Reviewers from the United States and Europe have the tendency to put Tesla’s Autopilot behind other driver-assist systems from rival carmakers like Mercedes-Benz and General Motors. This was evident in evaluations conducted recently by agencies such as Thatcham Research and the Euro NCAP, as well as Consumer Reports. In both tests, Autopilot took a beating against solutions like Super Cruise, with Consumer Reports noting that Tesla’s driver-assist system is now a “distant second” against its GM-made rival.
Such findings would likely be difficult to reach next year, as Elon Musk has noted that Tesla is poised to deploy the Version 1 iteration of its “Dojo” supercomputer next year. Details about Project Dojo have been quite rare so far, though the CEO has noted that the supercomputer would be quite a beast, being a “truly exaflop” system at “de facto FP32.” This statement, while brief, revealed that Tesla is developing what could very well be the world’s most powerful supercomputer.
Today, the world’s fastest supercomputer is Fugaku, which is deployed in Japan. Developed by Japanese tech giant Fujitsu and research institute Riken, Fugaku turned in a performance result of 415 petaflops during its benchmark testing. That’s 2.8 times faster than the IBM Summit system developed by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the US, which previously held the title of world’s fastest. Musk’s statements suggest that Dojo would be able to outgun Fugaku in terms of processing power.
Having the world’s most powerful supercomputer training neural networks for self-driving vehicles will likely result in massive performance improvements for Tesla’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving suite at a pace that will likely be nothing short of mind-blowing. Tesla’s neural networks form part of the backbone of Tesla’s driver-assist and autonomous driving initiatives, after all, so the faster training could be done, the better the systems could become.
What is rather incredible is that Tesla’s Autopilot and FSD beta have arguably become the best driver-assist systems available in the market today without Dojo being involved. Even agencies like Thatcham Research and Consumer Reports, in their evaluation of Autopilot, admit that Tesla’s driver-assist system has more advanced and more mature features compared to those offered by rival carmakers. It was just the system’s name (in Thatcham’s case), and Autopilot’s driver monitoring system (in Consumer Reports’ case) that gave Tesla’s rivals the edge.
With Dojo Version 1 coming into the picture, the improvements to Autopilot and Full Self-Driving would likely become so quick and drastic that it would be pretty silly to rank Tesla’s driver-assist and self-driving systems in the same league as alternatives offered by other carmakers. Tesla may be losing right now in rankings to systems like Super Cruise seemingly due to technicalities, but by next year, such a reach may be very difficult to make. By next year, Tesla Autopilot and FSD may truly become a “distant first” compared to the competition.
News
Tesla Optimus steals the show during TRON: ARES premiere
Now that kung-fu Optimus demonstration makes sense.
Just a few days ago, Elon Musk shared a video of Tesla Optimus demonstrating some kung fu moves with a human partner. The video was impressive, though some were confused about why the Optimus team was busying itself with what appeared to be a cool but frivolous demonstration.
With the premiere of TRON: ARES, we now know that Optimus’ kung fu demonstration was part of the robot’s preparations for the red carpet.
Optimus “starts a fight”
As noted by X Business on its official account on the social media platform, the TRON: ARES red carpet world premiere was a showcase of today’s AI-powered technologies. With this in mind, xAI, X, Walt Disney, and Tesla collaborated to provide attendees with an immersive experience on real-world AI. This included Optimus engaging with attendees, and even distributing theater concessions.
But one black and red painted Optimus unit definitely stole the show. The humanoid robot, in front of several attendees, attempted to “pick a fight” with Jared Leto, who starts in the movie alongside Greta Lee, Evan Peters, and Jeff Bridges. As could be seen in the video of Optimus, the robot’s moves in the red carpet were similar to the kung fu demonstration that Elon Musk showcased last week.
TRON: ARES
Monique Pintarelli, Head of Americas at X, shared some insights about the event, which ended up being a collaboration of sorts between several Elon Musk-led companies.
“This partnership with Disney lets fans and stars experience the world of TRON like never before – turning the red carpet event into a collision between the real world and AI. By leveraging X’s unparalleled real-time engagement and xAI’s cutting-edge technology alongside Tesla’s Optimus robots, we’re creating shared, immersive experiences that redefine storytelling,” the X executive noted.
TRON: ARES releases on U.S. theaters on October 10, 2025.
News
Tesla FSD (Supervised) V14.1 with Robotaxi-style dropoffs is here
This represents FSD’s most significant update in nearly a year.
Tesla has started the rollout of Full Self-Driving (Supervised) V14.1, the advanced driver-assist system’s most significant update in nearly a year. The release introduces vision-based navigation for real-time detour handling and a new “Arrival Options” feature that simulates Robotaxi-style drop-offs.
New Tesla Vision-based features
With Version 14.1, Tesla has integrated navigation and routing directly into its vision-based neural network, enabling the system to respond to scenarios such as blocked roads or closures in real time. The update also enhances emergency vehicle detection, allowing the car to pull over or yield when police, fire, or ambulances are nearby.
Other improvements include refined responses to debris, school buses, and lane cut-ins, as well as smoother handling of unprotected turns and gated entries. The update also adds a Robotaxi-style automatic camera-cleaning system. Tesla also promises improved fault recovery for greater reliability during degraded system operation.
New Speed Profiles and other features
Drivers can now personalize FSD’s behavior more precisely through new Speed Profiles. A new “Sloth” mode has joined the lineup, offering a more conservative lane and speed selection than “Chill.” Preferences for parking and arrival positions are saved per destination, while the system’s reasoning model automatically recommends several options for each route.
Users can start FSD from a single tap, adjust settings from the central visualization, and expect fewer driver “nags,” according to Elon Musk. The CEO noted that Version 14 features a 10x higher parameter count and said it “feels sentient” compared to earlier builds. While it’s still a supervised system, unlike the Austin Robotaxi pilot, FSD 14.1 seems to be a key milestone toward the refinement of Tesla’s autonomous driving efforts.
FSD (Supervised) V14.1 release notes
Following are the release notes for FSD (Supervised) V14.1:
FSD(Supervised) v14.1 includes:
• Added Arrival Options for you to select where FSD should park: in a Parking Lot, on the Street, in a Driveway, in a Parking Garage, or at the Curbside.
• Added handling to pull over or yield for emergency vehicles (e.g. police cars, fire trucks, ambulances).
• Added navigation and routing into the vision-based neural network for real-time handling of blocked roads and detours.
• Added additional Speed Profile to further customize driving style preference.
• Improved handling for static and dynamic gates.
• Improved offsetting for road debris (e.g. tires, tree branches, boxes).
• Improve handling of several scenarios including: unprotected turns, lane changes, vehicle cut-ins, and school buses.
Improved FSD’s ability to manage system faults and recover smoothly from degraded operation for enhanced reliability.
• Added automatic narrow field washing to provide rapid and efficient front camera self-cleaning, and optimize aerodynamics wash at higher vehicle speed.
• Added alerting for residue build-up on interior windshield that may impact front camera visibility. If affected, visit Service for cleaning!
Upcoming Improvements:
• Overall smoothness and sentience
• Parking spot selection and parking quality
• You can now select an arrival option such as Parking Lot, Street, Driveway, Parking Garage and Curbside for Robotaxi-style drop offs.
• Your preferences for arrival options and preferred parking positions are persisted for each destination.
• Our reasoning model will assess the suitable options for your destination and pick an intuitive default.
Speed Profiles:
FSD (Supervised) will now determine the appropriate speed based on a mix of driver profile, speed limit, and surrounding traffic:
• Introduced new Speed Profile SLOTH, which comes with lower speeds & more conservative lane selection than CHILL.
• Driver profile now has a stronger impact on behavior. The more assertive the profile, the higher the max speed.
• Right scroll-wheel up/down now adjusts Speed Profile setting rather than your precise max speed offset selection in mph/kph.
UI Improvements:
• Start Self-Driving with a tap of the touchscreen from Park, or any time during your drive.
• Adjust settings like the Speed Profile and Arrival Options directly from the Autopilot visualization on the center display.
A plant manager at a Tesla factory just tipped off the fact that the company will begin production of an affordable model in the coming weeks, all but confirming that a new car will be unveiled tomorrow.
Tesla has been teasing some kind of product unveiling for October 7 on its social media accounts. It has now dropped two separate indications that a new product is coming on its X account.
Fans have been anticipating two things: either the company’s planned affordable model, which has been codenamed “E41,” or the Roadster, a long-awaited vehicle that Tesla has kept under wraps for much longer than it would likely care to admit.
Tesla all but confirms that affordable Model Y is coming Tuesday
André Thierig, Tesla’s plant manager at the German production plant Gigafactory Berlin, tipped off what is likely coming tomorrow at the product unveiling as he revealed during an internal event today that a light version of the Model Y will begin series production and deliveries “in a few weeks.”
Thierig’s revealing of plans was reported by Handelsblatt, a German media outlet.
The description of a “light version of the Model Y” aligns with what CEO Elon Musk said earlier this year, as well as what we have seen on public roads, both covered and uncovered.
Last week, we finally saw an uncovered version of what the affordable model likely is, as it was cruising around near Gigafactory Texas, just outside of Austin.
Tesla coding shows affordable model details, including potential price
Musk said earlier this year, candidly during an Earnings Call, that the affordable model Tesla planned to release was a Model Y.
“It’s just a Model Y. Let the cat out of the bag there,” Musk said.
The images of what we assumed to be the affordable model lined up with Musk’s candid statement:
🚨 It looks like the new affordable Tesla Model Y was spotted near Giga Texas
Model Y body with the Model 3 fascia, no glass roof, and looks as if there is a front bumper camera!
Should be coming soon! https://t.co/UAXQMHjM23 pic.twitter.com/9lC5te9GnW
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) October 3, 2025
Tesla is expected to unveil its affordable model tomorrow during the planned event, which has been teased twice. Pricing and other details are still pending, but the company is expected to reveal this information tomorrow.
Tesla Optimus steals the show during TRON: ARES premiere
Tesla FSD (Supervised) V14.1 with Robotaxi-style dropoffs is here
Tesla plant manager tips off affordable model production
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