Elon Musk says the latest FSD Beta, version 10.69.2 will become available today
Chazman/Twitter
Elon Musk has already promised additional improvements to Tesla's Full Self Driving Beta shortly after AI Day on September 30. We are now getting a few details about what 10.69.3 will include.
The FSD Beta group grew by 60 percent in the United States and Canada when Tesla decreased the Safety Score requirement from 90 to 80. There are now about 160,000 Tesla owners in the program. That jump means more enthusiasts are giving FSD feedback on Musk's favorite platform — Twitter.
Chuck Cook, the man behind the infamous Chuck's corner, also known as the unprotected left turn, took the latest FSD for a spin to his most tested spot. His YouTube videos are fantastic, especially the unprotected left turn videos that show several camera angles of his Tesla navigating this tricky spot. He posted a video on Twitter showing 10.69.2.2 successfully piloting through the area causing Cook to clap and cheer, "wow, yes!"
Improvements in Smaller Gaps
Not surprisingly, Musk saw the video. He pointed out Cook at the recent shareholders meeting and said he welcomed the fair and honest criticism of the turn and said it would be addressed. The CEO responded to the video: "Car will move on tighter gaps as we enhance NN (neural networks) velocity predictions for crossing traffic. 10.69.3 next month has some step-change improvements." NN stands for neural networks, and this response shows that despite Cook's approval, Musk is confident the system can and will do better.
Turn Signals Improvements
Twitter user @Johnkrausephotos tweeted: "Loving FSD Beta — but — could the vehicle initiate the turn signal before switching into the turn lane? It uses the signal for speed-based lane changes but not for merging into a turn lane." The tweet caused a lot of reaction as some users were critical of the company programming its cars to change lanes before signaling. Musk must've been on the same page because he responded with a simple "Yes" and no further explanation.
Match Speed to Traffic
Tesla Owners of Silicon Valley took to Twitter to ask: "Elon when will the tesla speed up when noticing traffic is going faster? Sometimes it's going slow." Again, Musk had a quick and short response tweeting back, "Next month." We can only guess that this will be part of the 10.69.3 release as well.
This trio of improvements is expected to be downloaded to Teslas with FSD right after AI Day. So while the world awaits the unveiling of Optimus, the humanoid robot, Tesla owners will be eager to see what 10.69.3 will bring to the vehicle.
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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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