Tesla is finally starting to roll out Full Self-Driving (FSD) Beta v12 to customers — another “mind-blowing” update, according to CEO Elon Musk.
However, as usual, everyone should be really careful when using FSD Beta.
FSD Beta v12 has been one of the most anticipated updates to Tesla’s controversial ADAS level 2 system, which it hopes will eventually become level 4 or even 5.
The Tesla v12 software update is introducing what Musk has been calling “end-to-end neural nets”. The biggest difference with previous FSD updates is that the vehicle’s controls are now be handled by neural nets rather than being coded by programmers.
It is being touted as the difference maker that should bring a lot of improvements. Musk again claimed, like he has with many FSD Beta updates before, it is “mind-blowing”.
Tesla was supposed to release v12 last year, but it was delayed. The automaker started to push the update in January, but only to a few customers.
The wide release was delayed multiple times, with several new versions of the update being released only to Tesla employees and a few customers.
That’s until now.
Many Tesla FSD owners are reporting today receiving a new software update (2023.44.30.x), which includes FSD Beta v12.3.
We reported that Tesla had pushed the new version 12.3 update to employees earlier this week. It looks like it didn’t take a lot of time for Tesla to believe it was worth pushing to the wider fleet of Tesla FSD owners.
The new update is still listed as “Beta” by Tesla despite Musk saying last year that v12 won’t be Beta.
As usual, remember that Full Self-Driving (FSD) Beta, despite its name, is not really “self-driving”. It’s a level 2 driver assist system that requires the driver to keep their hands on the steering wheel and be ready to take control at all times.
Electrek’s Take
As I have been saying for a while, even though I can understand how end-to-end neural net can be a big step bringing a lot of improvements, it’s hard to get too excited.
We still entirely rely on our own or others’ own anecdotal experience to gage improvements in the system rather than actual data, which Tesla has always gone out of its way to avoid releasing – unlike other companies running self-driving test programs.
It is frustrating. I’ve seen FSD Beta v12 do some impressive things that make me hopeful, but I still have a hard time seeing a path to Tesla delivering on its promise to deliver a level 4 or 5 self-driving system.