Tesla Full Self-Driving (FSD) Beta 10.69.3.1 has been out for some time now, and Teslarati talked to a few beta testers about the update.
Below are some notes and observations about v.10.69.3.1 from Tesla FSD Beta Testers.
FSD Beta 10.69.3.1 and Lanes
Lane selection has been one of the issues that most FSD Beta testers bring up when they talk to Teslarati. Before 10.69.3.1, FSD Beta reportedly had trouble understanding when to switch lanes, which one to switch to, or when to remain in a lane. FSD Beta testers are still experiencing lane selection issues.
“Not only has lane selection in anticipating a turn been a step back for me, lane selection whilst performing dual lane left-hand turns still suffer. The car doesn’t stay in its assigned lane but drifts. This does not happen on right turns,” said Les, a long-time FSD Beta tester.
“Lane selection still has issues. Most of the time it’s ok, but occasionally, it does strange things like changing into the right lane momentarily, then back to the left when there is an upcoming left-hand turn,” noted FSD Beta tester Sandy.
Turn Issues in FSD Beta 10.69.3.1
Les and fellow FSD Beta tester Sandy mentioned other lane issues related to turns. Les noted that one of the biggest step back with FSD Beta 10.69.3.1 occurs when the car faces an upcoming turn.
“On previous builds, the car would only occasionally move in the opposite lane direction of an upcoming turn. On this build, virtually every turn I had upcoming, when the car got within half a mile of said turn, it would signal and move into the lane of the opposite direction,” Les said.
“Virtually every right turn I’ve had upcoming, the car, inexplicably, signals and changes into the left-hand lane. Same for left-hand turns, within half a mile out the car signaled and changed into the right-hand lane. Confounding to say the least, to the point of comedy,” he added.
Sandy noticed that his car requires interventions or disconnects at stop signs sometimes. In the past, other FSD Beta testers have mentioned that their vehicle experiences jerky movements or their signal lights turn off and on during intersections, traffic lights, and stop signs. It’s as if the car is deciding whether the driver wants to turn or not.
“Following and lane changes seem smoother and more natural,” said Sandy. “However, it still has issues that require intervention/disconnects. When it creeps at stop signs, it can make jerky movements with steering wheel and, imo, it creeps to slowly and takes too long before proceeding.”
Mixed Reviews for 10.69.3.1
As with all of Tesla’s FSD Beta updates, there have been a few good reviews and bad ones. Beta testers tend to focus on the issues, as it is their responsibility to report them so Tesla can improve FSD. However, testers also report significant improvements they see during their drives.
In the case of 10.69.3.1, it seems like FSD Beta received mixed reviews. Some testers believed that the update significantly improved the advanced driver assist software while others thought it was a step back.
“I have tested the 10.69.3.1 build on my Model Y, and it’s a giant leap forward from builds prior to 10.69,” observed Tony, a Model Y owner and a member of the FSD Beta program.
Tony noted that the biggest changes were improvements to acceleration, smoother turns, and less necessary steering wheel input. Sandy also observed more improvements with Tesla FSD Beta 10.69.3.1 rather than issues.
On the other hand, Les believed that v.10.69.3.1 was a step back for FSD Beta.
“These 10.69.3.1 step backs are the biggest in my FSD Beta testing experience to date. Previous builds have been much better for me. But again, I understand the process; updates are sometimes “2 steps forward and 1 step back.” I still enjoy testing. The product isn’t finished yet,” he said.
Tesla FSD Beta Wide Release
Tesla started the wide release of FSD Beta v.10.69.3.1 in late November. A day after its release, Tesla rolled out FSD Beta to cars with less than 100 Autopilot miles and Safety Scores lower than 80.
The EV maker rolled out FSD Beta V11 to a few testers already. FSD Beta V11 is Tesla’s single-stack update. However, update 10.69.3.1 seems to be rolling out to more testers.
Tesla also made Full Self-Driving Beta available to anyone in North America who purchases it from their car screen. Now that Tesla has released FSD Beta to anyone in North America interested in trying it out, the company might want to streamline its performance. Based on Teslarati‘s interviews with FSD Beta Testers, the software performs differently based on location, driver, terrain, and other factors.
“Phantom braking on city streets (not highways) returned for me in one bizarre instance; it wasn’t the sudden hard kind of braking, rather this was a new braking behavior that was slow and gradual almost to a stop while I was going straight in the middle lane of a three-lane road. Not at a turn, wasn’t going through an intersection, and the road was clear,” described Les in one instance.
“There were no cars around me so I let the car do its thing to see what it was doing; it literally started slowing from 40mph to 5mph before I disengaged and accelerated back up to speed. Very weird. I went back to that spot a couple days later and the car didn’t do it. It acted normal,” he explained.
Tesla Full Self-Driving has not received regulatory approval yet. It still faces a lot of skepticism, especially in terms of safety. Delivering consistent, reliable performances in various driving situations might help it get regulatory approval.
Are you an FSD Beta tester? Have you tried out V11? If you have, I’d like to hear from you! Contact me at maria@teslarati.com or via Twitter @Writer_01001101.
News
Starlink launches Communities Program for passive income through internet sharing
Starlink is launching a new beta path for ordinary property owners and local operators to turn a single Starlink kit into a small shared-access business for passive income.
Under the Starlink for Communities program, a host installs one dish and router setup in a location with nearby demand: an apartment complex, campground, rural crossroads, or event site. Neighbors or local users can buy short-term passes rather than full individual subscriptions, giving the Starlink provider a potential path to passive income.
Hour, day, and week passes cover one device. A month pass covers up to four. Starlink handles account creation, payments, access controls, and the satellite link itself. The host’s role is mainly placement, power, and basic upkeep, with earnings tied to each paid connection.
Big news! SpaceX is introducing a new @Starlink for Communities program that lets you earn money by providing Starlink internet to your neighbors or people nearby, who can pay for access by the hour, day, week, or month.
Neighbors pay for the access they need, while the person… pic.twitter.com/DtOUs0Ekvt
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) October 1, 2026
The model echoes the passive-income vision long attached to Tesla’s Robotaxi plans, and it seems like it’s something Musk has hinted toward in the past as he believes AI will make the need to work relatively optional. In both cases, the platform owns the hard parts of matching, billing, and network management, while an individual supplies a physical asset that sits idle much of the time.
A Starlink host’s dish can serve multiple nearby users without each household buying and installing its own terminal. A Tesla owner, under the stated Robotaxi concept, would leave a vehicle enrolled in the fleet during unused hours so the car generates rides while the owner is at work or asleep.
Both arrangements convert under-utilized hardware into a revenue stream. They also let the company scale coverage or capacity without owning every endpoint.
Differences are practical. A Starlink kit is a fixed, relatively low-cost terminal whose main constraint is local congestion and line-of-sight. A Tesla Robotaxi is a mobile, high-value vehicle whose earnings depend on demand density, utilization rates, insurance, cleaning, and charging.
Starlink’s program is already accepting host applications in multiple countries and describes the revenue split as ongoing. Tesla’s owner-network version remains more aspirational.
The company currently operates a limited company-controlled robotaxi service in select areas and has solicited interest from fleet buyers for Cybercab vehicles, while private Full Self-Driving owners have not yet been able to dispatch their own cars for paid rides at scale.
Tesla primes Cybercabs for 4K streaming and high bandwidth gaming with Starlink integration
Starlink is a satellite broadband service operated by SpaceX that uses a constellation of low-Earth-orbit satellites to deliver internet to locations where terrestrial broadband is slow, expensive, or absent. It has grown to millions of subscribers worldwide by selling direct residential, mobile, and enterprise terminals, and have become widely available at a wide array at retail locations like Target and Best Buy.
The Communities program extends that reach by letting hosts resell short bursts of capacity to people nearby, while also providing high-speed internet access to those who are simply around a Starlink user.
News
Tesla just made its headlights even better through a software update
Tesla just upgraded its headlights through a software update, making them even better without any physical or hardware upgrade.
Tesla’s latest software update is quietly improving nighttime driving for a small number of owners. Version 2026.38 includes a new capability called Dynamic Headlight Leveling.
The feature automatically adjusts the aim of the low beams in response to driving conditions and nearby traffic, with the goal of giving the driver more usable light on the road while reducing glare for oncoming vehicles and traffic ahead.
2026.38 just dropped.
Model 3 gets Dynamic Headlight Leveling — low beams auto-aim around traffic for max visibility, less glare. Model 3 / Y (AMD HW3) also pick up sharper Tesla visuals + an enhanced park scene on the center display.
Legacy Intel cars get Supercharger Site… pic.twitter.com/45ac4AH6Vs
— Frunk To Trunk (@FrunkToTrunk) September 30, 2026
Unlike Tesla’s matrix high-beam system, which selectively dims individual LED segments to create shadows around other cars, Dynamic Headlight Leveling physically tilts the low-beam projectors. Internal motors respond to changes in vehicle pitch.
When the car accelerates hard, climbs a steep grade, or carries extra weight in the rear, the headlights can otherwise point higher than intended. The software counters that movement in real time so the beam stays aimed at the road surface rather than into the eyes of other drivers.
Early indications reveal the update is reaching a limited set of vehicles, including certain Model 3 and Cybertruck examples in the United States and the United Arab Emirates. The rollout does not appear tied to a single hardware revision, and Tesla has not published a broader schedule. It is simply a common waiting game until your car receives it.
The change arrives against a backdrop of wider complaints about headlight glare. Some earlier Model 3 and Model Y vehicles were the subject of an NHTSA recall related to excessive low-beam glare; the software adjustment offers a potential mitigation for cars equipped with the necessary leveling hardware. It does not replace adaptive high beams where those are already available, nor does it alter the basic low-beam pattern itself.
Instead, it keeps an existing beam pointed where it is most useful.
For drivers who have received the update, the system requires no new settings or user input. The headlights simply respond as road conditions and traffic change. As the feature reaches more vehicles, it adds another example of Tesla using over-the-air software to refine existing hardware rather than waiting for a new model year. Nighttime visibility and reduced glare for others are the practical results owners are expected to notice first.
Lifestyle
Tesla teases “Halloween Mode” update with Optimus rising from a graveyard
Tesla’s Halloween teaser hides a covered vehicle and an Optimus hand rising from the ground.
Tesla has started teasing a Halloween software update for its vehicles, with a short clip on X that reads, “Halloween is coming.” The clip opens on a glowing pumpkin before pulling back to the car’s center touchscreen, where the usual parked visualization has been replaced by a graveyard scene, and the vehicle draped with a white sheet so it reads as a cartoon ghost.
Halloween is coming pic.twitter.com/lM3ASUeOqX
— Tesla (@Tesla) October 1, 2026
The second detail is a robotic hand clawing its way out of the dirt like a zombie, which looks to be the hand of Tesla’s latest Optimus V3 humanoid robot. While Tesla still has not formally shown Optimus Gen 3 walking around in service, renders pulled from Tesla’s Android app last month gave the clearest look yet, including far more refined hands that Tesla has said carry 22 degrees of freedom. The hand has been the hardest part of the program. Musk has called it the majority of the robot’s engineering difficulty, and Tesla’s patents describe a design driven by tendons with the actuators moved into the forearm.
Tesla Optimus V3 hand and arm details revealed in new patents
Optimus also has a Halloween track record. Last October the robot handed out candy in Times Square, and a costumed “zombie” Optimus shuffled around the Tesla Diner in Los Angeles on Halloween night.
On the software side, Tesla’s 2025 Holiday Update expanded Santa Mode with a Santa sleigh, snowmen, snow effects, and a festive lock chime, so it wouldn’t be too far fetched if we saw something similar but themed for a Halloween Mode.