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Elon Musk shares FSD Beta V9 release update, teases improvements with pure vision approach

(Credit: WHAT'S INSIDE? FAMILY/YouTube)

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Elon Musk recently shared several key updates for Tesla’s upcoming FSD Beta Version 9 release. The highly-anticipated update, which has seen some delays to date, is expected to introduce several critical improvements to the robust driver-assist system. 

In a recent set of tweets, Elon Musk explained that Tesla had been focusing on the removal of radar from the FSD Beta, which the CEO notes should present a notable improvement to the performance of the advanced driver-assist suite. Musk’s update was brief, though he mentioned that the FSD Beta V9 release should be ready next week, at least for testers in the United States. 

“We had to focus on removing radar & confirming safety. That release goes out next week to US production. Then a week or two to polish pure vision FSD & v9 beta will release. Difference between v8 & v9 is gigantic,” the Tesla CEO wrote. 

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Elon Musk has highlighted Tesla’s shift to a pure vision system in recent months. Back in March, the CEO noted that pure vision is the way to “real-world AI.” Musk later explained that vision has “much more precision” than radar, and that cameras have several orders of magnitude more bits/sec than radar. Cameras could then leave behind radar as vision processing improves. 

Interestingly enough, Elon Musk mentioned that Tesla’s vision-only approach should remove issues like phantom braking, which happens at times when Autopilot encounters a bridge or overpass. He also explained that the FSD Beta V9 expansion should happen a month or two from now. Musk also admitted that the release of the driver-assist system’s wide beta has been quite hard to predict accurately. 

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“I think we’re maybe a month or two away from wide beta. But these things are hard to predict accurately. The work we had to do for pure vision driving was needed for FSD, so much more progress has been made than it would seem,” Musk said. 

Lastly, Elon Musk provided a quick update on the release of FSD functions in Europe, such as Smart Summon. Musk was optimistic about its release, though he was also quite cautious about its estimated timeframe. That being said, the CEO did note that for Europe, the release of features like Smart Summon should happen alongside the release of FSD, as the driverless function is only a subset of the Full Self-Driving suite. 

It remains to be seen if Tesla’s shift to a pure vision approach would allow it to overcome the challenges currently being experienced by Autopilot and the FSD suite. However, the company appears to have been pondering a camera-only system for a while now, as hinted at by a patent published in March which describes a system that uses two neural networks to accurately gauge the distances of objects using only image data. 

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Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s $1T pay package gets candid synopsis from Jim Cramer

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(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla’s $1 trillion pay package, which it proposed to Shareholders to vote on November 6 for its CEO Elon Musk has drawn a lot of attention lately.

Among those vocalizing their thoughts and feelings about the incentive program are proxy firms, investment analysts, and retail shareholders.

However, one analyst that always seems to draw some attention, especially when it comes to things related to Tesla and Musk, is Mad Money host Jim Cramer, who routinely puts his opinions out into the public realm when it comes to the company and its CEO.

Last week, Cramer gave a short breakdown of what he thinks the company and its shareholders should do on the social media platform X. He’s gone deeper into the pay package conversation with a candid synopsis of where he stands with it.

Jim Cramer chimes in on Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s pay package

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Cramer is no slouch when it comes to breaking down companies and what their strengths and weaknesses are.

He recognizes Musk and his contributions to Tesla, especially in terms of its prowess as an automaker, an AI play, and a robotics entity. In his more lengthy breakdown of the mentality behind rewarding Musk, he writes:

“Then there’s Musk. He’s using AI to make the best full self-driving car. He’s using it to dominate the Robotaxi game, or at least try. There’s no doubt that he’s got the best self-driving alternative on a price basis…Musk has put AI to the test, and he recognized that if you could develop better and bigger, and stronger batteries, that might be the answer for our energy-starved country…”

This is essentially an echo of what he said last week, which included some of the same ideas. Musk is ultimately the right man for the job, Cramer believes, especially considering the analyst calls him one of the few CEOs who is “actually worth it,” in terms of his potentially massive payday:

“Hate him or like him, man, this guy’s real smart…I think that Musk, who says he needs to be in control so the robots don’t take over, clearly wishes he had two classes of stock so he could be like Mark Zuckerberg, who can do whatever he wants with Meta. I say, even though he didn’t start the company and therefore doesn’t have the two classes, give the man the pay package he wants. Unlike so many other CEOs, he’s actually worth it.”

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Tesla shareholders will vote on the package on November 6, but a handful of proxy firms have already noted that they will be going against it. Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis both voted not to offer Musk this pay package.

Musk called them “corporate terrorists” last week during the company’s Q3 Earnings Call.

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Tesla makes a massive change to a Service policy that owners will love

If you have a subscription to Full Self-Driving or Premium Connectivity for 30 days, the date of its expiration is 30 days after you activate the subscription, even if the vehicle was in service.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has decided to update its policy on Subscriptions and Service, and owners are going to love it.

If you have a subscription to Full Self-Driving or Premium Connectivity for 30 days, the date of its expiration is 30 days after you activate the subscription, even if the vehicle was in service.

So, if your car was with Tesla Service for five days, you essentially lost those five days, as your expiration date was not adjusted to reflect the time the vehicle was unusable.

Loaners that Tesla gives owners are usually equipped with perks like Full Self-Driving and Premium Connectivity, so your subscription does not roll over to another vehicle.

Tesla launches new loaner program that owners will love

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However, Tesla has decided to revise that policy in an effort to give owners full access to the subscriptions they paid for. It requires Service visits to be longer than one day.

In a communication to an owner who was having their vehicle serviced, Tesla said:

“A loaner vehicle may be available during your appointment (pending availability) – please check the app closer to your appointment for the latest updates and access details. If your repair requires more than one business day, any active subscriptions or free trials will be extended accordingly.”

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The move is a good one from a customer service standpoint, especially considering the loss of even a few days of a 30-day subscription to something like Full Self-Driving, which costs $99 per month, can be frustrating.

Tesla’s choice to extend the subscription duration for the length of the service visit is a good-faith move that customers will appreciate.

While this adjustment is not directly related to Service, many customers will relate it to that. It’s yet another move Tesla has made in 2025 to make its Service experience better for customers.

It is also offering more options to communicate with Service advisors during and after cars are repaired, which can help streamline the entire visit from start to finish.

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SpaceX reaches incredible Starlink milestone

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Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX has reached an incredible milestone with its Starlink program, officially surpassing 10,000 satellites launched into low Earth orbit since starting the program back in 2019.

Last Sunday, October 19, SpaceX launched its 131st and 132nd Falcon 9 missions of 2025, one from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and the other from Vandenberg, California.

The 10,000th Starlink satellite was aboard the launch from California, which was Starlink 11-19, and held 28 v2 mini optimized satellites.

The achievement was marked by a satellite tracker developed by Jonathan McDowell.

The first Starlink launch was all the way back on May 23, 2019, as SpaceX launched its first 60 satellites from Cape Canaveral using a Falcon 9 rocket.

Of the over 10,000 satellites in orbit, the tracker says 8,608 are operational, as some are intentionally de-orbited after becoming faulty and destroyed in the atmosphere.

SpaceX has truly done some really incredible things during its development of the Starlink program, including launch coverage in a global setting, bringing along millions of active subscribers that use the service for personal and business use, locking up commercial partnerships, and more.

Starlink currently operates in around 150 countries, territories, and markets and is available at least somewhere on all seven continents.

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Additionally, Starlink has over 5 million subscribers worldwide, and 2.7 million have joined the program over the past year. It has revolutionized internet access on commercial aircraft as well, as several high-profile airlines like Qatar and United, among many others, have already installed Starlink on some of their planes to deliver more stable connectivity for passengers and crew.

SpaceX has the approval to launch 12,000 Starlink satellites from the FAA, but it plans to bring over 30,000 to its constellation, giving anyone the ability to have access to high-speed internet.

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