The recently delayed FSD beta v9 looks to finally be making its public debut. We’ve been waiting for a new version of the FSD beta since April and it looks like Tesla is finally ready to show everyone what they’ve been working on.
Version 9 of the FSD beta is said to include huge improvements as Tesla stops using radar and switches to pure vision AI.
Elon Musk has previously said that this beta will be a massive leap over the previous v8 beta which was already performing impressively in most situations on city streets.
A couple of days ago Elon also tweeted that the FSD v9 beta may include the new “mind of the car,” visualizations. It’s not certain yet, but Elon says that they are attempting to include the new visualizations in this release. It’s not yet clear whether this will include any new UI updates besides the new visualizations.
Improved FSD screen. Attempting to show the “mind” of the car.
The FSD beta will be limited to the same 2,000 or so individuals that Tesla has accepted into their closed beta, but Elon hopes to open it up to others soon if testing goes well. He said he could be as soon as a month, but given recent timeline shifts, it could be longer than this time frame. Back in April, Elon Musk talked about adding a button that would let anyone download the FSD beta. As far as we know that is still the plan and we hope Tesla will open up the beta to everyone soon.
Depends on how the limited beta goes. If it goes well, maybe a month or so.
The FSD beta is expected to become available shortly after midnight Pacific Time tomorrow. Elon has never been so specific before when an update is scheduled to be released. Given that we’re less than 48 hours away, I don’t expect much to change in terms of timeline, but it’s always possible it could be pushed back slightly. I think we’ll all have some videos to look forward to watching this weekend.
Beta 9 will start uploading at midnight California time on Friday. Bear in mind, it is still just a beta!
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 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.
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.
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