Tesla finally made Full Self-Driving Beta version 10.12.2 available to new testers yesterday and in a recent tweet, Elon Musk said with the update, the service was expanding to include some 100,000 vehicles. This version showed significant improvements in many previous problem areas, delivering a more convincing and confidence-inspiring driverless experience.
FSD Version 10.12.2 proved to be overall noticeably smoother than older versions, with notably less sawing at the wheel when performing long turns, which means a smoother and more relaxed drive for occupants. Tesla says that with this version it also improved the decision making framework, it improved the way the vehicle creeps forward to gain visibility, better lane prediction, more accurate vision of pedestrians, as well as bikes and motorcycles and it can now better judge if a car is parked or not.
But even more significant improvements are right around the corner. Elon Musk just tweeted about the next big update, version 10.13, which he says will be the first iteration to be able to drive on roads where no map data is available. The vehicle will rely solely on its vision-based self-driving components to navigate roads where GPS signal is nonexistent or the map lacks information.
And as Musk himself says in the same tweet, this is quite a big deal for FSD, although he does say it’s still a few months away. It is worth noting that he says FSD will “start to” gain this functionality come next major release, so don’t expect it to work well initially, as it will be a feature that will be improved by being rolled out and tested by those who are part of the Beta program.
Version 10.13 will also make long left hand turns better than they are with today’s iteration of FSD, which as we’ve seen in so many videos, is already visibly better than before including when it comes to making this type of long left-hand turn through an intersection.
When asked by a Tesla owner who is enrolled in the FSD program if the new version will also improve drop off location precision, especially when it is located off public roads, in underground parking lots or a hotel entrance, Musk said that this will be worked on and that the vehicle will take you to the pin you placed.
Tesla was also looking to expand FSD into Europe this summer and gain access to a pretty large of pool of owners, although it’s not yet a sure thing given the fact that some features may render the system illegal on European roads. Some legislation changes are needed to be made in order to accommodate for cars that can, for instance, change lanes on their own, which a car is not legally allowed to do on the Old Continent yet.
Source: Elon Musk