Walter Isaacson’s Elon Musk biography is set to be published on Tuesday, and a new preview of the book illustrates details about Tesla’s development of the upcoming Full Self-Driving (FSD) version 12.
In an additional preview of his Musk biography for CNBC, Isaacson discusses the use of AI in the development of Tesla’s FSD v12, in a shift that took place within the last several months. Isaacson talks about Tesla’s recent development of the upcoming FSD v12, which he and Tesla demonstrate has moved away from a “rules-based” approach.
Notably, FSD v12 is expected to use billions of video frames from real-world driving incidents to train its neural network rather than using thousands of lines of code like previous versions. In a conversation with Musk last December, Tesla Autopilot employee Dhaval Shroff had likened the concept to the popular chatbot ChatGPT, instead for use with driving.
“It’s like ChatGPT, but for cars,” Shroff said. “We process an enormous amount of data on how real human drivers acted in a complex driving situation, and then we train a computer’s neural network to mimic that.”
Surprisingly enough, Tesla only shifted toward this “neural network planner” approach recently. By the beginning of this year, however, the neural network had already analyzed 10 million video clips based on the best-case-scenario drivers the system had access to. Musk instructed employees at the company’s Buffalo, New York facility who were in charge of analyzing the footage to train the AI on things “a five-star Uber driver would do.”
Moving from a rules-based to a network-path-based AI approach allowed FSD to use human driving data to avoid obstacles, even if breaking some rules was necessary. Shroff helped demonstrate the idea to Musk with a demo featuring trash bins, debris, and upturned traffic cones, which the car handled surprisingly well.
“Here’s what happens when we move from rules-based to network-path-based,” Shroff explained. “The car will never get into a collision if you turn this thing on, even in unstructured environments.”
Musk quickly took to the idea, as can be seen in a recent livestream of Tesla’s FSD v12 software in Palo Alto with Autopilot software director Ashok Elluswamy. He has repeatedly spoken about the upcoming software version’s impressive driving results, despite one small moment in the drive where the car almost ran a red light.
In any case, Musk could argue that the red-light moment is a good case for the need for self-driving software to continually learn. Given that it will constantly be trained from the video data generated by camera footage from real-world drivers, it should theoretically make it safer over time, according to Musk.
During development, Musk also reportedly latched onto the fact that it took over a million video clips for the neural network to begin performing well, though he looks forward to what significantly more data will do for FSD.
Still, critics and regulators have expressed concerns about the faults of human drivers training AI-based driving systems, and Tesla has repeatedly been questioned by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) about its Autopilot and FSD beta systems.
According to Isaacson, Tesla plans to release FSD v12 as soon as regulators approve it. Meanwhile, an ongoing study by the National Highway Safety Board is looking to determine if self-driving cars should be permitted to imitate human driving actions that blur traffic rules, such as creeping up at stop signs.
Musk said in April that he expects Tesla to reach full autonomy within a year, though he has also been known to share ambitious targets for the software in the past.
You can read Walter Isaacson’s full account of the development of Tesla FSD v12 here, in a CNBC preview of the upcoming Elon Musk biography.
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Tesla has expanded the footprint of a massive safety feature worldwide with a recent Software Update labeled as 2026.20.6. The expansion of the “Blind Spot Warning While Parked” feature represents the more widespread availability of the feature, which aims to prevent “dooring.”
Dooring is when a driver or passenger opens a car door into the path of an oncoming road user, usually a cyclist or motorcyclist. It is among the most common types of cycling accidents, the League of American Bicyclists says.
For this reason, Tesla created a feature that warns occupants not to open the door because an object is approaching. The feature will sound a chime, and it will also delay the opening of the door to prevent an incident.
The release notes state (via Not a Tesla App):
“If you attempt to open a door while an approaching object is detected in your blind spot (for example, a bicyclist approaching from behind) a chime sounds, and your door will not open upon initial button press. Wait a short time and press the button a second time to override the warning.”
Tesla initially rolled out this feature back in 2024 with the Model 3 “Highland.” However, it remained with the Model 3 exclusively for over a year; that was until Tesla added it to the Cybertruck this past Spring.
Now, it is making its way to the new Model Y, 2021 and newer Model S, and 2021 or newer Model X.
The prevention of dooring incidents could eliminate many injuries to cyclists, especially in an urban setting. Dooring accounts for 10-20 percent of bike-related crashes in major cities, and over 17,000 dooring-related incidents were treated in the U.S. over the course of a decade. These usually involve fractures, contusions, and head trauma.
Tesla confirmed this morning that it has sent the first production units, manufactured with no steering wheel or pedals, to on-road testing in Austin, sharing video of the first rides with no human controls.
The lack of steering wheels and pedals in the Cybercab aligns with Tesla’s self-certification of Robotaxi as Level 4 SAE, a platform it plans to make widespread through internal vehicles and customer-owned cars that will operate and generate revenue for individuals.
The start of these engineering tests is a major signal for Tesla, which plans to bring driverless, wheel-less, and pedal-less Cybercabs to market in the coming months. With production already well underway at Gigafactory Texas, where the Cybercab is built, there is some inclination to believe the first public rides could happen sooner rather than later.
Engineering tests of the first production Cybercab have begun in Austin pic.twitter.com/fk3KQvcE8a
— Tesla (@Tesla) June 30, 2026
Tesla’s engineering tests will put the Cybercab in real-world scenarios, testing not only the hardware, but more importantly, the software that drives the car around Austin with nobody supervising it within the car.
This is perhaps the biggest part of the internal testing process, especially prior to allowing regular, everyday people to hail the Cybercab for an autonomous ride. These early rides serve as a true benchmark for Tesla: How many rides can it achieve safely? How many miles did it travel consecutively without needing an intervention? What scenarios challenge the Full Self-Driving suite the most?
The proper precautions have already been put into place as well, as Tesla released the First Responders Guide to Cybercab over the weekend, ensuring that emergency services have 24/7 access to Robotaxi Assistance, as well as other boundaries, such as Geofencing features that can be used to redirect autonomous vehicle traffic due to accidents, road closures, construction, or maintenance.
Cybercab seems genuinely close to being added to the Robotaxi fleet in Austin, but Tesla has prioritized safety throughout this entire process. Therefore, we think it could be months before it truly starts giving rides to the public. People have been frustrated with this, but Robotaxi in Austin has a tremendous safety record so far, so the slow rollout has kept people safe and accidents to a minimum.
The most important thing is that Tesla continues to show consistent progress in the Cybercab’s ramp-up toward fleet addition. A few weeks back, we saw the EPA reward the Cybercab a Certificate of Conformity, allowing it to enter the stream of commerce. Then, we saw Tesla add decals, signaling that it was likely about to start testing it publicly. That has now happened.
The next big move will be the announcement of the first rides, so this Summer should be filled with anticipation.
For years, there have been images and videos across social media platforms that have reminded me of when I was a 15-year-old kid teased by “Xbox 720” videos on YouTube. These videos are of the supposed “Tesla Phone” that Elon Musk was secretly developing in between leading Tesla with its electric cars and SpaceX with its reusable rockets.
Would you buy a Tesla phone ? pic.twitter.com/aaTwvvIJit
— Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) October 6, 2023
Although Musk has put those rumors to bed several times, it was never completely out of the realm that he could get involved in cell phones in some capacity. Think outside the box and more macro-level, though. Instead of reinventing the computer, Musk reinvented connectivity by developing Starlink with SpaceX.
It could be something similar, TD Cowen analyst Gregory Williams said in a note last week, where he hinted SpaceX could be gathering some steam to acquire T-Mobile.
Williams said it would be the “clear choice” for SpaceX if it decided to go through with a network acquisition. He also suggested AT&T.
The move would be possible through selling more of its own stock, which would help SpaceX raise the money to purchase T-Mobile, which would cost roughly $300 billion. It could be one of the moves SpaceX makes post-IPO in terms of an acquisition: it already acquired Cursor AI for $60 billion.
Other analysts, like Dan Ives of Wedbush, believe SpaceX and Tesla will eventually merge into one anyway, and that conglomeration could come as soon as this year, some have said.
The implications of SpaceX purchasing T-Mobile are massive. A combined entity would create a truly ubiquitous network: T-Mobile’s terrestrial 5G towers and Starlink’s growing constellation of Direct-to-Cell satellites. This would essentially eliminate dead zones across the U.S. and potentially globally.
SpaceX would instantly become a full-scale facilities-based carrier with satellite differentiation; a huge advantage. This would pressure AT&T and Verizon heavily.
There are also concerns like a potential reduction in long-term competition, and of course, a deal of that size would face intense scrutiny from government agencies.
The strategic fit is compelling due to the existing Starlink–T-Mobile partnership and complementary technologies (space + terrestrial). It could create a dominant integrated communications player. However, the regulatory, financial, and execution hurdles are enormous — this remains highly speculative with no indication SpaceX is actively pursuing it right now.
Tesla expands massive safety feature worldwide in latest update
Tesla sends production Cybercab with no steering wheel, pedals to on-road testing
