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Tesla FSD V13 updated release date shared by AI team

Credit: Whole Mars Catalog/YouTube

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The Tesla AI team has provided an update to its ongoing projects, including the release of Full Self-Driving (FSD) V13. Based on the team’s post, it appears that a good number of Tesla customers will be able to experience  FSD V13 by this coming Thanksgiving. 

Back in early September, the Tesla AI team published a number of ambitious targets, including the release of FSD for the Cybertruck by the end of the month. The team also noted that it would aim to release Unpark, Park, and Reverse in FSD, as well as FSD V13 within October 2024. The Tesla AI team completed all its self-imposed goals for September, though based on the team’s recent post on X, it appears that V13 is coming later.

As noted by the team, Tesla actually completed a number of milestones in October, such as the shipping of end-to-end highway FSD to about 50,000 customers with v12.5.6.1. Updates to the Cybertruck’s FSD have also been released. Lastly, Tesla also held a successful unveiling of its robotaxi, the Cybercab, at the We, Robot event.

As per the Tesla AI team, FSD V13.0 is expected to be released to internal customers by the end of this week. Granted, this is slightly later than expected, but considering that V13’s improvements are expected to be quite substantial, the longer wait time will likely be worth it.

Following is what is coming next, as per the Tesla AI team.

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  • Full rollout of end-to-end highway driving to all AI4 users, targeted for early next week, including enhancements in stop smoothness, less annoying bad weather notifications, and other safety improvements
  • Improved v12.5.x models for AI3 city driving
  • Actually Smart Summon release to Europe, China and other regions of the world
  • v13 is a package of following major technology upgrades:
  • 36 Hz, full-resolution AI4 video inputs
  • Native AI4 inputs and neural network architectures
  • 3x model size scaling
  • 3x model context length scaling
  • 4.2x data scaling
  • 5x training compute scaling (enabled by the Cortex training cluster)
  • Much improved reward predictions for collision avoidance, following traffic controls, navigation, etc.
  • Efficient representation of maps and navigation inputs
  • Audio inputs for better handling of emergency vehicles
  • Redesigned controller for smoother, more accurate tracking
  • Integrated unpark, reverse, and park capabilities
  • Support for destination options including pulling over, parking in a spot, driveway, or garage
  • Improved camera cleaning and handling of camera occlusions

We have integrated several of these improvements and are already seeing a 4x increase in miles between necessary interventions compared to v12.5.4. 

This lays the foundation for the v13 series, and we are targeting to ship v13.0 to internal customers by the end of this week. 

Most of the remaining items are independently validated and will be integrated over November in a series of point releases. 

We are targeting a wide release with v13.3 with most of the above improvements for AI4 vehicles around Thanksgiving!

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

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Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla Insurance officially expands to new U.S. state

Tesla’s in-house Insurance program first launched back in late 2019, offering a new way to insure the vehicles that was potentially less expensive and could alleviate a lot of the issues people had with claims, as the company could assess and repair the damage itself.

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Credit: Tesla Insurance

Tesla Insurance has officially expanded to a new U.S. state, its thirteenth since its launch in 2019.

Tesla has confirmed that its in-house Insurance program has officially made its way to Florida, just two months after the company filed to update its Private Passenger Auto program in the state. It had tried to offer its insurance program to drivers in the state back in 2022, but its launch did not happen.

Instead, Tesla refiled the paperwork back in mid-October, which essentially was the move toward initiating the offering this month.

Tesla’s in-house Insurance program first launched back in late 2019, offering a new way to insure the vehicles that was potentially less expensive and could alleviate a lot of the issues people had with claims, as the company could assess and repair the damage itself.

It has expanded to new states since 2019, but Florida presents a particularly interesting challenge for Tesla, as the company’s entry into the state is particularly noteworthy given its unique insurance landscape, characterized by high premiums due to frequent natural disasters, dense traffic, and a no-fault system.

Tesla partners with Lemonade for new insurance program

Annual average premiums for Florida drivers hover around $4,000 per year, well above the national average. Tesla’s insurance program could disrupt this, especially for EV enthusiasts. The state’s growing EV adoption, fueled by incentives and infrastructure development, aligns perfectly with Tesla’s ecosystem.

Moreover, there are more ways to have cars repaired, and features like comprehensive coverage for battery damage and roadside assistance tailored to EVs address those common painpoints that owners have.

However, there are some challenges that still remain. Florida’s susceptibility to hurricanes raises questions about how Tesla will handle claims during disasters.

Looking ahead, Tesla’s expansion of its insurance program signals the company’s ambition to continue vertically integrating its services, including coverage of its vehicles. Reducing dependency on third-party insurers only makes things simpler for the company’s automotive division, as well as for its customers.

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Tesla Full Self-Driving gets sparkling review from South Korean politician

“Having already ridden in an unmanned robotaxi, the novelty wasn’t as strong for me, but it drives just as well as most people do. It already feels like a completed technology, which gives me a lot to think about.”

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Credit: Soyoung Lee | X

Tesla Full Self-Driving got its first sparkling review from South Korean politician Lee So-young, a member of the country’s National Assembly, earlier this week.

Lee is a member of the Strategy and Finance Committee in South Korea and is a proponent of sustainable technologies and their applications in both residential and commercial settings. For the first time, Lee was able to utilize Tesla’s Full Self-Driving technology as it launched in the country in late November.

Her thoughts on the suite were complimentary to the suite, stating that “it drives just as well as most people do,” and that “it already feels like a completed technology.”

Her translated post says:

“Finally, today I got to experience Tesla FSD in Seoul. Thanks to the Model S sponsored by JiDal Papa^^, I’m truly grateful to Papa. The route was from the National Assembly -> Mangwon Market -> Hongik University -> back to the National Assembly. Having already ridden in an unmanned robotaxi, the novelty wasn’t as strong for me, but it drives just as well as most people do. It already feels like a completed technology, which gives me a lot to think about. Once it actually spreads into widespread use, I feel like our daily lives are going to change a lot. Even I, with my license gathering dust in a drawer, don’t see much reason to learn to drive a manual anymore.”

Tesla Full Self-Driving officially landed in South Korea in late November, with the initial launch being one of Tesla’s most recent, v14.1.4.

It marked the seventh country in which Tesla was able to enable the driver assistance suite, following the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, China, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand.

It is important to see politicians and figures in power try new technologies, especially ones that are widely popular in other regions of the world and could potentially revolutionize how people travel globally.

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Tesla dispels reports of ‘sales suspension’ in California

“This was a “consumer protection” order about the use of the term “Autopilot” in a case where not one single customer came forward to say there’s a problem.

Sales in California will continue uninterrupted.”

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has dispelled reports that it is facing a thirty-day sales suspension in California after the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) issued a penalty to the company after a judge ruled it “misled consumers about its driver-assistance technology.”

On Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that the California DMV was planning to adopt the penalty but decided to put it on ice for ninety days, giving Tesla an opportunity to “come into compliance.”

Tesla enters interesting situation with Full Self-Driving in California

Tesla responded to the report on Tuesday evening, after it came out, stating that this was a “consumer protection” order that was brought up over its use of the term “Autopilot.”

The company said “not one single customer came forward to say there’s a problem,” yet a judge and the DMV determined it was, so they want to apply the penalty if Tesla doesn’t oblige.

However, Tesla said that its sales operations in California “will continue uninterrupted.”

It confirmed this in an X post on Tuesday night:

The report and the decision by the DMV and Judge involved sparked outrage from the Tesla community, who stated that it should do its best to get out of California.

One X post said California “didn’t deserve” what Tesla had done for it in terms of employment, engineering, and innovation.

Tesla has used Autopilot and Full Self-Driving for years, but it did add the term “(Supervised)” to the end of the FSD suite earlier this year, potentially aiming to protect itself from instances like this one.

This is the first primary dispute over the terminology of Full Self-Driving, but it has undergone some scrutiny at the federal level, as some government officials have claimed the suite has “deceptive” naming. Previous Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was vocally critical of the use of the name “Full Self-Driving,” as well as “Autopilot.”

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