Firmware
Tesla to bring back Autopilot free trials as Musk teases on-ramp/off-ramp capabilities
Elon Musk teased several Autopilot developments during the recently-held 2018 Annual Shareholder Meeting. During his discussions, Musk revealed that soon, Tesla would be offering free trials of the intelligent driver-assist feature to customers who have not purchased Autopilot. Musk also stated that an upcoming Autopilot update would correspond to a “significant improvement” in the system.
“Yeah, we’re going to (offer Autopilot free trials), hopefully (by) next month. (We can) offer a free trial for people to try out Autopilot and see how well it works. We’re also making rapid progress on Autopilot technology,” Musk said.
Tesla has employed a similar Autopilot free trial program in the past, to much success. Back in 2016, we covered the experience of a Tesla owner during the Autopilot free trial period. During that time, however, Tesla was still utilizing the first iteration of the driver-assist system, before the electric car company and MobilEye decided to part ways. If Tesla does reintroduce Autopilot free trials next month, it would be the first time that the company uses the program to promote Enhanced Autopilot, the current iteration of its driver-assist system.
A message showing Tesla’s Autopilot free trial program back in 2016.
Apart from Autopilot free trials, Musk also mentioned that a new firmware update would be rolling out this coming week. Musk was particularly optimistic about the upcoming improvements in Autopilot, stating that over the next 6-12 months, the capability of the system should increase “exponentially.”
“There’s a new version of Autopilot that’s rolling out, I think, this week which I think is quite a significant improvement. What you’ll see is that the reliability and capability of Autopilot will increase exponentially over the next 6-12 months. The improvements are very, very rapid.”
Musk teased specific improvements to the driver-assist system as well. While addressing an inquiry from a member of the audience about Autopilot’s capability to switch freeways, Musk candidly mentioned the ability of Autopilot to perform highway on-ramp-to-off-ramp maneuvers.
“I was just testing that last night at about 1 a.m. I think we might be able to release something in a couple of months that can do that. We’ve been pursuing two paths. One really complicated path that I think isn’t working that great. And then a simple path that I think will work pretty well.”
“I was able to able to drive last night, going from highway on-ramp to highway off-ramp using the simplified version of the control system. And I think with some further effort, we can get that out in the next couple months.”
Tesla Model S on Autopilot successfully drives over a tricky, near-unmarked curve. [Credit: My Tesla Adventure/YouTube]
Elon Musk’s references to significant improvements in Autopilot might very well come to fruition. A notable jump in the system’s accuracy and capability, after all, has already happened earlier this year. Back in March, Tesla began rolling out v8.1 (2018.10.4), a firmware update that ultimately proved to be a considerable improvement over the system’s previous iteration. During that time, Tesla owners were pleased to find that the updated Autopilot suite was already capable of dealing with narrow roads, bad weather, and even streets without any lane markings.
Built on the NVIDIA Drive PX2 AI computing platform, Tesla’s current Autopilot system is part of Elon Musk’s ambitious initiative to transform the company’s fleet of vehicles into a fully-autonomous form of transportation. Autopilot uses 8 cameras, 12 ultrasonic sensors, and a forward-facing radar with enhanced processing capabilities to detect objects on the road. Artificial intelligence and a neural network are also utilized to allow the electric cars to learn from data collected from other vehicles in Tesla’s fleet. A custom AI chip is also under development.
If Elon Musk’s forecasts for Autopilot during the 2018 Annual Shareholder Meeting prove accurate, then it might only be a matter of time before Tesla accomplishes its highly-anticipated coast-to-coast autonomous drive.
Tesla announced its Spring 2026 software update, and it’s the most feature-dense seasonal release the company has put out. The update covers twelve named changes spanning FSD, voice AI, safety lighting, dashcam storage, and pet display customization, among other things.
The centerpiece for owners with AI4 hardware is a redesigned Self-Driving app. The new interface lets owners subscribe to Full Self-Driving with a single tap and view ongoing FSD usage stats directly in the vehicle.
Grok gets its biggest in-car upgrade yet. The update adds a “Hey Grok” hands-free wake word along with location-based reminders, so a driver can now say “remind me to pick up groceries when I get home” without touching the screen. Grok first arrived in vehicles in July 2025, but each update has pushed it closer to genuine daily utility. Musk framed the broader vision clearly at Davos in January, saying Tesla is “really moving into a future that is based on autonomy.”
On safety, the update introduces enhanced blind spot warning lights that integrate directly with the cabin’s ambient lighting, building on the blind spot door warning that arrived in update 2026.8.
Dog Mode has been renamed Pet Mode and now lets owners choose a dog, cat, or hedgehog icon and add their pet’s name to the display.
Dashcam retention now extends up to 24 hours, up from the previous one-hour rolling loop, with a permanent save option for any clip. Weather maps now show rain and snow with better color differentiation and include the past hour of precipitation data along the route.
Tesla has now established a clear rhythm of two major OTA pushes per year. As with last year’s Spring update, that cycle started taking shape in 2025 with adaptive headlights and trunk customization. The 2025 Holiday Update then added Grok to the vehicle for the first time. This Spring follows that structure: the Holiday update introduces new architecture, and the Spring update broadens it across the fleet.
Two notable features still did not make it. IFTTT automations, which launched in China earlier this year, were held back from this North American release for unknown reasons, and Apple CarPlay remains absent, reportedly still delayed by iOS 26 and Apple Maps compatibility issues.
Below is the full list of feature updates released by Tesla.
— Tesla (@Tesla) April 13, 2026
It appears that Tesla may be preparing to roll out some subscription-based services soon. Based on the observations of a Wales-based Model 3 owner who performed some reverse-engineering on the Tesla mobile app, it seems that the electric car maker has added a new “Subscribe” option beside the “Buy” option within the “Upgrades” tab, at least behind the scenes.
A screenshot of the new option was posted in the r/TeslaMotors subreddit, and while the Tesla owner in question, u/Callump01, admitted that the screenshot looks like something that could be easily fabricated, he did submit proof of his reverse-engineering to the community’s moderators. The moderators of the r/TeslaMotors subreddit confirmed the legitimacy of the Model 3 owner’s work, further suggesting that subscription options may indeed be coming to Tesla owners soon.
Did some reverse engineering on the app and Tesla looks to be preparing for subscriptions? from r/teslamotors
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite has been heavily speculated to be offered as a subscription option, similar to the company’s Premium Connectivity feature. And back in April, noted Tesla hacker @greentheonly stated that the company’s vehicles already had the source codes for a pay-as-you-go subscription model. The Tesla hacker suggested then that Tesla would likely release such a feature by the end of the year — something that Elon Musk also suggested in the first-quarter earnings call. “I think we will offer Full Self-Driving as a subscription service, but it will be probably towards the end of this year,” Musk stated.
While the signs for an upcoming FSD subscription option seem to be getting more and more prominent as the year approaches its final quarter, the details for such a feature are still quite slim. Pricing for FSD subscriptions, for example, have not been teased by Elon Musk yet, though he has stated on Twitter that purchasing the suite upfront would be more worth it in the long term. References to the feature in the vehicles’ source code, and now in the Tesla mobile app, also listed no references to pricing.
The idea of FSD subscriptions could prove quite popular among electric car owners, especially since it would allow budget-conscious customers to make the most out of the company’s driver-assist and self-driving systems without committing to the features’ full price. The current price of the Full Self-Driving suite is no joke, after all, being listed at $8,000 on top of a vehicle’s cost. By offering subscriptions to features like Navigate on Autopilot with automatic lane changes, owners could gain access to advanced functions only as they are needed.
Elon Musk, for his part, has explained that ultimately, he still believes that purchasing the Full Self-Driving suite outright provides the most value to customers, as it is an investment that would pay off in the future. “I should say, it will still make sense to buy FSD as an option as in our view, buying FSD is an investment in the future. And we are confident that it is an investment that will pay off to the consumer – to the benefit of the consumer.” Musk said.
Tesla has started rolling out update 2020.36 this weekend, introducing a couple of notable new features for its vehicles. While there are only a few handful of vehicles that have reportedly received the update so far, 2020.36 makes it evident that the electric car maker has made some strides in its efforts to refine its driver-assist systems for inner-city driving.
Tesla is currently hard at work developing key features for its Full Self-Driving suite, which should allow vehicles to navigate through inner-city streets without driver input. Tesla’s FSD suite is still a work in progress, though the company has released the initial iterations of key features such Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control, which was introduced last April. Similar to the first release of Navigate on Autopilot, however, the capabilities of Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control were pretty basic during their initial rollout.
2020.36 Showing Speed Limit Signs in Visualization from r/teslamotors
With the release of update 2020.36, Tesla has rolled out some improvements that should allow its vehicles to handle traffic lights better. What’s more, the update also includes a particularly useful feature that enables better recognition of speed limit signs, which should make Autopilot’s speed adjustments better during use. Following are the Release Notes for these two new features.
Green Traffic Light Chime
“A chime will play when the traffic light you are waiting for turns green. If you are waiting behind another car, the chime will play once the car advances unless Traffic-Aware Cruise Control or Autosteer is active. When Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control is activated, a chime will play when you can confirm to proceed through a green traffic light. To enable, tap Controls > Autopilot > Green Traffic Light Chime.
“Note: This chime is only designed as a notification. It is the driver’s responsibility to observe their environment and make decisions accordingly.”
Speed Assist Improvements
“Speed Assist now leverages your car’s cameras to detect speed limit signs to improve the accuracy of speed limit data on local roads. Detected speed limit signs will be displayed in the driving visualization and used to set the associated Speed Limit Warning.
“As usual, to adjust Speed Assist settings, tap Controls > Autopilot > Speed Limit.”
Footage of the new green light chime in action via @NASA8500 on Twitter ✈️ from r/teslamotors
Amidst the rollout of 2020.36’s new features, speculations were abounding among Tesla community members that this update may include the first pieces of the company’s highly-anticipated Autopilot rewrite. Inasmuch as the idea is exciting, however, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has stated that this was not the case. While responding to a Tesla owner who asked if the Autopilot rewrite is in “shadow mode” in 2020.36, Musk responded “Not yet.”
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