News
Tesla FSD Beta 10.69.2 “looking good” for weekend release + 10.69.1.1 Reviews
Elon Musk shared that Tesla FSD Beta 10.69.2’s release is still set for this weekend.
Tesla initially planned to release v10.69.2 last week but delayed the update to polish it up more. The company rolled out v.10.69.1.1 to more Beta testers instead.
Tesla FSD Beta 10.69.1.1 Reviews
A few Tesla Beta testers who received v10.69.1.1 shared their observations and thoughts about the update with Teslarati. One of the common issues Beta Testers mentioned was phantom braking.
One 2021 Model S owner, Howard, noted that his Tesla vehicle still experienced phantom braking too much. He shared that his Model S drove like a 16-year-old. “Not smooth with the wheel, throttle, or brakes,” he said.
Howard also observed that his Tesla ignored some speed signs, even if they popped up on the display. The Tesla Model S owner added that his car “still fades right into turn lanes when there is not [a] turn to be done. It then swerves to go to the last [turn] it just left.”
Fellow FSD Beta tester, Michael, was “a bit disappointed” with the latest update. He noted experiencing some phantom braking along the Long Island Expressway.
“Can’t seem to figure out the somewhat irregular lines in the HOV lane, which is surprising to me. Oh well….hope for better next time. Still not there, but much better than first experiences,” Michael added.
Impressions from a longtime FSD Beta Tester
FSD Beta tester Les also shared his thoughts about v.10.69.1.1 with Teslarati. Les has been an Early Access software tester since 2018. He was kind enough to break down all his observations from testing FSD Beta 10.69.1.1.
Les mentioned seeing a few issues with FSD Beta that have been around since Fall 2021. Some of the issues are listed below.
- [The] car doesn’t always stay in [the] proper turn lane when using the outer lane of a left dual turn lane scenario; 8/10 times, mid-turn, it will cross over into the inner turn lane. It has done this for me with every FSD Beta build back to October 2021.
- Inconsistent lane selection: my car will still sometimes move[s] into lanes opposite to the next upcoming turn, sometimes when close to that upcoming turn, sometimes missing the turn itself.
- Late turn signals: this is a long-standing issue many testers have reported. The turn signals [usually] activate too late when they need to activate ahead of a turn lane to alert drivers behind us.
Despite the continuing issues he observed, Les seemed to have an overall good experience with the latest update. He specifically highlighted Tesla’s work with Chuck Cook Style’s unprotected left terms which were specifically mentioned in v10.69’s release notes. Listed below are all his good observations about FSD Beta v. 10.69.1.1.
- The improvement to “Chuck Cook style” unprotected left turns with multiple lanes and medians is incredible. The car utilizes the median space very well. [It] feels like more than an improvement. It really almost feels like a feature upgrade. It’s that significant and amazing to experience.
- The car has almost no more phantom braking events for me. I never had many to begin with, certainly not as many severe events as other friends report, but I did notice the ones I had and the places they occurred no longer occurred.
- Traffic turning across my car’s path no longer triggers a cautious braking event when there’s enough room ahead. The car better recognizes the crossing vehicle’s direction and speed, and my car maintains its speed. Very human-like behavior.
- More assertive and smooth acceleration out of turns, especially when entering a higher speed road. Related: improved acceleration from stops. I like this very much, as prior builds often took too long (for my taste anyway) to get up to speed. It still could get up to speed more quickly, but there is [a] notable improvement.
- The dashcam bug has been eliminated!! The prior build would routinely crash the dashcam after I parked and/or charged, requiring either a computer reboot or removal/reinsertion of [the] dashcam thumb drive to fix. No more problems!
In general, Tesla is steadily improving FSD Beta with each update. And Testers are actively experiencing those improvements. However, Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite still needs more work before it rolls out to the public.
Are you an FSD Beta tester? I’d like to hear your thoughts on v10.69.2! Contact me at maria@teslarati.com or via Twitter @Writer_01001101.
News
Tesla admits to slow Model Y Robotaxi integration, but for a good reason
Tesla welcomed JPMorgan analysts to one of its factories earlier this month, with the Wall Street firm highlighting its findings in a new note to investors. One of the more pertinent pieces of information is that Tesla admitted to slowly integrating Model Y vehicles into its Robotaxi fleet, but it has a good reason.
JPMorgan analysts recently toured Tesla’s Fremont Factory and met with the company’s investor relations team, emerging with a clearer picture of the automaker’s Robotaxi strategy. According to the bank’s note, Tesla is intentionally limiting the addition of Model Y vehicles to its existing Robotaxi fleet.
The firm’s analysts said:
“Tesla indicated it is intentionally holding back on adding Model Y units to the robotaxi fleet, expressing confidence in its ability to scale Cybercab in the near-term. On FSD V15, Tesla views this release as a step-change in performance, comparable to the leap from V13 to V14. The V15 upgrade encompasses seven core technologies, with ~40% of those currently being tested in the robotaxi fleet, where initial feedback has been encouraging.”
JPMorgan after meeting with Tesla recently in Fremont:
“Tesla indicated it is intentionally holding back on adding Model Y units to the robotaxi fleet, expressing confidence in its ability to scale Cybercab in the near-term. On FSD V15, Tesla views this release as a step-change… pic.twitter.com/W9yGCWRT3C
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) August 20, 2026
Far from signaling delays or doubts about autonomy, the move reflects strong management confidence in the near-term scalability of the purpose-built Cybercab.
Tesla has operated its Robotaxi service primarily with modified Model Ys since launching in Austin and expanding to other markets. Yet the company is now deliberately holding back further Model Y conversions. The rationale is straightforward: leadership believes the Cybercab, a two-seat, steering-wheel- and pedal-free vehicle optimized for high utilization, can ramp production and deployment more efficiently in the coming months.
This dedicated form factor promises better unit economics for the majority of rides, which typically involve one or two passengers, while freeing consumer Model Y inventory for retail sales.
Supporting this pivot is Full Self-Driving (FSD) software version 15, which Tesla describes as a genuine step-change in performance, comparable to the leap from V13 to V14. The update incorporates seven core technologies; roughly 40 percent are already undergoing real-world testing in the current Robotaxi fleet, with early feedback described as encouraging.
Tesla is carefully managing software development to minimize regressions in core driving functions as new capabilities are added. Management positions V15 as the primary gateway to scaling unsupervised FSD. Importantly, the existing AI and Hardware 4 stack is already capable of running V15 and supporting unsupervised operation.
Cybercab itself is only the first vehicle on the platform. Tesla reiterated that additional form factors will follow, pointing to concepts such as the earlier “Robovan” demonstration as examples of how the architecture can evolve.
Tesla’s mysterious Robovan makes a sneak peek with Optimus in Terafab video
Parallel progress continues on the Optimus humanoid robot, which remains on track for start of production in the coming months, with commercial sales possible as early as the second half of 2027. Generation 3 details will be revealed closer to production to preserve competitive advantages, while Generation 4 scope will draw on real-world Gen 3 experience.
JPMorgan left the meeting with a deeper appreciation for Tesla’s manufacturing automation and maintained its $475 price target. The decision to slow Model Y Robotaxi integration is therefore not a setback but a calculated prioritization of a more efficient, purpose-built solution that management believes is ready to scale.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk gives a timeline for SpaceX’s first Starship catch attempt
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced today that the company will likely attempt to catch the Starship upper stage with its launch tower arms “in a few months.”
In a post on X, Musk wrote, “Looks like we will probably catch the ship with the tower in a few months. If there had been a tower out to sea where we practiced landing the ship, it would have been caught.” He added that the first reflight of a Starship vehicle is expected by the end of 2026 or early 2027, describing it as “a fork in the road of history for consciousness reaching the stars.”
Looks like we will probably catch the ship with the tower in a few months. If there had been a tower out to sea where we practiced landing the ship, it would have been caught.
First reflight of the ship will be either end of this year or early next. That will be a fork in the… https://t.co/O5g9pqrzyo
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 20, 2026
Musk’s prediction comes amid ongoing progress toward full reusability of the Starship system, a two-stage rocket designed for rapid turnaround and dramatically lower launch costs. Catching the upper stage, known simply as “ship,” with the Mechazilla tower’s mechanical arms would mark a major milestone. It would allow both stages to return directly to the launch site for quick refurbishment and reuse, eliminating the need for ocean recovery.
Musk has previously signaled plans for a ship catch. In July, shortly after SpaceX’s wildly successful Starship 13 mission, he stated that the company would attempt to catch the ship with the tower on the next flight unless problems emerged in the mission data review. Earlier comments also outline conditions such as successful soft ocean landings before attempting a land recovery to minimize risk.
SpaceX has solved Starship’s biggest challenge, Elon Musk says
The latest update from Musk adjusts this timeline to a few months, reflecting the iterative nature of the test campaign.
SpaceX has already demonstrated the tower catch technique successfully with the Super Heavy booster on a couple of occasions. The first successful booster catch occurred during Flight 5 in October 2024, when the massive first stage returned to the Starbase pad in Texas and was plucked from the air by the tower arms.
Additional catches followed on later flights, including Flight 7, proving the concept for the booster and building confidence in the system as a whole.
Achieving a similar catch for the upper stage would represent a significant step forward. The ship returns from much higher speeds and greater heat loads after orbital or near-orbital flight. Success would advance SpaceX’s goal of full and rapid reusability, potentially reducing the cost of access to orbit by a factor of 100 or more and supporting ambitions for frequent satellite deployments, lunar missions, and eventual Mars flights.
Musk has long emphasized that true reusability, refueling rather than discarding hardware, is essential for making humanity a multi-planetary species.
As SpaceX continues refining Starship through successive test flights, the coming months will test whether the ambitious catch timeline can be met. The combination of prior booster successes and improving ship landing precision suggests the company is steadily closing in on this historic capability.
News
SpaceX achieves incredible milestone with Starlink program
SpaceX has achieved an incredible milestone by launching its 11,000th Starlink satellite into orbit.
This accomplishment occurred during the Starlink Group 17-50 mission, which lifted off on August 19 at 04:01 UTC from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Falcon 9 launches 24 @Starlink satellites from California pic.twitter.com/UscpmAxDls
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 19, 2026
A Falcon 9 rocket carried 24 Starlink V2 Mini satellites on this flight, successfully deploying them into low Earth orbit approximately one hour after liftoff. The first stage booster, identified as B1097 on its twelfth flight, landed successfully on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean.
According to tracking data compiled around that date, this deployment brought the total number of Starlink satellites in orbit to just over 11,000.
The Starlink program began with test satellites known as Tintin A and B, launched on February 22, 2018. The first operational batch of 60 Starlink satellites followed on May 24, 2019, when a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral. Those initial satellites marked the start of a rapid expansion that has continued for more than seven years.
SpaceX has conducted hundreds of dedicated Starlink missions since then, routinely launching batches of 20 to 30 satellites at a time using reusable Falcon 9 rockets. By mid-2026, the company had already surpassed 12,000 total satellites launched across all versions, with continuous replacements for units that deorbit as designed to manage space debris.
Looking ahead, SpaceX continues to expand the Starlink constellation to enhance global broadband coverage, capacity, and speed. The network already serves millions of users across more than 160 countries and supports applications ranging from residential internet to maritime, aviation, and emergency services.
Future plans center on next-generation hardware, including larger V3 satellites capable of delivering substantially higher throughput, which require the increased payload capacity of the Starship vehicle currently under development and testing.
In July, SpaceX submitted an application to the Federal Communications Commission seeking authority for a Gen3 constellation of up to 100,000 satellites. These spacecraft would operate in very low Earth orbit shells at altitudes near 325 kilometers and 475 kilometers. The filing requests use of existing Ku, Ka, V, and E band spectrum along with new greenfield W and D band frequencies between 92 and 275 GHz.
SpaceX states that the expanded system aims to deliver multi-gigabit symmetrical broadband to consumers, enterprises, governments, and billions of AI-powered devices worldwide while handling a majority of global internet traffic. Approval and subsequent deployment would depend on regulatory review and the operational readiness of Starship for high-volume launches.
This ambitious scale reflects SpaceX’s ongoing commitment to providing ubiquitous high-speed connectivity from space.