Every Tesla shows some form of visualizations on the screen that help the driver understand what the car is mapping. The car will map major elements such as lane markings, cones and other vehicles. If your car is equipped with FSD HW 3.0 then you’ll see even more objects mapped such as trash cans, arrows on the road, traffic lights and quite a bit more.
The FSD beta for city streets includes many more car visualizations since the car needs to understand so much more about the real world to help it traverse city streets. However the visualizations are not what we are normally used to. They’re Matrix-like outlines that display stationary and moving obstacles on the screen in different colors to help the driver understand what the car is able to understand. It's important to understand that the on screen visualizations are simplified and what the car is actual "seeing" is actually an object and assigning probabilities to what it may be. The visualizations likely display the object that has the highest probablity at the time. The visualizations are there more for debug purposes and troubleshooting than anything else.
We knew that this type of visualization would not be in the final product of the FSD beta. Elon has now mentioned that there is a new FSD rendering approach coming that will better represent what the neural networks see. This could mean brand new renderings to the on screen visualizations and bring us closer to what the final product will be.
If you take Elon’s tweet along with some recently shown off video from a former Tesla UI designer, you can get a feel for what the new visualizations will look like.
The look and feel of the new visualizations are very similar to what non-FSD beta users see today, but they now display a lot more elements in greater detail. The environment visualizations still have that sketch-book-like effect, which helps communicate that the renders are interpretations of the real world and are not to be taken as exact renditions.
The video, which can be seen below, shows off intersections for the first time in addition to crosswalks and traffic light poles. The video goes on to show slightly different car animations when you open your hood or trunk, but these animations do not likely represent what is to come, but instead depict what this designer had envisioned at the time. From the menu at the bottom of the screen you can tell this is not from Tesla’s v11 update.
We now have even more of a reason to look forward to that ‘Download FSD beta’ button as there’s a good likelihood that these new visualizations will be included in that release as well.
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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