving task that requires more than simple awareness of laws. It requires reasoning skills to determine where to move the vehicle to create a safe path, as well as the ability to quickly identify an ambulance or another emergency service vehicle with its sirens and lights activated. Understanding the context and executing a safe and predictable maneuver is crucial, as a wrong maneuver could actually make matters worse.
For FSD and Robotaxi to gain both public trust and regulatory approval, this skill is non-negotiable, and Tesla demonstrated its advancements right here. It’s not surprising Tesla added this ability before Robotaxis made it to public roads.
How does a fleet of Robotaxis keep its eyes clean without constant human intervention? Well, a clever new feature that Tesla has previously hinted at in their FSD release notes provides the answer. Robotaxi can now trigger a specific wiper and washer fluid sequence designed to clean the main front-facing cameras.
This might seem like a small detail, but it’s a brilliant solution to one of Tesla’s primary challenges - maintaining sensor clarity. While the vehicle could simply wipe the windshield multiple times, this is a clever solution to clean the most important area of the windshield as thoroughly as possible by focusing extra wiper fluid and wipes on that area.
Complex Maneuvers
Two areas where current builds of FSD V13.2.9 sometimes show hesitation are U-turns and navigating busy parking lots. The latest Robotaxi build appears to improve on both of these areas.
This first video shows a Robotaxi performing a flawless U-turn with no hesitation, and then smoothly switching lanes to take a turn.
Another video on X shows FSD’s updated confidence in navigating a complex parking lot for a precise drop-off. Today’s builds can sometimes struggle in parking lots, being slow and overly cautious when not needed, or too confident elsewhere. This appears to have been improved in these Robotaxi FSD builds with improved path planning and confidence.
Tesla Robotaxi service is just so smooth. Handles parking lots very well, noticeably better than the competitors pic.twitter.com/D5OxSrajCW
We’re also likely to see FSD begin to handle more complex destination options, including parking garages and driveways, which have been promised features for almost a year. The Robotaxi FSD build has also gained the ability to safely pull over on a road, similar to the ambulance example above, but it uses this capability to drop off and pick up passengers. This is a feature that was mentioned in FSD v13.2’s Upcoming Improvements section.
Better Nighttime Performance
Driving at night presents additional challenges, including headlight glare and reduced visibility. The latest version of FSD appears to handle it with almost the same grace as it does during the day. Remember that Tesla’s Robotaxis are available up until midnight. Early access riders mentioned that FSD is far smoother and is a step up from the behavior of current FSD builds.
Impressive nighttime performance from Tesla Robotaxi, dropping us off at In-N-Out as smoothly as it did during the day. pic.twitter.com/yQOhphtR0q
Now, what happens when a passenger feels unsafe or has a critical question? Tesla has placed two key buttons on the rear screen for just those purposes. Users are given control over the ability to Call Support, which almost instantly connects them with a real human agent at Tesla’s Robotaxi Operations Center via video call.
Here’s what happens when you hit the support button in Tesla’s Robotaxi’s.
While it isn’t a fundamental driving feature, it does mean that Tesla’s team can provide support to Robotaxi vehicles remotely, like issuing directive commands to have a vehicle proceed straight, rather than attempting to turn through a gated community.
The other option, Pull Over, allows a rider to immediately request the vehicle to safely pull over, which it will do when it can find a safe and open location. At this point, you can either continue your trip or get out of the Robotaxi.
Both options prompt you with an “Are You Sure?” button before letting you continue, which means you won’t have your Robotaxi ride come to an abrupt stop if you tap the ‘Pull Over’ button by accident.
What This Means for Tesla Owners
These features are likely to be included in future FSD builds. This is essentially the new benchmark by which to judge FSD, at least once it begins rolling out to customer vehicles.
Many of the core driving improvements, such as the more confident maneuvering and emergency vehicle response, will make their way to the wider fleet in upcoming FSD updates.
Remember - Robotaxi isn’t just a service, it is also a preview of Tesla’s driverless FSD builds.
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