Everything we know about the next FSD Beta, version 10.12

By Nuno Cristovao
Tesla's FSD Beta 10.12 may be released this week
Tesla's FSD Beta 10.12 may be released this week
Chazman/Twitter

According to Elon Tesla may release FSD Beta 10.12 with several key improvements this week.

The last major beta, version 10.11 started going out in early March, but most testers didn't receive it until v10.11.2, which was released in April.

We hope this beta will go out a little quicker than the previous one, but it's certainly shaping up to be an exciting release.

Updated Vehicle Models

FSD Beta 10.12 will contain new, more detailed vehicle models, at least for its sedan model, but it may include updated models for all the various vehicle types.

The current sedan visualization is fairly abstract. It doesn't have wheels or many details. The visualization is modeled after Tesla's key fob for the Model S.

FSD Beta can recognize far more things than it can display on the screen. However, the visualizations are an important way of how the vehicle communicates with us on what it sees and understands. So with Beta 10.12 Tesla is including a more detailed sedan model that has wheels and doors.

Although FSD Beta has been able to detect open doors for a while now, the model will now visually show us if any nearby cars have open doors by highlighting the door in yellow.

Improvements to Unprotected Left Turns

Unprotected left turns have been a key focus over several betas and we're apparently going to see further improvements in 10.12.

Crossing over multiple lanes when turning left can be intimidating, even for some human drivers. Tesla has been making continuous improvements to make unprotected left turns more efficient and human-like.

For example, the car will now sometimes start inching slowly, anticipating the last vehicle to pass so that it can complete the turn promptly and be out of the way of any further traffic.

According to Elon, FSD Beta 10.12 will specifically improve "tricky" unprotected left turns.

Chuck Cook on YouTube does a fantastic job covering some of these left turns. Below you can see how the latest FSD Beta does taking a left turn onto a primary street with a divider.

Heavy Traffic

In Beta 10.12, we're also expecting to see improvements in heavy traffic. I haven't seen too many issues with the beta in traffic, except that sometimes the car has a tough time differentiating between a parked vehicle and a vehicle that's just waiting.

I've encountered situations where the beta tries to go around a car that is stopped due to a traffic light or traffic and the beta waits for just a few seconds before trying to go around the vehicle.

Hopefully, this is one of the areas that Elon is talking about when he refers to improvements in heavy traffic.

Single Stack

Elon also mentions that Tesla is making good progress on single stack. Single stack refers to a single set of technologies that will be used for both highway and street driving.

FSD beta is great, but once you get on the highway, you're right back in the old production version.

FSD Beta is far from perfect, but driving on city streets is a completed task and the beta actually does quite well trying to figure things out.

When we start looking at Autopilot on the highway and some of the issues it still has, like bouncing between lane markings or a sudden attempt to center itself in a lane that has become wider, those issues are practically non-existent in city driving.

So while single stack won't be included in beta 10.12, it's good to know that Tesla continues to make progress.

When Tesla is finally able to complete their single stack software we should see huge improvements in highway Autopilot use.

Release Date

The last FSD beta started going out more than a month ago, so a lot of users are definitely itching for an update. Elon said earlier this week that beta 10.12 is "probably" going to wide release this week.

The beta could be in QA testing now, but it unlikely that it has been passed on to employees yet as release notes usually get leaked when that happens.

Hopefully, some of us will be greeted by that sweet notification this weekend, prompting us to install the latest beta.

Update: Elon tweeted today, Friday, May 6th that there have been "many upgrades to core code, so taking longer to debug issues. Probably Wed/Thurs release." So it looks like we're still a week out from a public release of beta 10.12.

Based On New Build

Lately, FSD betas have been a little behind the times. The latest beta is 2022.4.5.21, which is roughly two major versions behind. That means that FSD Beta testers still don't have seat heaters in the launcher, Dog Mode in the Tesla app, browser improvements, vehicle preconditioning improvements and more.

Most non-FSD Teslas are now on a 2022.12 release and 2022.16 is expected shortly.

While it's unlikely that the beta 10.12 will be based on a brand new upcoming build like 2022.16, it's almost certainly going to be based on 2022.12, which will please a lot of testers.

It appears that Tesla is as cautious as ever with beta releases. Lately, it has taken several revisions of a beta before Tesla releases it to everyone.

Tesla says they're now at 100k beta testers in the US and Canada, so they're right to be cautious, but it's not easy waiting.

Tesla Denied “Robotaxi” Trademark for Autonomous Vehicles

By Karan Singh
Not a Tesla App

Tesla’s plan to brand its autonomous network of taxicabs has found an interesting little snag. The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a “nonfinal office action” regarding Tesla’s application to trademark the term “Robotaxi” specifically in connection with autonomous electric vehicles.

This is an initial refusal by USPTO’s examining attorney and is very particular for autonomous electric automobiles. A separate trademark application by Tesla for the term “Robotaxi” as it relates to its upcoming autonomous ride-hailing service is still under examination and has not yet received a similar rebuttal.

Understanding the Refusal

A “nonfinal office action” means the USPTO has found potential issues with the trademark application, as stated, which prevents its immediate approval and subsequent granting to Tesla. Tesla now has a three-month period to file its counterarguments and address the USPTO's concerns. 

If Tesla’s response satisfies the examiner, the trademark could be granted.

While the exact content of the office action isn’t detailed in the initial report, such refusals for terms like “Robotaxi” often occur if the USPTO considers the term “merely descriptive” or “generic” for the goods in question. In this particular context, “Robotaxi” could refer to any autonomous taxi vehicle. 

Trademark law generally prevents the exclusive registration of terms that competitors would need to use to describe their own similar products. For a term to be trademarked, it typically needs to be distinctive and act as a brand identifier rather than just a descriptive name of the product’s class or type.

Separate Application for Ride-Hailing

Tesla still has a distinct, separate, and still pending application to register “Robotaxi” as a trademark for “transportation services, namely, autonomous ride-hailing services.” The criteria for trademarking a service can differ from those on trademarks for goods, and it’s possible Tesla may have more success securing the name for the service itself, which would allow them to brand the network as “Tesla Robotaxi.”

Why This Matters

Securing a trademark grants exclusive rights to use a brand name in conjunction with specific goods or services. This helps prevent customer confusion and to protect the brand identity.

If the refusal for the vehicle trademark becomes final, Tesla may be limited in its ability to exclusively name a good (specific vehicle) the “Tesla Robotaxi.” Other manufacturers could also potentially use “robotaxi” descriptively for their own autonomous taxi vehicles.

The ability to trademark “Robotaxi” for the ride-hailing service is arguably more critical for Tesla, as they’re working to establish a unique brand for their autonomous transportation network, which kicks off in Austin next month.

The USPTO’s office action won’t hinder Tesla’s ability to develop or deploy its own vehicles in June - instead, it’ll just impact how Tesla can brand the app and their vehicles, which could cause some last-minute delays if they have to rebrand.

Cybercab and Robovan/Robobus Trademarks

While Tesla is facing challenges with the broader Robotaxi term for vehicles, the company is also seeking to trademark “Cybercab,” “Robovan,” and “Robobus.” Securing a less descriptive name for the vehicle itself often has a higher chance of success with USPTO, as it is far more distinctive than a more general term like “robotaxi.”

Why Didn’t Tesla Do This Years Ago?

Tesla may have waited too long to file a trademark for the term “Robotaxi.” While the company has been discussing a self-driving fleet since 2016, the concept of autonomous taxis has gained a lot more traction in recent years — and competitors like Uber have also begun using the term.

We suspect there was some strategic timing behind these filings. Earlier versions of FSD — particularly those prior to V12 — may have lacked the progress needed to support Tesla’s robotaxi ambitions. Filing for a trademark that isn’t actively in use or about to be used can make it harder to defend or retain.

Moreover, while the idea of autonomous vehicles has been around for years, a clearer public understanding of Tesla’s specific plans has only emerged over the past 18 months. Filing too early can trigger speculation long before the company is ready to reveal details.

Ultimately, whether Tesla secures the rights to “Robotaxi” remains uncertain — but trademarks like “Cybercab” and “Robovan” seem much more likely to stick.

Tesla Launches AI Agent to Improve Tesla Service Communications

By Karan Singh
Not a Tesla App

One of Tesla’s greatest weaknesses, as it has quickly become one of the world’s most ubiquitous cars on the planet has always been service. Escalating issues to managers and sometimes even reaching a Tesla Service employee can be a total coin flip, depending on your Service Center.

Tesla is continuing its push to integrate AI across its customer support channels in an effort to improve customer service. According to Raj Jegannathan, Tesla’s VP for IT, AI Infrastructure, Apps, Infosecurity, and Vehicle Service Operations (that’s a lot), Tesla is launching a pilot program for a new AI designed to improve customer interactions with Service.

This new initiative follows other recent AI deployments across Tesla’s customer-facing channels, including the personalized AI assistant within the Tesla App, the ability to ask questions to AI on Tesla’s website, and the biggest one, the new voice-based AI customer representative introduced for Tesla Insurance.

Proactive AI Support

At 10 pilot service locations, this new AI agent will begin working behind the scenes at Tesla Service, to help with customer communications. It will provide three key features:

Detect Communications Delays: The AI will actively monitor service interactions to identify potential delays in communication or progress. These are often a key pain point for customers who reach out to Tesla Service and don’t receive a response for several days, as Service has nothing new to add. The AI can now step in and let the customer know Tesla is still waiting on parts or something else.

Monitor Customer Sentiment: By monitoring the tone and content of the messages between the customer and Service agents, Tesla will be able to identify situations where a customer might be dissatisfied or facing difficulties.

Auto-Escalate: If either a communications delay or negative sentiment is detected, the AI can automatically escalate issues to human managers for review. This helps to address problems before customers need to seek escalation themselves or become upset about an issue.

Customer Escalation Requests

Alongside the new AI tool, Tesla is also introducing a more direct way for customers to get higher-level attention. According to Tesla, within the next two weeks, customers can simply type “Escalate” in order to have their issue routed directly to management.

Raj’s team is currently working on implementing guardrails to prevent abuse, but this will soon make its way to improving Tesla’s service offerings. We’re glad to see Tesla taking steps to identify and correct deficiencies in the process - it has always been a sore tooth for Tesla in the last few years.

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