Tesla may soon support applying the brakes automatically when regen is limited
Forbes
It's challenging to determine Tesla's best feature or the one that has changed driving habits the most, but regenerative braking must be high on the list for anyone who owns an electric vehicle.
After getting accustomed to the system, the brake pedal becomes obsolete.
However, that piece of metal to the left of the accelerator is quickly remembered during cold temperatures or when the battery is fully charged and regenerative braking is reduced or not available.
A feature found in Tesla's latest update (2022.16) appears to address that issue by adding an option to make the car perform the same with or without regenerative braking.
When regenerative braking is reduced and the driver lets off the accelerator pedal the car will automatically apply its regular brakes. This gives the driver a consistent driving experience whether regenerative braking is fully available or limited.
Regenerative braking is one of the most significant factors that make electric vehicles so efficient. While in motion, if the driver applies less pressure to the accelerator or lifts their foot nearly off the pedal to decelerate, most EVs will slow down like the brakes are being applied, but they are not.
This one-foot driving style saves the use of brake pads and sends a charge back to the battery, creating additional energy. Tesla believes this is such an important feature it made the strongest regenerative braking mode standard in 2020.
However, if the car is fully charged, the battery will not take more energy. This system has also been known to act differently in cold climates.
Now, thanks to the 2022.16 update, during those circumstances, specific Tesla's Model 3s and Model Ys will perform the same without the ability to engage regenerative braking.
In the release notes, Tesla stated, "Your car can now automatically apply regular brakes for consistent deceleration when regenerative braking is limited due to battery temperature or state of charge."
According to @greentheonly, this feature is only available on limited Model 3s and Model Ys with specfic hardware. It's possible that Tesla is testing out the feature on very limited hardware or specific vehicles before making it available more broadly in a future update.
Understandably, some drivers may be turned off by the car blending in the brakes without the driver specifically pressing the brake pedal, so Tesla has made this feature optional.
If drivers want to be reacquainted with their brake pedal, then they don't need to enable the new feature; for those who do: tap Controls > Pedals & Steering > Apply Brakes When Regenerative Braking Is Limited. But, again, this is only available for select Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.
There's no news on when it will be made available for more broadly.
Another change came through on the latest over-the-air update, so subtle you may not have realized it was there.
After reading this, you may want to check out the display's top left corner. There is a line that is directly above the speedometer. Maybe you've noticed it before and not given it a second glance, but the line provides some valuable information.
The line is in the center if the car is not using or gaining energy, but it turns black during acceleration and green during regenerative braking.
You're not alone if you haven't noticed it or ignored it, as Tesla has made the line thicker and easier to see. This update is also only available for Model 3 and Model Y Teslas.
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Last night, Tesla released software update 2024.45.32.5, which includes updated versions of FSD for HW3 and HW4 vehicles. More specifically, this update includes FSD V12.6.2 for HW3 and FSD V13.2.5 for HW4 models (how to check if you have HW3 or HW4).
While there aren’t new features in this update and the FSD release notes remain the same, it does include bug fixes, which should help these FSD updates go to a wider audience.
HW3 Model 3
What’s most interesting about this update is that it’s the first time a version of FSD V12.6 is going out to the Model 3 with HW3. Previously, it was only available for the redesigned Model S, Model X, and Model Y. The Cybertruck has only ever been available with HW4, which makes the Model 3 the lone vehicle left out of the FSD 12.6 release for unknown reasons.
The FSD hardware for the Model 3 and Model Y is identical, but the camera placements shift slightly due to the different vehicle body shapes, so it’s possible that played a role.
After a long wait, Model 3 owners are finally getting a chance to try out End-to-End on the Highway, as well as many other improvements.
FSD V12.6.2 Improvements
FSD V12.6.2 shares the same changelog as V12.6.1 - so we’re not expecting major changes besides bug fixes on this particular release, at least for vehicles coming from V12.6.1. Instead, it seems the primary focus of this update is to address compatibility for the Model 3.
Overall, V12.6 is far closer to V13 than it is to V12.5.4.2 - and it really does feel that way. It is an impressive feat from Tesla to make such big and positive changes for a platform that they’ve admittedly been having some difficulties in obtaining better results. However, this really underlines the fact that they’re still committed and trying very hard to achieve Unsupervised FSD even on HW3.
The other bit of good news is that this latest FSD update is based on update 2024.45.32.x, which means that it will be available to all vehicles. While Tesla has released the next major update, version 2025.2, it’s currently only available internally. If you’ve been thinking about subscribing to FSD, now may be a good time, since you’ll qualify to receive the latest HW3 or HW4 FSD version once it rolls out widely.
Legacy Model S and Model X
While the update has begun to roll out to Model 3’s for the first time, at this point in time, we haven’t seen any legacy Model S or Model X vehicles included in this update. Those vehicles, for now, are still on FSD V12.5.4.2.
However, we do expect Tesla to add support for these vehicles. The question is whether that’s included in this update or whether it’ll be a future release.
This update has barely started rolling out - the first vehicles started receiving the update last night in a small batch. However, we will hopefully see more waves in the coming days that will progressively get larger. Expect this update to take at least two weeks to go out to the majority of HW3 vehicles if major issues aren’t found.
Now that the Model Y Juniper refresh has officially been announced in the Asia-Pacific markets, the initial vehicles from Giga Shanghai are starting to make their way to showrooms throughout the region.
And that means lots of new pictures. Let’s take a look at some of the latest close-up shots of the 2025 Model Y.
Light Bar Close-Up
Our first up-close look at the new front end of the new Model Y. This car is likely en route to a showroom prior to the start of Tesla’s big sales push for the Chinese Lunar New Year, and this is one of the closest and cleanest shots of the new front end.
The sharp new front of the Juniper
@DriveGreen80167 on X
The new front light bar is very visible, even when it’s off. It’s more than a thin strip of lights. The headlights are located directly below the light bar at either end. You can also see the new squared-away sharp lines - starting from the lightbar gaps and going up the hood. The new design looks far more aggressive and sharp when viewed at this angle.
Wheels
And the new wheels are pretty interesting, too - especially since they don’t seem to have full aero covers on them. We’re wondering if Tesla intends to introduce aero covers for these wheels later - or if they’ll just stay uncovered. They look pretty good - but the black hubcap in the center stands out against the rest of the wheel. Time will tell whether the clean black finish holds up with use.
We're a big fan of these new fan-blade wheels
@DriveGreen80167 on X
Either way, they’re pretty good looking - but we’d prefer to see them in an all black finish - similar to the Shadow Gemini’s that are currently available. Hopefully, once the Model Y refresh arrives in North America and Europe, that option will be available in addition to the Crossflow wheels.
Videos
Here is one of the first videos showing off the rear light bar.
The refreshed Model Y also brings a ton of changes to the interior. In addition to the Launch Edition exclusive dash, we also get a good shot of the new ventilated seats, as well as the return of the turn signal stalk.
The best interior shot we've seen so far
@DriveGreen80167 on X
The new Model Y also has the same new center console as the Model 3 Highland - with the two-part slider. For now, it seems like the Launch Edition will include rubber pedal covers - nothing fancy like the metallic ones available on the Performance variants yet.
Rear End Close-Up
On the rear end of the vehicle, we get a close-up view of the new reflective light bar. Tesla claims this is an industry-first, and it does look very cool. The actual light is located on the inside edge of the piece that overhangs the reflective portion. The reflective portion itself is painted to match the vehicle - and isn’t a glossy surface, but rather matte.
Gotta love that new reflective light bar
@DriveGreen80167 on X
In the next image, we can also see that the rear camera is mounted in a new location. It doesn’t have the camera lip that the 2024 Model Y has been shipping with, as the camera is now mounted on the very edge of the new raised bumper. This also means the camera is much higher up than it previously was. This location change likely means that the new Y will require some additional training time for both FSD and Actually Smart Summon, as well as the new front bumper camera.
This is going to be an interesting change - we’re not sure how this new camera location will handle snow, rain, and road muck, but this is likely the main reason for it being moved up and away from the road.
The updated camera positioning is noticeably higher
@zhongwen2005 on X
We’re excited to see the new Model Y in person. This refresh has been a long time coming and there are many details that are still waiting to be discovered.
Customer deliveries are supposed to begin in just a couple of months - May at the earliest - in the Asia-Pacific region. We’re hoping to see the refresh arrive in Europe and North America by summertime and then see the launch of the Performance variant shortly thereafter.
