Tesla is pushing FSD Beta automatically to owners who qualify

By Lennon Cihak
Tesla automatically pushing FSD Beta to owners who qualify
Tesla automatically pushing FSD Beta to owners who qualify
Tesla

Tesla recently announced that it was dropping the requirement to get into FSD Beta to a Safety Score of 80+.

Once a driver’s Safety Score goes above 80+ and they’ve driven at least 100 miles on Autopilot, they should receive the latest version of FSD Beta. The latest version of FSD Beta is 10.69.2.2 (2022.20.17).

Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter to announce the improvements that the Autopilot and Beta teams have made to the driver-assistance software. On September 19th, Musk said, “FSD Beta 10.69.2.1 looks good, extending to 160k owners in US & Canada.”

As users and future FSD Beta testers chimed in with questions, Teslascope inquired about those in the Safety Score queue with an 80+ receiving Beta. Musk responded, “Yes, all US & Canada cars with safety scores above 80 should receive an invitation to download FSD Beta by tomorrow [September 20th].”

Additionally, Musk clarified BLCKMDL3’s question as to whether Tesla would automatically push FSD Beta to owners with a sufficient Safety Score with 100+ miles of driving. “Yes,” Musk says.

However, there appears to be one issue if you're trying to get into the FSD Beta program. It seems that Tesla wants to avoid rolling back vehicle software. So, if you’re in the FSD Beta queue and you’re running a 2022.24, or 2022.28 build, you may have to wait for an updated version of FSD Beta because the most recent version of Beta is built on 2022.20.

Rolling back a major update appears to be something Tesla wants to avoid. It's possible that Tesla does not rigously test rollbacks, while functionality and upgrade testing is a standard part of their releases.

In addition, customers downgrading from 2022.28 to 2022.20 would lose bug fixes, various improvements and features, and safety features that they may have already started getting used to.

Tesla's Safety Score was introduced in the fall of 2021 as a way for Tesla to keep a tally on owners' driving behaviors. Although the Safety Score is far from perfect, it is one metric Tesla uses to decide who they should allow into their beta program.

FSD Beta continues to go out to new owners. If you've requested access to FSD Beta and haven't received it yet, keep your Safety Score up and keep driving on Autopilot as much as safely possible. If you're on an update after 2022.20, you may have to wait until the next beta, which is expected to be FSD Beta 10.69.3 and should be available shortly after Tesla's AI Day Part II, which is scheduled for September 30th.

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

By Karan Singh
@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

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

By Karan Singh
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 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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