Connect with us

News

Tesla FSD Beta V9 delayed another week to ‘fix some obvious issues,’ Elon Musk says

An autonomous Tesla Model 3 in action. (Credit: Tesla)

Published

on

The release of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Beta Version 9 has been delayed another week, CEO Elon Musk told Twitter followers early today. The FSD Suite has been primed for a new release for several months, and Musk has hinted toward an imminent rollout of the semi-autonomous driving functionality. However, unexpected delays have occurred on several occasions, and FSD V9’s expected Q2 release is becoming more far-fetched as the quarter comes to a close.

Musk’s Twitter feed is a common place for Tesla owners to receive news from the company’s CEO, first-hand. However, even Musk, who has held the CEO role at Tesla since 2008, can be spotty with his predictions, especially as the automaker continues to navigate through the difficult, and evidently unexpected, bottlenecks that can spring up at what seems like the drop of a hat.

Musk said early this morning that “we [Tesla] need to fix some obvious issues before releasing beta 9, hopefully next week.” This has been a repetitive tone of the Tesla CEO, who says that he’s currently utilizing FSD “Alpha 9” in his personal vehicle.

Tesla has had some issues narrowing down an exact timeframe for FSD v9’s release, and it comes with the territory. The company has long worked to release a “feature complete” version of its FSD suite, and through the years, the capability has gotten more complex and accurate with its performance. Tesla has also switched up its approach to self-driving, as it recently scrapped radar in its vehicles in favor of a camera-only approach. Known as “Tesla Vision,” the removal of radar, in Musk’s eyes, was the scrapping of a “crutch.”

Musk said during the Q1 2021 Earnings Call:

“I think with the elimination of radar, we’re finally getting rid of one of the last crutches. Radar was really — it was making up for some of the shortfalls of vision, but this is not good. You actually just need vision to work.”

Advertisement

The most recent update to the FSD Beta V9 came on June 6th, when Musk updated Tesla owners with details on what was expected to be V9’s long-awaited release. “One more production release of pure vision this week, then FSD Beta 9 a week or two later. V9.0 FSD is also pure vision. Foundational improvements are immense,” he said.

This would have slotted V9 to be rolled out to customers on June 20th, at the latest. But the update never came, and Tesla owners received their most clarified suggestion from Musk last night, where he said it needed “to fix some obvious issues.”

There could be some bottlenecks with the FSD suite now that the Model 3 and Model Y are operating without radar. While the camera-based approach has been on Tesla’s agenda for some time, there is no indication of whether the transition is causing problems for Tesla’s Autopilot team. Many owners of radar-less Tesla vehicles have indicated that the performance has actually improved, but there is no indication of what exactly is causing the delays once again.

Advertisement

Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

Advertisement
Comments

News

SpaceX Starlink gets its latest airline adoptee, grabbing three of the ‘Big Four’

Published

on

Credit: American Airlines

SpaceX’s Starlink product has just gotten its latest airline adoptee, and the move marks the successful partnership of three of the “Big Four” U.S. airlines.

American Airlines announced on Tuesday that it would utilize Starlink in more than 500 narrowbody aircraft beginning in the first quarter of 2027. These include the Airbus aircraft in its fleet, including the new A321XLR and A321neo.

With the new partnership with American Airlines, Starlink is now present on three of the largest airlines in the country: American, United, and Southwest.

Starlink gets its latest airline adoptee for stable and reliable internet access

Advertisement

Starlink’s VP of Enterprise Sales, Jason Fritch, said:

“We are proud to bring Starlink on board American Airlines, delivering fast and reliable internet to passengers and crew. Whether traveling for leisure or business, Starlink enables a fully connected experience gate to gate, making every flight smoother and more enjoyable.”

Additionally, American Airlines Chief Customer Officer, Heather Garboden, said:

“As a premium global airline, we are continuously seeking out world-class partners like Starlink to deliver what our customers need and want. The addition of Starlink solidifies American as a leading airline in keeping passengers connected in flight.”

Advertisement

Starlink has been on a tear over the past year, as it has continued to be adopted by a wide variety of airlines as a more consistent and reliable way to provide WiFi to its passengers. It has already gained a great reputation among residential users, but its biggest commercial application appears to be how it is being used in the air.

Advertisement

The only airline of the Big Four not to adopt Starlink thus far is Delta, which chose to opt for the alternative, which is Amazon Leo. CEO Ed Bastian said to Bloomberg that Delta chose Amazon’s product over Starlink’s because “the opportunities, in terms of the improved bandwidth with a much lower price point than what we’ve ever seen from Starlink, will make a big difference.”

Delta will not start installing Amazon Leo until 2028.

“Of course, we expect Starlink will be warning people that we’re going to go with an inferior product,” Bastian said. “But I’m not too worried about partnering with Amazon.”

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Cybertruck

Tesla Cybertruck’s newest trim is nearing its first deliveries

Published

on

Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer | X

Tesla Cybertruck’s newest trim level is nearing its first deliveries just a few months after being offered for an incredible deal.

Back in February, Tesla officially launched a new trim of the Cybertruck, the All-Wheel-Drive, starting at just $59,990. It was a lot of truck for the money, especially considering what it offered the Rear-Wheel-Drive variant for last year, which was a total flop.

The $59,990 price that was offered initially was a deal due to its 325-mile range rating, powered tonneau, three bed outlets, Powershare capability, coil springs with adaptive damping for a refined suspension feel, Steer-by-Wire and four-wheel steering, a 6′ x 4′ composite bed, towing capacity of 7,500 pounds, and a powered frunk.

Tesla is now nearing deliveries of this trim, according to watcher Sawyer Merritt, as Tesla has officially started assigning VINs to people who ordered the vehicle initially:

Advertisement

Earlier this month, we reported on units of the trim being spotted outside Gigafactory Texas by Joe Tegtmeyer.

Advertisement

Tesla Giga Texas buzzing as new Cybertruck appears to enter production

This Cybertruck trim was interesting because it was released basically out of nowhere, priced incredibly well, and gathered many orders in a small amount of time. However, CEO Elon Musk noted just days afterward that the vehicle would only be priced at this bargain level for ten days.

Tesla fans were not happy.

However, the issues with the pricing strategy have blown over since the February unveiling event, and now that deliveries are near, Tesla fans are anticipating the truck making its way to their driveways soon.

The truck is currently priced at $69,990, and deliveries for new orders are slated for between August and September 2026.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

News

Tesla ships new feature that silences neighborhood Supercharger complaints

Published

on

tesla-diner-supercharger
Credit: Tesla

Tesla is shipping a new feature that silences neighborhood Supercharger complaints, prompting drivers to be aware of those who might be impacted by excessive noise nearby.

Tesla is now rolling out a new location-specific “Quiet Charging Zone” that prompts drivers to lower their vehicle’s audio volume in an effort to make things comfortable for everyone, even those who are not Tesla owners.

This is an impactful feature that will resolve many complaints from those who are living nearby.

When a Tesla plugs into this Supercharger and its media volume exceeds a certain level, the vehicle’s central touchscreen displays a polite notification: “Could you turn the volume down? Please be mindful of our neighbors.”

Advertisement

Accompanying the message is a prominent “Lower” button. One tap automatically reduces the audio to a more considerate level. Physical “Quiet Charging Zone” signs posted at the station reinforce the request, creating a cohesive experience that blends digital nudges with on-site reminders.

This feature highlights Tesla’s unique advantages. Unlike traditional automakers, Tesla owns both the vehicle software and the charging infrastructure.

Engineers can detect the precise location via GPS, trigger context-aware prompts, and deploy changes fleet-wide in hours or days without recalls or dealer visits. No public release notes highlighted the change, suggesting it was a quiet, site-specific rollout designed to test effectiveness before potential expansion.

These are usually referred to as “Undocumented Changes.”

Advertisement

Beyond immediate noise reduction, the initiative underscores Tesla’s customer- and community-focused ethos. While EVs are inherently quieter than combustion-engine vehicles, auxiliary behaviors like loud infotainment can still create friction in dense cities. Tesla’s rapid response turns potential conflict into an opportunity to demonstrate thoughtful engineering.

As Tesla expands its Supercharger network, which is now open to other EVs in many places, features like location-based quiet modes could become standard tools for harmonious integration into neighborhoods.

Continue Reading