Tesla FSD Beta 10.9 coming later this week [rolling out now]

January 17, 2022

By Nuno Cristovao

Tesla's latest FSD Beta, version 10.9 went out to employees this weekend.

Tesla's FSD Beta

DirtyTesla/YouTube

Tesla has recently released betas employees once it has been validated by their QA team. Tesla lets employees perform a final test before the beta is released publicly to external testers.

The turnaround time from employee testing to external testers is typically about a day unless issues are uncovered.

Just a couple of hours ago, Elon said that beta 10.9 is going out to testers later this week, which suggests that Tesla may want to fix some issues before releasing the beta any further.

10.9 going out later this week
-Elon Musk

FSD Beta 10.9 currently has a version number of 2021.44.30.10, but this may change with the public release if there are any changes made.

The FSD release notes for this beta are already available, and it looks like Tesla is making improvements across the board. They include better intersection modeling, faster image interpretation by using raw data, smoother acceleration, and more.

The release notes for the employee beta are below and they're likely to remain the same for the public release.

- Improved intersection extents and right of way assignment by updating modeling of intersection areas from dense rasters ("bag of points") to sparse instances. Increased intersection region IOU by 4.2%. The sparse intersection network is the first model deployed with an auto-regressive architecture that runs natively with low latency on the TRIP AI accelerator chip, through innovations in the AI compiler stack.

- Upgraded generalized static object network to use 10-bit photon count streams rather than 8-bit ISP tonemapped images by adding 10-bit inference support in the Al compiler stack. Improved overall recall by 3.9% and precision by 1.7%.

- Made unprotected left turns across oncoming lanes more natural by proceeding straight into intersection while yielding, before initiating the turn.

- Improved lane preference and topology estimation by 1.2% with a network update and a new format for navigation clues.

- Improved short deadline lane changes with better modelling of necessary deceleration for maneuvers beyond the lane change.

- Improved future paths for objects not confined to lane geometry by better modelling of their kinematics.

- Made launches from stop more calm when there is an imminent slowdown nearby.

- Improved gap selection when yielding to a stream of oncoming cars on narrow roads.

Explanation of Release Notes

This video by 'Dr. Know-it-all Knows it all', does a great job at explaining each part of the FSD release notes.

We'll continue to keep an eye on software releases and see if Tesla releases a modified version of FSD Beta 10.9 to employees.

Update: FSD Beta 10.9 has now started to roll out for some users. Follow the release on our software page.

Tesla Increases Price of Model S; Starts Offering Free Lifetime Supercharging

December 14, 2024

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

For the first time in quite a while, Tesla has increased the price of one of its vehicle offerings. The Model S Long Range and the Model S Plaid have both received a hefty price increase. However, not all is bad - as Tesla also added a new benefit for buyers.

Price Increase

The price increase for the Model S is $5,000 - currently only in the United States. This price increase will likely impact other markets, including Canada, in the coming days.

The Model S Long Range now starts at $79,990, while the Model S Plaid now starts at $94,990. The Model S and Model X now have the same starting price. Interestingly, that’s also the same pricing point for the Cybertruck AWD and Cyberbeast Trimotor non-Foundation Series.

The vehicle configuration does not appear to have changed, so the new pricing is simply an increase rather than the addition or removal of features. Tesla previously cut the price of the Model S and Model X by 15% in 2023, so this could simply be an adjustment to ensure that the vehicle pricing stays in line with inflation and other factors.

Free Lifetime Supercharging

For those on the fence about ordering a Model S, Tesla has brought back Free Lifetime Supercharging when you order a new Model S on or after December 13, 2024. As always, Free Lifetime Supercharging is restricted to the buyer’s Tesla account and to that specific vehicle. It cannot be transferred to another vehicle or another owner after ownership transfer. It’s worth noting, that it also doesn’t exclude the owner from receiving Supercharger idle fees or congestion fees. There is currently no end date for this promotion.

There are currently no changes to the Model X, neither a price increase nor the addition of Lifetime Superchargering. However, when Tesla makes changes to one of their premium vehicles, it usually affects the other one as well. So be on the lookout for potential changes to the Model X offering in the coming days.

We’ve seen Tesla value Lifetime Supercharging at $5,000, so this falls in line with the price increase we’re seeing. It’s possible that Tesla will begin to bring back Lifetime Supercharging as a perk for buying into their more premium Model S and Model X cars, or this could be another temporary promotion to get buyers who are on the fence to go ahead and make their purchase while this promotion lasts.

Tesla’s Optimus Robot Learns to Walk Without Vision [VIDEO]

December 13, 2024

By Karan Singh

Optimus Falls - but catches itself!

Not a Tesla App

Tesla recently showed off a demo of Optimus, its humanoid robot, walking around in moderately challenging terrain—not on a flat surface but on dirt and slopes. These things can be difficult for a humanoid robot, especially during the training cycle.

Daily walks help clear your mind pic.twitter.com/dUsW58trS6
— Tesla Optimus (@Tesla_Optimus) December 9, 2024

A Look Behind the Curtain

Most interestingly, Milan Kovac, VP of Engineering for Optimus, clarified what it takes to get Optimus to this stage. Let’s break down what he said.

Optimus is Blind

Optimus is getting seriously good at walking now - it can keep its balance over uneven ground - even while walking blind. Tesla is currently using just the sensors, all powered by a neural net running on the embedded computer.

Essentially, Tesla is building Optimus from the ground up, relying on as much additional data as possible while it trains vision. This is similar to how they train FSD on vehicles, using LiDAR rigs to validate the vision system’s accuracy. While Optimus doesn’t have LiDAR, it relies on all those other sensors on board, many of which will likely become simplified as vision takes over as the primary sensor.

Today, Optimus is walking blind, but it’s able to react almost instantly to changes in the terrain underneath it, even if it falls or slips.

What’s Next?

Next up, Tesla AI will be adding vision to Optimus - helping complete the neural net. Remember, Optimus runs on the same overall AI stack as FSD - in fact, Optimus uses an FSD computer and an offshoot of the FSD stack for vision-based tasks.

Milan mentions they’re planning on adding vision to help the robot plan ahead and improve its walking gait. While the zombie shuffle is iconic and a little bit amusing, getting humanoid robots to walk like humans is actually difficult.

There’s plenty more, too - including better responsiveness to velocity and direction commands and learning to fall and stand back up. Falling while protecting yourself to minimize damage is something natural to humans - but not exactly natural to something like a robot. Training it to do so is essential in keeping the robot, the environment around it, and the people it is interacting with safe.

We’re excited to see what’s coming with Optimus next because it is already getting started in some fashion in Tesla’s factories.