The latest iteration of Tesla's FSD Beta, version 10.3 has now been released. The update which was originally scheduled for Friday night went out early this morning.
Tesla releases FSD Beta 10.3
All Electric/YouTube
Existing beta testers received the update as well as users of Tesla's Safety Score who had a rating of 99 or higher.
We were wondering whether Tesla would release the beta to all drivers who have achieved a Safety Score of 99 in one swope, as that group is quite a bit larger than those who previously achieved a perfect score.
This release looks to be fairly widespread, much more so than previous betas. It's not clear yet whether everyone with a score 99 has received this beta, this is definitely the largest expansion of beta testers thus far.
Tesla has shared technical release notes for Beta 10.3, which comes in with update 2021.36.5.2. The release notes include detailed improvements in this beta, such as the ability to detect turn signals and hazards in addition to brake lights.
These are Tesla's technical release notes for this beta release:
Added FSD Profiles that allow drivers to control behaviors like rolling stops, exiting passing lanes, speed-based lane changes, following distance and yellow light headway.
Added planning capability to drive along oncoming lanes to maneuver around path blockage.
Improved creeping speed by linking speed to visibility network estimation and distance to encroachment point of crossing lanes.
Improved crossing object velocity estimation by 20% and yaw estimation by 25% by upreving surround video vehicle network with more data. Also increased system frame rate by +1.7 frames per second.
Improved vehicle semantic detections (e.g. brake lights, turn indicators, hazards) by adding +25k video clips to the training data set.
Improved static obstacle control by upreving the generalized static object network with 6k more video clips (+5.6% precision, +2.5% recall)
Allowed more acceleration when merging from on-ramps onto major roads and when lane changing from slow to fast lanes.
Reduced false slowdowns and improved offsetting for pedestrians by improving the model of interaction between pedestrians and the static world.
Improved turning profile for unprotected turns by allowing ego to cross over lane lines more naturally, when safe to do so.
Improved speed profile for boosting onto high speed roads by enforcing stricter longitudinal and lateral acceleration limits required to beat the crossing object.
There have also been improvements in many areas, such as creeping, going around road blockages, detection of static objects on the road such as construction barriers, "phantom" braking and improved acceleration in key areas such as merging onto major roads.
One of the biggest additions in this release is a new option called FSD Profiles, that lets you choose the driving style when in Autopilot.
The three styles to pick from are Chill, Average and Assertive. Each profile will determine how your vehicle drives and interacts in certain road scenarios.
Some users who received the FSD Beta hits morning were initially able to use FSD, but are now facing an issue where Autopilot will no longer engage. It's unlikely that Tesla is limiting the use of the FSD Beta, but hopefuly Tesla can fix the issue without needing to roll out another update.
The next FSD Beta release may be v11, where we may finally see combined highway and city driving Autopilot stacks. If Tesla decides to release this in v11, it will be our first look at Tesla applying everything they've learned in city FSD to the highway. It may offer some short-term setbacks but overall should be a drastic improvement in how the car handles sharp highway curves and off and on ramps.
No timeline has yet been given for v11, but Tesla has been consistently releasing updated FSD Betas in 2-3 week increments.
The next iteration of FSD may also see an even wider release than we're seeing with 10.3, as it may open up to Safety Score users who have a score of 98 or higher.
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.
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.
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.
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 10th 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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