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.

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.

Advertisement
-

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.

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

Elon Musk

Tesla slims Cybertruck offerings to only its most expensive trim

Published

on

Credit: u/dregonzz/Reddit

Tesla has slimmed its Cybertruck offerings to offer only its most expensive trim: the Cyberbeast.

After announcing that the Cybertruck would no longer be produced and the company would wind down manufacturing sometime in the middle of 2027, Tesla started to eliminate some of the configurations offered to customers.

Now, only one remains: the $109,990 Cyberbeast. This is truly what seems like Tesla’s last effort to deter any remaining orders from coming in: eliminate the cheap trims and leave only the high-dollar vehicle within the lineup of Cybertruck options.

Those who want to take advantage of this last-ditch opportunity to own Tesla’s symbolic pickup have to pay to play.

Tesla says the reason for the wind down is truly because of Cybercab and its importance to the future.

Despite cries for Tesla to continue production of the pickup, Musk says it is too difficult to ramp a high-volume line instead of ending the truck altogether. He also says Cybercab is what will take passengers around for the “majority of all miles in any jurisdiction where it is not prohibited by law.”

Tesla is going all in on autonomy, and that’s never been a secret. But the commitment to a two-door, two-seat Cybercab truly limits people from having options for labor or hobbies. It also limits people from having their entire family in a single car.

Parents with even a single child will be required to take multiple vehicles if Cybercab is truly the only option Tesla plans to have.

Elon Musk keeps justifying Tesla Cybertruck’s cancelation, but it’s confusing

Tesla has stated the Robovan will also be in production eventually, but it still does not seem like the most ideal vehicle to own. It seems like it is geared more toward commercial uses, but Tesla might have something in the pipeline for families.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla exec hints at a wild fix for Robotaxi’s biggest weather problem

Tesla VP Lars Moravy says focused lasers could keep robotaxi cameras clear instead of wipers.

Published

on

By

Tesla Cybercab in a rainy Austin, Texas rendering

Tesla may one day use lasers instead of wiper blades to keep its robotaxi cameras clear. Lars Moravy, Tesla’s Vice President of Vehicle Engineering, floated the idea in a new episode of Jay Leno’s Garage released Monday, where he and design chief Franz von Holzhausen walked Leno through the Model Y L.

“If you fire them in a focused area, you can clean the sheet of water and create a barrier,” Moravy said. “When you think about autonomy, it might be a good solution to only clean the area where the camera is.” He added that clearing an entire windshield would take too many lasers to be practical.

The comment brings back one of Tesla’s stranger patents. The company filed for “Pulsed Laser Cleaning of Debris Accumulated on Glass Articles in Vehicles and Photovoltaic Assemblies” in May 2019, and the U.S. Patent Office granted it in September 2021. An updated divisional version was granted on March 31, 2026. The system detects debris on the glass, identifies what it is, and pulses the laser at a calibrated rate so the beam never penetrates deeper than the glass itself. The filing names windshields, side windows, camera lenses and solar panels as possible targets.

Lasers were once rumored for the Cybertruck, which appeared at its November 2019 unveiling with no wipers at all. Tesla eventually settled on a single oversized blade, and Elon Musk admitted the wiper was the part of the truck that troubled him the most. That production line is now scheduled to shut down around mid 2027 to make room for more Cybercab output.

Advertisement
-

What has changed since then is who is in the vehicle. A privately owned car has a driver who can notice a smeared windshield and do something about it. A Cybercab heading to its next pickup has nobody on board to check. Tesla has been chipping away at that problem with conventional hardware. Model Y Robotaxis in Austin were spotted with washers on their side repeater cameras in January, and a lens cleaning patent granted in May describes a fluid and wiper assembly for vehicle cameras and Optimus’ eyes. A laser would remove the fluid and the blades, both of which need regular replacement across a fleet.

The same episode gave Leno his first ride on Full Self-Driving (Supervised). The Model Y L pulled over on its own when an ambulance approached with its sirens on. “We got it on self-driving mode! I’m not touching anything,” Leno said. Moravy and von Holzhausen also explained that owners remain responsible while using FSD (Supervised), while Tesla takes responsibility for Robotaxi rides because it acts as the operator. Tesla launched the Model Y L in the U.S. in July at $61,990.

Moravy gave no timeline, and he described the laser setup as something Tesla is considering rather than a confirmed feature. The fleet it would serve keeps getting bigger, though. Tesla launched unsupervised Robotaxi service in San Antonio on Monday, its eighth city, and expanded its Austin service area to roughly 443 square miles on the same day. Several of those markets, including Houston, Miami and Tampa, see heavy seasonal rain.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla Robotaxi enters its newest city, reaching San Antonio

Published

on

Credit: @AdanGuajardo/X

Tesla launched unsupervised Robotaxi service in San Antonio, Texas, on November 9, 2026, with the first rides beginning at 5 a.m. local time.

The company’s official Robotaxi account on X posted the announcement just after midnight, sharing a map that outlines a large operational zone covering much of the city. The geofence is roughly 274 to 275 square miles, making it Tesla’s largest day-one Robotaxi service area to date.

The zone centers on downtown, covers nearly everything inside Loop 410, and extends north to Loop 1604 between Interstate 10 and U.S. 281, with further reach west past State Highway 151, east beyond I-35, and south toward I-37. This area encompasses about one million residents and hundreds of thousands of jobs.

San Antonio International Airport lies inside the geofence, though Tesla is not currently offering airport pickups or drop-offs. This hopefully will happen soon, as ride-sharing to and from the airport can be expensive.

The launch makes San Antonio Tesla’s eighth unsupervised Robotaxi city and its fifth in Texas, joining Austin, Houston, Dallas, and Fort Worth. Florida markets in Miami, Orlando, and Tampa are also live.

Service uses modified Model Y vehicles operating without a safety driver in the vehicle, consistent with recent unsupervised expansions. Cybercab two-seaters remain limited primarily to Austin for now. It’s worth noting that Dept. of Transportation officials in Texas have already ok’d the Cybercab’s operation in Austin, and one official called it “a tangible example of how quickly our transportation system is evolving.”

San Antonio was previously listed among near-term targets in Tesla’s October 2026 Robotaxi safety materials, alongside Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Jacksonville. The rapid Texas rollout follows Fort Worth’s unsupervised debut on November 2 and builds on Austin’s original launch in June 2025.

The 274-square-mile debut remains substantially larger than Waymo’s local footprint and marks continued progress in Tesla’s unsupervised autonomy efforts after starting the year with no such rides. The company has stated ambitions for broader 24/7 operations by the end of 2026 as vehicle counts and software reliability improve.

Continue Reading