Raphael Thys
ELON Musk has announced that the newest version of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving beta is on track for a wide release next month.
The driverless software update, named V11, promises significant innovations like highway-enabled use and improved lane merging behavior.
Elon Musk at the Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination Costume Institute Gala in New York during 2018
Twitter user @teslaownersSV Tweeted Musk: “Any updates on [Full Self-Driving] V11?”
Musk replied: “Making good progress. Still tracking to wide release next month.”
Another Twitter user, @BLKMDL3, Tweeted Musk: “By ‘wide release next month’ do you mean to those who currently have beta or to anyone who purchased FSD who won’t have to do safety score.”
Musk responded: “Latter,” Not a Tesla App reports.
Tesla says its Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature: “Identifies stop signs and traffic lights and automatically slows your car to a stop on approach, with your active supervision.”
FSD additionally provides automatic steering on city streets.
FSD’s V11 promises exciting updates like:
- Enabled highway use
- Improved recall for close-by obstacles
- More precise environmental processing in severe weather conditions
- Upgraded lane merging behavior
Highway use is the most significant update of V11, as FSD would previously deactivate when a user entered this type of area.
Testers given access to V11 will also enjoy smoother driving and less jerking motions that self-driving software is known to produce.
Drivers must have a Tesla Safety Score of over 80, paid or subscribed to FSD, and have driven at least 100 miles on Autopilot to become eligible for V11.
A Tesla Safety Score is based on a driver’s forward collision warnings per 1,000 miles, hard braking frequency, aggressive turning rates, unsafe following distances, and forced Autopilot disengagement.
Tesla notes its Autopilot feature “Matches the speed of your car to that of the surrounding traffic,” and “assists in steering within a clearly marked lane, and uses traffic-aware cruise control.”
Tesla Model 3 demonstrating Autopilot, the feature that’s one tier down from the electric car company’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) program
Twitter users could hardly contain their excitement when Musk Tweeted: “FSD V11 rolled out at 11:11pm Pacific,” on November 12th.
Twitter user @WholeMarsBlog replied: “F**k yeah, what a great surprise. Current version has already been amazing.”
Tesla FSD updates are always initially available to employees before moving onto a small number of testers and a wide release.