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Tesla’s Elon Musk teases massive improvements coming for FSD Beta 9.3

Credit: Whole Mars Catalog/YouTube

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Elon Musk may have a habit of perennially announcing overly aggressive timetables, but the CEO also tends to underplay some of the progress in Tesla’s innovations from time to time. This became quite evident when the company was leading up to the Model Y’s release, which happened sooner than expected. Now, Musk seems to be downplaying some of Tesla’s tech as well, noting on Twitter that in his opinion, FSD Beta 9.2 is “actually not that great.”

Musk’s rather surprising comment came to light in a recent interaction on Twitter. While responding to a post about how automotive teardown expert Sandy Munro advised Ford to try out Tesla’s FSD Beta to experience the bleeding edge of driver-assist systems available today, Musk stated that in his opinion, even FSD Beta 9.2 is not actually that impressive yet. That being said, the CEO did highlight that the Autopilot and AI teams at Tesla are rallying to improve the system’s performance as quickly as possible. 

Musk reiterated that FSD Beta would see notable improvements once the company transitions into a single stack for both highway and city streets driving, but this requires massive neural network training. Fortunately, Tesla seems to have a clear path towards achieving rapid Autopilot and FSD improvements, thanks to projects like the Dojo supercomputer, which was discussed extensively during the recently-held AI Day event. 

Despite the uphill climb facing it, Tesla seems to have some exciting updates in store for its FSD Beta system. Musk noted that he recently drove FSD Beta 9.3 from Pasadena to LAX in a follow-up tweet, and the system exhibited some substantial improvements. This is exciting news, though Tesla owners should probably temper their expectations since Elon Musk’s vehicle is known to be loaded with a version of Autopilot that is far more aggressive than what the company releases to its customers, including the FSD Beta group. 

This was something that was highlighted back in 2018 when a report from The Information, citing members of Tesla’s Autopilot team, revealed that Elon Musk is a frontline tester for Autopilot’s newest capabilities. With the CEO testing his vehicle using a more aggressive Autopilot build, Musk has reportedly been able to help point out areas that need improvements the most. This, however, results in Musk finding himself in “situations that many of (the team) wouldn’t want to be in” at times, as per one of the publication’s sources. 

Tesla’s Autopilot and FSD have gone through numerous iterations over the years, and during that time, the company’s strategies for its driver-assist features have changed significantly. But while some changes, such as the removal of sensors such as radar, remain controversial even among Tesla supporters, the development of systems such as the Dojo supercomputer hint at massive improvements that are yet to come. 

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to tips@teslarati.com to give us a heads up. 

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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 V2L adapter for Model Y stirs up a new complaint among owners

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Credit: Tesla

On Friday, Tesla launched the Outlet Adapter that enabled Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) energy transfer, meaning owners could essentially utilize their cars as a power source for things like laptops, electric grills, or string lights.

However, even owners of some of the newest builds of the Model Y are finding out that their cars are not compatible with the new $80 accessory, stirring up a new complaint among members of the community.

Tesla launches V2L Outlet Adapter for Premium Model Y in the U.S.

Upon the release of the Outlet Adapter on Friday, I signed into my Tesla account to order the accessory. However, I was met with the dreaded “This product is not compatible with your 2026 Model Y” message at the bottom of the screen.

Some said their accounts also displayed the same message, but they ordered anyway. However, they might be surprised to find that this is no mistake; some of the newest Model Ys do not have the appropriate Power Conversion System (PCS). Mine, which was ordered on this day last year and delivered on August 31, has the old 48A, single-phase PCS.

Vehicles with the new, two-piece PCS are able to utilize V2L features on their cars:

Obviously, it’s disappointing. Many owners have taken delivery this year and still can not utilize the Outlet Adapter because their cars feature the old PCS:

It looks like if you have one of these older PCS units, you can upgrade, but the parts alone are $1,750, and that’s before Tesla adds labor for installing. It is honestly more logical to get some kind of portable power supply or power station at that point.

It is great that Tesla has enabled V2L for Model Y vehicles, but it is also unfortunate that vehicles that are less than one year old are not able to take advantage of this awesome new feature.

With that being said, it truly is a first-world problem; can you really complain when Full Self-Driving is available, maintenance is incredibly inexpensive, and the car has been so good through a year of ownership?

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Tesla launches V2L Outlet Adapter for Premium Model Y in the U.S.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has launched a new Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) Outlet Adapter for Premium Model Y vehicles in the United States, meaning you can now power devices like laptops or light strings with your vehicle’s battery.

It appears the capability will be available for any Model Y Premium trim, including those that were purchased prior to the Adapter being launched. It will also only impact Juniper Model Y vehicles, so the first-gen owners will unfortunately not have access to this capability.

If your Model Y was purchased before Tesla renamed the trim levels to “Premium” and “Standard,” it does not seem to be compatible. My Model Y is technically a Premium build, as it is the Long Range All-Wheel-Drive. However, Tesla says it is not compatible with my vehicle.

For $80, you can now utilize your car as a portable charger for small appliances or devices. This is perfect for things like tailgates, concerts, or camping, as you can now plug in devices that you might use. Those string lights for camping? That laptop for the other games that are on at the tailgate?

They’ll both utilize energy from your Tesla’s battery to be powered. This is the first time Tesla has expanded the capability to vehicles outside of the Model Y Performance and Cybertruck. However, this feature has been highly requested by owners for an extended period of time.

Tesla launched the Outlet Adapter in China last year:

Tesla China rolls out Model Y L V2L adapter, and it’s free for early owners

You will need the Mobile Connector to operate the Outlet Adapter: the Outlet Adapter will plug into the main housing of the Mobile Connector, where the appropriate adapter to charge your vehicle will plug in.

It is rated for 120 volts and 20 amps, and has a max power rating of 2.4kW.

You can buy it here from Tesla for $80.

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Tesla Roadster unveiling nears, and it will fly: The Information

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(Credit: Dami Kolz/Twitter)

Tesla is nearing its long-awaited unveiling of the all-electric Tesla Roadster, a new report from The Information claims, as the company has said several times this year that the event would take place “soon.”

Now, it appears there is movement on Tesla’s end regarding when it will happen.

The report says that Tesla will unveil the Roadster as soon as this month with a SpaceX version that will utilize cold-gas thrusters to help the vehicle float for a short period of time. This is something CEO Elon Musk has talked about with the Roadster for years.

Additionally, due to the delays, Tesla explored “a variety of designs” for the Roadster, potentially planning to abandon the design it showed off for the first time in 2017 and adopting an entirely new aesthetic.

According to The Information, Tesla considered utilizing a repurposed Model S Plaid and even wanted to upgrade the look to something like a Lamborghini Countach.

Elon Musk teases Tesla Roadster unveiling once again

We’ve heard all of these things before, including teases about the date and how “soon” the Roadster will finally be ready to be shown off to the world (for the second time). Musk said that the event would occur in April, then May, then Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen continued to say it would be coming “soon.”

We do expect to see the Roadster by the end of the year, and now with this new report swirling, it appears it could be sooner rather than later.

The wait has been incredibly long, but there is likely a good reason for it. Tesla’s desire to make the Roadster the craziest vehicle on the road was non-negotiable, and it likely took a lot of time and resources to develop and perfect into something that was safe and suitable for a vehicle like this.

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