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Lucid just made its vehicles safer and better with a new Software Update

Credit: Lucid

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Lucid made its vehicles safer and better by upgrading its driving assistance suite, DreamDrive Pro, and making several other changes to increase functionality and ease of use across the car.

The update is Lucid UX 2.4 and will start rolling out today in North America.

Credit: Lucid

Starting with DreamDrive Pro, there are now four brand new enhancements to the suite that help with navigation, stop-and-go traffic, and lane visualization.

Lucid has also added a new hands-free voice assistant and made its Apple CarPlay integration more robust. The automaker also listened to owners’ requests, adding some other new features drivers wanted in the vehicles.

Lucid Air Dream gets massive 520-mile range rating in preliminary EPA tests

DreamDrive Pro Improvements

DreamDrive Pro received four new features to make the suite more robust than ever before.

  • Highway Assist: Now utilizing high-definition maps that provide more detailed information on HOV lanes, exit scenarios, and lane merges and splits. Highway assist can also be engaged on curves, offering more adaptive and responsive driving.
  • Driver-Initiated Lane Change Assist: Allows drivers to initiate lane changes with a simple long press of the turn signal, supported by clear notifications and arrows on the user interface.
  • Extended Stop and Go: In heavy stop-and-go driving the vehicle will resume traveling after longer stops in traffic if the driver is still looking ahead.
  • 3D Three-Lane Visualization: Lucid has leveraged the Air’s on-board sensor suite to create a 3D lane visualization on the center screen, offering drivers an additional view of their surroundings when on the highway and laying the foundation for expanded functions planned for future introduction.

Dr. Jean-Philippe Gauthier, Lucid’s Head of Software Engineering, also commented on the new additions to the suite:

“Lucid UX 2.4 introduces an array of new features and improvements to make every trip more satisfying. This release also marks the transition of DreamDrive Pro Highway Assist features to our in-house Lucid software stack, paving the way for further continuous improvements.”

Other Additions

Hey Lucid!

Lucid Assistant is now included in vehicles. It is a hands-free way to do anything from change climate control to putting in a new destination for navigation. All you have to do is press the microphone button on the steering wheel and say, “Hey Lucid.”

This will replace Amazon’s Alexa, which previously was available in Lucid vehicles.

Wireless Apple Carplay Integration in the Instrument Cluster

Apple Carplay will now be visible in the instrument cluster, giving turn-by-turn instructions right behind the steering wheel.

Requests from Lucid Owners That Make Their Way Into the New Update

  • Park Distance Warning, Surround View Monitoring, and Rear View Monitoring screens will not close automatically when the vehicle is traveling faster than 6 MPH.
  • HomeLink universal device on-screen controls are displayed when in reverse
  • Lucid Mobile App has faster connectivity to the vehicle, is improved with better response to command inputs, and enables User Profile attributes to be updated within the app

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

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Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Tesla to increase Full Self-Driving subscription price: here’s when

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla will increase its Full Self-Driving subscription price, meaning it will eventually be more than the current $99 per month price tag it has right now.

Already stating that the ability to purchase the suite outright will be removed, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said earlier this week that the Full Self-Driving subscription price would increase when its capabilities improve:

“I should also mention that the $99/month for supervised FSD will rise as FSD’s capabilities improve. The massive value jump is when you can be on your phone or sleeping for the entire ride (unsupervised FSD).”

This was an expected change, especially as Tesla has been hinting for some time that it is approaching a feature-complete version of Full Self-Driving that will no longer require driver supervision. However, with the increase, some are concerned that they may be priced out.

$99 per month is already a tough ask for some. While Full Self-Driving is definitely worth it just due to the capabilities, not every driver is ready to add potentially 50 percent to their car payment each month to have it.

While Tesla has not revealed any target price for FSD, it does seem that it will go up to at least $150.

Additionally, the ability to purchase the suite outright is also being eliminated on February 14, which gives owners another reason to be slightly concerned about whether they will be able to afford to continue paying for Full Self-Driving in any capacity.

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Some owners have requested a tiered program, which would allow people to pay for the capabilities they want at a discounted price.

Unsupervised FSD would be the most expensive, and although the company started removing Autopilot from some vehicles, it seems a Supervised FSD suite would still attract people to pay between $49 and $99 per month, as it is very useful.

Tesla will likely release pricing for the Unsupervised suite when it is available, but price increases could still come to the Supervised version as things improve.

This is not the first time Musk has hinted that the price would change with capability improvements, either. He’s been saying it for some time. In 2020, he even said the value of FSD would “probably be somewhere in excess of $100,000.”

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Tesla starts removing outright Full Self-Driving purchase option at time of order

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(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla has chosen to axe the ability to purchase Full Self-Driving outright from a select group of cars just days after CEO Elon Musk announced the company had plans to eliminate that option in February.

The company is making a clear-cut stand that it will fully transition away from the ability to purchase the Full Self-Driving suite outright, a move that has brought differing opinions throughout the Tesla community.

Earlier this week, the company also announced that it will no longer allow buyers to purchase Full Self-Driving outright when ordering a pre-owned vehicle from inventory. Instead, that will be available for $99 per month, the same price that it costs for everyone else.

The ability to buy the suite for $8,000 for a one-time fee at the time of order has been removed:

This is a major move because it is the first time Tesla is eliminating the ability to purchase FSD outright for one flat fee to any of its vehicles, at least at the time of purchase.

It is trying to phase out the outright purchase option as much as it can, preparing people for the subscription-based service it will exclusively offer starting on February 14.

In less than a month, it won’t be available on any vehicle, which has truly driven some serious conversation from Tesla owners throughout the community.

There’s a conflict, because many believe that they will now lose the ability to buy FSD and not pay for it monthly, which is an attractive offer. However, others believe, despite paying $8,000 for FSD, that they will have to pay more money on top of that cost to get the unsupervised suite.

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Additionally, CEO Elon Musk said that the FSD suite’s subscription price would increase over time as capabilities increase, which is understandable, but is also quite a conflict for those who spent thousands to have what was once promised to them, and now they may have to pay even more money.

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Tesla Robotaxi has a highly-requested hardware feature not available on typical Model Ys

These camera washers are crucial for keeping the operation going, as they are the sole way Teslas operate autonomously. The cameras act as eyes for the car to drive, recognize speed limit and traffic signs, and travel safely.

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Credit: David Moss | X

Tesla Robotaxi has a highly-requested hardware feature that is not available on typical Model Ys that people like you and me bring home after we buy them. The feature is something that many have been wanting for years, especially after the company adopted a vision-only approach to self-driving.

After Tesla launched driverless Robotaxi rides to the public earlier this week in Austin, people have been traveling to the Lone Star State in an effort to hopefully snag a ride from one of the few vehicles in the fleet that are now no longer required to have Safety Monitors present.

BREAKING: Tesla launches public Robotaxi rides in Austin with no Safety Monitor

Although only a few of those completely driverless rides are available, there have been some new things seen on these cars that are additions from regular Model Ys, including the presence of one new feature: camera washers.

With the Model Y, there has been a front camera washer, but the other exterior “eyes” have been void of any solution for this. For now, owners are required to clean them manually.

In Austin, Tesla is doing things differently. It is now utilizing camera washers on the side repeater and rear bumper cameras, which will keep the cameras clean and keep operation as smooth and as uninterrupted as possible:

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These camera washers are crucial for keeping the operation going, as they are the sole way Teslas operate autonomously. The cameras act as eyes for the car to drive, recognize speed limit and traffic signs, and travel safely.

This is the first time we are seeing them, so it seems as if Safety Monitors might have been responsible for keeping the lenses clean and unobstructed previously.

However, as Tesla transitions to a fully autonomous self-driving suite and Robotaxi expands to more vehicles in the Robotaxi fleet, it needed to find a way to clean the cameras without any manual intervention, at least for a short period, until they can return for interior and exterior washing.

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