Tesla FSD Beta v10: First impressions and improvements

Early this morning Tesla released v10 of their FSD Beta as expected. The beta is version 2021.24.15. This release of the Beta is said to include a completely retrained Neural Net, although the release notes for the update are the same as version 9.2 of the FSD Beta. Elon seems very pleased with this specific version, calling it 'next-level' on Twitter.

Lucky participants were able to download the beta this morning and try it out. So far early impressions are that v10 is a noticeable improvement over the previous version. It is now able to navigate areas it just wasn't able to before. Tesla has been making impressive improvements with each FSD Beta release. Lets not forget this beta comes just shy of four weeks after the previous beta.

In this update, the car is more confident in taking left turns at intersections that don't have traffic signals. It accelerates more briskly and generally drives more like a human driver.

Version 10 was able to navigate the famous Lombard Street in San Francisco for the first time without any human intervention. Check out how it performed below:

FSD on Lombard Street

UI Improvements

Elon mentioned that there would also be some UI improvements in this beta. We're now seeing clearer lane markings. When the car approaches an intersection, the visualization will now zoom out slightly to give you a better view of the entire intersection and surrounding cars.

Roundabout also very smooth on new #FSDBeta pic.twitter.com/bHctiBcG0F

— Tesla Raj (@tesla_raj) September 11, 2021

For Model S and X owners, the visualizations on the instrument cluster now also take up the entire screen. Any additional information you add to the IC, like an analog clock, will now be placed on top of the visualizations.

Future Improvements

Elon said this morning that this beta uses all the new vision processing and neural net improvement only for city streets. Highway driving still relies on the current production Navigate on Autopilot codebase. Elon went on to say that Tesla will merge highway and city driving into a single stack that should be included in version 10.1 of the FSD Beta. Over time we should see big improvements in the way Autopilot navigates highways as well.

Version 10 doesn't drive entirely like a human being yet. There was a time when it didn't take the right-of-way when it should have done so. There was a time when it didn't move far enough to the left to pass a pedestrian adult and child in the road with sufficient distance. And it didn't automatically reroute itself when it came to a place where the road was closed.

So v10 is not the ultimate solution for full self driving, but it's getting there. And maybe it's good enough for Elon to give us the "BUTTON" in a few weeks.

Highway stack is still production version, as it is more polished than FSD for now. Single stack for all should release in 10.1.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 11, 2021

This version of the FSD Beta saw an increase in the number of testers. We don't know how many, but there were additional Tesla owners invited to test out this version of the FSD Beta. This must mean that Tesla is feeling more confident and wants to slowly start increasing the numbers of testers.

Elon talked about how Tesla plans to gradually roll out the FSD Beta to the public starting with the 10.1 FSD Beta.

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Tesla Is Now Offering Cybertruck Test Drives [List of Locations]

@brandonhd

Tesla has begun to reach out to customers in the United States and is offering demo drives of the Cybertruck on an invite-only basis. @brandonhd on X shared the first invite image, and it looks like it's going out quite quickly to multiple locations that have Cybertrucks on display.

Up until now, display vehicles have been for just that – looking, but no touching. Some Tesla delivery centers and showrooms have also allowed viewers to take a seat inside and open it up, but most are still locked away behind the velvet rope.

It’s exciting to see that Tesla has begun to demo them – and it can only be so long until demo drives open up to everyone.

Advisor-led Demo

This Demo Drive is led by a Tesla Advisor – while you’re driving, the advisor will be in the passenger seat, walking you through the experience. They’ll explain steer-by-wire, off-road controls, and will introduce new-to-Tesla buyers to all the features that are currently available.

Once FSD V12.5 comes to the Cybertruck, we’re sure they’ll be demoing its capabilities FSD capabilities as well.

Locations

The list of locations so far for demo drives appears to be fairly limited, but we will hopefully see demo drives roll out throughout the United States, and eventually Canada too. Here is the current list of city/state locations that have seen demo drive invites.

• Manhasset, New York

• West Covina, California

• Los Angeles, California

• Houston, Texas

• Orlando, Florida

• Westmont, Illinois

• Tucson, Arizona

• Phoenix, Arizona

• Delaware

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Musk Confirms 'Actually Smart Summon' is Coming in a Revision of FSD V12.5

Not a Tesla App

Actually Smart Summon, the successor to Tesla’s Smart Summon feature, has been confirmed to be coming as soon as next month as per Elon Musk. Colloquially known as “ASS”, Actually Smart Summon is supposed to improve on the regular Smart Summon capabilities, which have historically used ultrasonic sensors (USS) to navigate parking lots.

We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon, and we’re quite excited about what other features will be unlocked once it finally shows up at our doorstep.

Vision-based Improvements

ASS is supposed to bring Smart Summon to vehicles that don’t have USS – using Tesla Vision. Most recently, Tesla has brought Autopark to vehicles without USS, and Vision-based Autopark has been a huge success. It is faster, more reliable, and smoother than the older USS-based solution. It can also park and maneuver in tighter locations.

Just recently, Tesla returned the Model X’s self-presenting doors, using Tesla Vision. Vision has seen some fantastic improvements, and many people are waiting for ASS to bring forth these improvements to Smart Summon.

Smart Summon Today

Today, Smart Summon is sometimes useful at best, usually a party trick, or downright dangerous at worst. It’s excellent and best used in straight lines, where you have a clear line of sight of the vehicle, and can stop it if doesn’t see an obstacle.

I used Smart Summon today, just before writing this article – my 2022 Model Y (with USS) – did manage to show up just fine – in a straight-line location from where I was parked, after exiting the parking spot fairly cleanly. However, I’ve previously used Smart Summon and have had the vehicle turn towards obstacles, such as cart returns or curbs. Overall, it’s a sometimes-useful feature that has a lot of drawbacks right now.

Smart Summon is also restricted to a certain distance – and it's pretty small. The max distance is shorter than most parking lots, being only about 215 ft (65m). If you’re lucky enough to park close, it's very useful to bring your car right to you.

Actually Smart Summon

ASS will bring FSD V12-like capabilities to Smart Summon – the vehicle will primarily use Vision to drive toward you (or the location you’ve indicated). ASS has been supposed to be coming since about September 2022 and has seen many delays – we’re almost at the 2-year point today.

We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon being able to bring the vehicle – safely – right to you. ASS is also one of the key steps towards bringing some other cool features that Elon Musk has previously mentioned – Park Seek and Banish Autopark.

We’re also hopeful that Actually Smart Summon will increase the maximum range a vehicle can be summoned, because the current range is fairly small. Alongside Park Seek and Banish Autopark, we’re closing in on a Robotaxi-based future.

Park Seek and Banish Autopark

When the FSD v12.4 showed up, Elon also mentioned that going forward, vehicles would automatically park themselves when arriving in a parking lot – Park Seek – and that if you got out of the car at the entrance to a business, you could get it to automatically park itself in the parking lot – Banish Autopark. These are two features that are needed for Robotaxi to work – which itself is delayed to October 10^th of this year. We’re looking quite forward to them – as in combination with Actually Smart Summon, Tesla has reached the cusp of vehicle autonomy.

A vehicle that arrives, driverless, at the location you’re at, then drives somewhere, parks itself there, and waits for you – is the definition of a Robotaxi.

While we’re likely to have to wait for Banish Autopark and Park Seek just a bit longer, Actually Smart Summon being around the corner is exciting! Gone will be the days of having to run out to your car when you forgot your umbrella – your car will just come right to you instead.

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