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Tesla’s Neural Net can now identify red and green traffic lights, garbage cans, and detailed road markings

(Credit: @SteveHamel16/Twitter)

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During Tesla’s Autonomy Day last April, Director of AI Andrej Karpathy joked that the attendees of the event only used a pair of cameras to navigate themselves to the venue. Emphasizing this point and Tesla’s aversion to LiDAR, the AI Director even joked that the attendees must not have shot lasers from their eyes when they were making their way to the event. These jokes, while lighthearted, show Tesla’s all-in bet on Elon Musk’s idea that a suite of cameras and a Neural Network are enough to teach a fleet of vehicles how to drive autonomously. 

Unlike self-driving companies such as Waymo and Cruise, Tesla is intent on not using LiDAR, a component that is pretty much ubiquitous among firms developing FSD technology. Musk has proven quite unforgiving for LiDAR, calling it a “fool’s errand” and “stupid” if used for cars. This is a lot coming from Musk, especially considering that SpaceX, the Tesla CEO’s private space company, uses LiDAR for its spacecraft. Musk explained that LiDAR makes sense in space, but it’s foolish to use in regular cars. 

Tesla has since been working on improving its Autopilot software and FSD suite through data gathered by the company’s fleet of vehicles. This data is then fed into the company’s Neural Network, which improves depending on the data that it is fed. Tesla has been pretty quiet about the official capabilities of its Neural Net, but if visualizations from its recent FSD preview are any indication, it appears that the company’s vehicles have learned to recognize a lot of common inner-city objects that would most definitely be encountered once the Robotaxi service is introduced. 

A few days ago, Elon Musk took to Twitter to state that an “FSD preview” will be included in an upcoming update. That update is software version 2019.40.50. The recently-released update is no joke either, as it added new features such as Driver Profiles, new Tesla Arcade Games, TRAX, and new services for Tesla Theater. But apart from these improvements, the update also included a “sneak peek” at Full Self-Driving. This sneak preview came in the form of updated visuals, many of which seemed to have been designed specifically for city driving. 

Some of these features were chronicled by Tesla owner-enthusiast Steve Hamel, who shared some photos from his Model 3 after his vehicle received the 2019.40.50 update. Based on the Model 3 owner’s posts, it appears that Teslas are now able to recognize trash cans, lane lines, arrows that are painted on the road, and the changing colors of traffic lights. Stop signs and road markings are rendered accurately in the recent update as well. Performance-wise, the Tesla owner remarked on Twitter that features like Navigate on Autopilot have been improved. 

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Tesla owner Erik Strait from the popular DÆrik YouTube channel also took notice of railroad lane markings now appearing as part of the improved Driving Visualizations.

Of course, the new visualizations from Tesla are but the tip of the iceberg for the company and its full self-driving solutions. Releasing the updated visuals to the company’s fleet suggests that Tesla’s FSD efforts have seen large improvements over the past months. Nevertheless, seeing Tesla’s electric cars recognize otherwise ubiquitous objects on the road suggests that Autopilot and FSD are on the right path towards true autonomy. After all, what is visible is already impressive. One can only imagine just how advanced the system really is under the hood. 

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 mobile app shows signs of upcoming FSD subscriptions

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

It appears that Tesla may be preparing to roll out some subscription-based services soon. Based on the observations of a Wales-based Model 3 owner who performed some reverse-engineering on the Tesla mobile app, it seems that the electric car maker has added a new “Subscribe” option beside the “Buy” option within the “Upgrades” tab, at least behind the scenes.

A screenshot of the new option was posted in the r/TeslaMotors subreddit, and while the Tesla owner in question, u/Callump01, admitted that the screenshot looks like something that could be easily fabricated, he did submit proof of his reverse-engineering to the community’s moderators. The moderators of the r/TeslaMotors subreddit confirmed the legitimacy of the Model 3 owner’s work, further suggesting that subscription options may indeed be coming to Tesla owners soon.

Did some reverse engineering on the app and Tesla looks to be preparing for subscriptions? from r/teslamotors

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite has been heavily speculated to be offered as a subscription option, similar to the company’s Premium Connectivity feature. And back in April, noted Tesla hacker @greentheonly stated that the company’s vehicles already had the source codes for a pay-as-you-go subscription model. The Tesla hacker suggested then that Tesla would likely release such a feature by the end of the year — something that Elon Musk also suggested in the first-quarter earnings call. “I think we will offer Full Self-Driving as a subscription service, but it will be probably towards the end of this year,” Musk stated.

While the signs for an upcoming FSD subscription option seem to be getting more and more prominent as the year approaches its final quarter, the details for such a feature are still quite slim. Pricing for FSD subscriptions, for example, have not been teased by Elon Musk yet, though he has stated on Twitter that purchasing the suite upfront would be more worth it in the long term. References to the feature in the vehicles’ source code, and now in the Tesla mobile app, also listed no references to pricing.

The idea of FSD subscriptions could prove quite popular among electric car owners, especially since it would allow budget-conscious customers to make the most out of the company’s driver-assist and self-driving systems without committing to the features’ full price. The current price of the Full Self-Driving suite is no joke, after all, being listed at $8,000 on top of a vehicle’s cost. By offering subscriptions to features like Navigate on Autopilot with automatic lane changes, owners could gain access to advanced functions only as they are needed.

Elon Musk, for his part, has explained that ultimately, he still believes that purchasing the Full Self-Driving suite outright provides the most value to customers, as it is an investment that would pay off in the future. “I should say, it will still make sense to buy FSD as an option as in our view, buying FSD is an investment in the future. And we are confident that it is an investment that will pay off to the consumer – to the benefit of the consumer.” Musk said.

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Tesla rolls out speed limit sign recognition and green traffic light alert in new update

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(Credit: u/joeycast and u/Avri54/Reddit)

Tesla has started rolling out update 2020.36 this weekend, introducing a couple of notable new features for its vehicles. While there are only a few handful of vehicles that have reportedly received the update so far, 2020.36 makes it evident that the electric car maker has made some strides in its efforts to refine its driver-assist systems for inner-city driving.

Tesla is currently hard at work developing key features for its Full Self-Driving suite, which should allow vehicles to navigate through inner-city streets without driver input. Tesla’s FSD suite is still a work in progress, though the company has released the initial iterations of key features such Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control, which was introduced last April. Similar to the first release of Navigate on Autopilot, however, the capabilities of Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control were pretty basic during their initial rollout.

2020.36 Showing Speed Limit Signs in Visualization from r/teslamotors

With the release of update 2020.36, Tesla has rolled out some improvements that should allow its vehicles to handle traffic lights better. What’s more, the update also includes a particularly useful feature that enables better recognition of speed limit signs, which should make Autopilot’s speed adjustments better during use. Following are the Release Notes for these two new features.

Green Traffic Light Chime

“A chime will play when the traffic light you are waiting for turns green. If you are waiting behind another car, the chime will play once the car advances unless Traffic-Aware Cruise Control or Autosteer is active. When Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control is activated, a chime will play when you can confirm to proceed through a green traffic light. To enable, tap Controls > Autopilot > Green Traffic Light Chime.

“Note: This chime is only designed as a notification. It is the driver’s responsibility to observe their environment and make decisions accordingly.”

Speed Assist Improvements

“Speed Assist now leverages your car’s cameras to detect speed limit signs to improve the accuracy of speed limit data on local roads. Detected speed limit signs will be displayed in the driving visualization and used to set the associated Speed Limit Warning.

“As usual, to adjust Speed Assist settings, tap Controls > Autopilot > Speed Limit.”

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Footage of the new green light chime in action via @NASA8500 on Twitter ✈️ from r/teslamotors


Amidst the rollout of 2020.36’s new features, speculations were abounding among Tesla community members that this update may include the first pieces of the company’s highly-anticipated Autopilot rewrite. Inasmuch as the idea is exciting, however, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has stated that this was not the case. While responding to a Tesla owner who asked if the Autopilot rewrite is in “shadow mode” in 2020.36, Musk responded “Not yet.”

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Tesla rolls out Sirius XM free three-month subscription

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(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla has rolled out a free three-month trial subscription to Sirius XM, in what appears to be the company’s latest push into making its vehicles’ entertainment systems more feature-rich. The new Sirius XM offer will likely be appreciated by owners of the company’s vehicles, especially considering that the service is among the most popular satellite radios in the country today.

Tesla announced its new offer in an email sent on Monday. An image that accompanied the communication also teased Tesla’s updated and optimized Sirius XM UI for its vehicles. Following is the email’s text.

“Beginning now, enjoy a free, All Access three-month trial subscription to Sirius XM, plus a completely new look and improved functionality. Our latest over-the-air software update includes significant improvements to overall Sirius XM navigation, organization, and search features, including access to more than 150 satellite channels.

“To access simply tap the Sirius XM app from the ‘Music’ section of your in-car center touchscreen—or enjoy your subscription online, on your phone, or at home on connected devices. If you can’t hear SiriusXM channels in your car, select the Sirius XM ‘Subscription’ tab for instruction on how to refresh your audio.”

Tesla has actually been working on Sirius XM improvements for some time now. Back in June, for example, Tesla rolled out its 2020.24.6.4 update, and it included some optimizations to its Model S and Model X’s Sirius XM interface. As noted by noted Tesla owner and hacker @greentheonly, the source code of this update revealed that the Sirius XM optimizations were also intended to be released to other areas such as Canada.

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Interestingly enough, Sirius XM is a popular feature that has been exclusive to the Model S and X. Tesla’s most popular vehicle to date, the Model 3, is yet to receive the feature. One could only hope that Sirius XM integration to the Model 3 may eventually be included in the future. Such an update would most definitely be appreciated by the EV community, especially since some Model 3 owners have resorted to using their smartphones or third-party solutions to gain access to the satellite radio service.

The fact that Tesla seems to be pushing Sirius XM rather assertively to its customers seems to suggest that the company may be poised to roll out more entertainment-based apps in the coming months. Apps such as Sirius XM, Spotify, Netflix, and YouTube, may seem quite minor when compared to key functions like Autopilot, after all, but they do help round out the ownership experience of Tesla owners. In a way, Sirius XM does make sense for Tesla’s next-generation of vehicles, especially the Cybertruck and the Semi, both of which would likely be driven in areas that lack LTE connectivity.

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