Connect with us

News

Tesla formally starts FSD Beta 10.3 rollout, includes drivers with 99 Safety Score

(Credit: James Locke/YouTube)

Published

on

Tesla has formally started the rollout of FSD Beta 10.3 to its fleet. The latest iteration of the advanced driver assist system featured several improvements that were outlined in some detailed Release Notes. 

As observed by members of the electric vehicle community, FSD Beta 10.3 is now being rolled out to drivers with a Safety Score of 99 and above. This was previously mentioned by CEO Elon Musk on Twitter, who noted that the advanced driver assist system would gradually be released to owners with Safety Scores below 100

The following are the detailed Release Notes for Tesla FSD Beta 10.3

  • Added FSD Profiles that allow drivers to control behaviors like rolling stops, exiting passing lanes, speed-based lane changes, following distance and yellow light headway. 
  • Added planning capability to drive along oncoming lanes to maneuver around path blockage. 
  • Improved creeping speed by linking speed to visibility network estimation and distance to encroachment point of crossing lanes. 
  • Improved crossing object velocity estimation by 20% and yaw estimation by 25% by upreving surround video vehicle network with more data. Also increased system frame rate by +1.7 frames per second. 
  • Improved vehicle semantic detections (e.g. brake lights, turn indicators, hazards) by adding +25k video clips to the training data set. 
  • Improved static obstacle control by upreving the generalized static object network with 6k more video clips (+5.6% precision, +2.5% recall). 
  • Allowed more acceleration when merging from on-ramps onto major roads and when lane changing from slow to fast lanes. 
  • Reduced false slowdowns and improved offsetting for pedestrians by improving the model of interaction between pedestrians and the static world. 
  • Improved turning profile for unprotected turns by allowing ego to lane lines more naturally, when safe to do so. 
  • Improved speed profile for boosting onto high-speed roads by enforcing stricter longitudinal and lateral acceleration limits required to beat the crossing objects. 

The release of FSD Beta 10.3 was initially set for Friday midnight. As Saturday rolled in, however, members of the FSD Beta group observed that no such updates were being received by their vehicles. Elon Musk eventually explained the slight delay, noting that Tesla had found some “regression in some left turns at traffic lights” was found by the company’s internal QA team. With a fix being developed for the observed behavior, Musk noted that FSD Beta 10.3 would likely be rolling out on Sunday instead. This estimate proved accurate.

Considering that Tesla is adopting a conservative approach to the rollout of FSD Beta, it would not be surprising if the company enforces even stricter rules for inattentive drivers or users who are using the advanced driver assist system irresponsibly. Just a few days ago, and as a copy of a message from Tesla issuing a warning to an FSD Beta tester made the rounds online, Elon Musk confirmed that the company is indeed kicking out users who are misusing the system by being inattentive to the road.

Advertisement

Tesla is currently experiencing some scrutiny from the NHTSA, with the agency probing the company over incidents where a vehicle in Autopilot crashed into a stationary emergency vehicle. Tesla has since rolled out a safety update for Autopilot, which, in turn, seemingly aggravated the NHTSA since the company did not issue a recall before releasing its over-the-air software update. During the Q3 2021 earnings call, however, Tesla executives highlighted that the company welcomes the scrutiny, and that the it is willing to work with any safety agency to make its the roads as safe as possible.

Watch Tesla FSD Beta 10.3 in action in the video below.

The Teslarati team would appreciate hearing from you. If you have any tips, reach out to me at maria@teslarati.com or via Twitter @Writer_01001101.

Advertisement

Maria--aka "M"-- is an experienced writer and book editor. She's written about several topics including health, tech, and politics. As a book editor, she's worked with authors who write Sci-Fi, Romance, and Dark Fantasy. M loves hearing from TESLARATI readers. If you have any tips or article ideas, contact her at maria@teslarati.com or via X, @Writer_01001101.

Advertisement
Comments

News

Ford is charging for a basic EV feature on the Mustang Mach-E

When ordering a new Ford Mustang Mach-E, you’ll now be hit with an additional fee for one basic EV feature: the frunk.

Published

on

Credit: Ford Motor Company

Ford is charging an additional fee for a basic EV feature on its Mustang Mach-E, its most popular electric vehicle offering.

Ford has shuttered its initial Model e program, but is venturing into a more controlled and refined effort, and it is abandoning the F-150 Lightning in favor of a new pickup that is currently under design, but appears to have some favorable features.

However, ordering a new Mustang Mach-E now comes with an additional fee for one basic EV feature: the frunk.

The frunk is the front trunk, and due to the lack of a large engine in the front of an electric vehicle, OEMs are able to offer additional storage space under the hood. There’s one problem, though, and that is that companies appear to be recognizing that they can remove it for free while offering the function for a fee.

Ford is charging $495 for the frunk.

Interestingly, the frunk size varies by vehicle, but the Mustang Mach-E features a 4.7 to 4.8 cubic-foot-sized frunk, which measures approximately 9 inches deep, 26 inches wide, and 14 inches high.

When the vehicle was first released, Ford marketed the frunk as the ultimate tailgating feature, showing it off as a perfect place to store and serve cold shrimp cocktail.

Ford Mach-E frunk is perfect for chowders and chicken wings, and we’re not even joking

It appears the decision to charge for what is a simple advantage of an EV is not going over well, as even Ford loyal customers say the frunk is a “basic expectation” of an EV. Without it, it seems as if fans feel the company is nickel-and-diming its customers.

It will be pretty interesting to see the Mach-E without a frunk, and while it should not be enough to turn people away from potentially buying the vehicle, it seems the decision to add an additional charge to include one will definitely annoy some customers.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla to improve one of its best features, coding shows

According to the update, Tesla will work on improving the headlights when coming into contact with highly reflective objects, including road signs, traffic signs, and street lights. Additionally, pixel-level dimming will happen in two stages, whereas it currently performs with just one, meaning on or off.

Published

on

Credit: @jojje167 on X

Tesla is looking to upgrade its Matrix Headlights, a unique and high-tech feature that is available on several of its vehicles. The headlights aim to maximize visibility for Tesla drivers while being considerate of oncoming traffic.

The Matrix Headlights Tesla offers utilize dimming of individual light pixels to ensure that visibility stays high for those behind the wheel, while also being considerate of other cars by decreasing the brightness in areas where other cars are traveling.

Here’s what they look like in action:

As you can see, the Matrix headlight system intentionally dims the area where oncoming cars would be impacted by high beams. This keeps visibility at a maximum for everyone on the road, including those who could be hit with bright lights in their eyes.

There are still a handful of complaints from owners, however, but Tesla appears to be looking to resolve these with the coming updates in a Software Version that is currently labeled 2026.2.xxx. The coding was spotted by X user BERKANT:

According to the update, Tesla will work on improving the headlights when coming into contact with highly reflective objects, including road signs, traffic signs, and street lights. Additionally, pixel-level dimming will happen in two stages, whereas it currently performs with just one, meaning on or off.

Finally, the new system will prevent the high beams from glaring back at the driver. The system is made to dim when it recognizes oncoming cars, but not necessarily objects that could produce glaring issues back at the driver.

Tesla’s revolutionary Matrix headlights are coming to the U.S.

This upgrade is software-focused, so there will not need to be any physical changes or upgrades made to Tesla vehicles that utilize the Matrix headlights currently.

Continue Reading

Elon Musk

xAI’s Grok approved for Pentagon classified systems: report

Under the agreement, Grok can be deployed in systems handling classified intelligence analysis, weapons development, and battlefield operations. 

Published

on

xAI-supercomputer-memphis-environment-pushback
Credit: xAI

Elon Musk’s xAI has signed an agreement with the United States Department of Defense (DoD) to allow Grok to be used in classified military systems.

Previously, Anthropic’s Claude had been the only AI system approved for the most sensitive military work, but a dispute over usage safeguards has reportedly prompted the Pentagon to broaden its options, as noted in a report from Axios.

Under the agreement, Grok can be deployed in systems handling classified intelligence analysis, weapons development, and battlefield operations. 

The publication reported that xAI agreed to the Pentagon’s requirement that its technology be usable for “all lawful purposes,” a standard Anthropic has reportedly resisted due to alleged ethical restrictions tied to mass surveillance and autonomous weapons use.

Advertisement

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is scheduled to meet with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei in what sources expect to be a tense meeting, with the publication hinting that the Pentagon could designate Anthropic a “supply chain risk” if the company does not lift its safeguards. 

Axios stated that replacing Claude fully might be technically challenging even if xAI or other alternative AI systems take its place. That being said, other AI systems are already in use by the DoD. 

Grok already operates in the Pentagon’s unclassified systems alongside Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Google is reportedly close to an agreement that will result in Gemini being used for classified use, while OpenAI’s progress toward classified deployment is described as slower but still feasible. 

The publication noted that the Pentagon continues talks with several AI companies as it prepares for potential changes in classified AI sourcing.

Advertisement
Continue Reading