Tesla Cybertruck Receives Full Self-Driving Update, Marking a Milestone in Autonomous Vehicle Technology

Tesla's Full Self-Driving update promises smoother lane changes and more decisive action, as it speeds towards a driverless future

Update leans heavily on AI for improved highway performance We reported recently that the Tesla Cybertruck has finally received the Full Self-Driving (FSD) capabilities that it was promised from launch, with early access testers and a handful of VIP customers gaining access to the latest software update. But further release notes surrounding update 2024.32.20, which ushers in the latest FSD V12.5.5 software build, reveals that this most recent iteration brings with it some serious semi-autonomous driving updates. A new end-to-end highway stack leans heavily on Tesla's neural nets, its use of artificial intelligence that harnesses the power of machine learning to help its vehicles make faster decisions when out on public roads. Previous generations of FSD brought with it an end-to-end stack on city streets only, but this is now being rolled out to faster highway networks. Put simply, it removes the need for software engineers to hand-code all of the potential decisions a Tesla has to make when operating in (supervised) Full Self-Driving mode. Instead the AI, which has been trained using thousands of hours of footage collated by the fleet's myriad camera systems, can begin to make decisions depending on the scenario and environment. The release notes, which were analysed by NotaTeslaApp, reveal that Tesla is speeding up progress towards unsupervised FSD, which will be crucial if it is to make a success of its robotaxi business - of which an update is due from the company on October 10. The upcoming improvements include earlier and more natural autonomous lane changing, more decisive action at stop lights and intersections, as well as improved lane selection and correct indicating at roundabouts. More interestingly, NotaTeslaApp claims that the recent update will introduce a new speed profile, which was once slated to be called 'Hurry Mode' but looks to now be simply dubbed 'Speed Mode'. Selecting this option will likely see the vehicle accelerate slightly more aggressively, as well as overtake slower moving vehicles on the highway. Unfortunately, the wider Tesla community is going to have to wait for the rollout of the latest FSD V12.5.5 software, with the company currently focussed on a select few Cybertruck owners for now. A post from Tesla's Autopilot director Ashok Elluswamy on X says that his team is "close to an early release build for remaining platforms" and that internal employees will be the first to receive it in the coming weeks. These gradual improvements show that Tesla is on the right path towards true unsupervised self-driving functionality, but one of the key metrics of success is the number of system 'disengagements' per miles driven. Tesla has repeatedly claimed that it has reduced the number of disengagements - or situations where the vehicle hands back driving duties to the driver - with every software release. However, a community of Tesla owners have banded together to create an open source FSD Community Tracker, which allows owners to upload data surrounding the number of disengagements and the reasons for FSD not functioning correctly. According to this dataset, there hasn't been much of an improvement to the system in recent software generations, with some versions actually revealing a regression in the number of miles driven without a critical disengagement of the FSD system. With Tesla's Hollywood-spec robotaxi event just around the corner, the company is clearly keen to shout about the advances and improvements in its autonomous driving capabilities. But even with the promise of a smoother and more decisive driving experience, it still feels like the company is a long way off achieving the sort of unsupervised autonomous driving levels required for a fleet of robotaxis to be operating safely.

Watch your mirrors: Tesla Cybertrucks gain Full Self Driving

Researchers reckon all Teslas need human interventions every 13 miles Owners of Tesla's Cybertruck are reporting that a software update enabling Full Self Driving (FSD) has become an option for their giant rolling wedges of stainless steel. A post on the Cybertruck Owners Club Forum Sunday indicated that some lucky Cybertruck owners received an over-the-air software update labeled 2024.32.20, which included an early access build of FSD version 12.5.5. Multiple users reported receiving the update, and videos of purported FSD cruises in the Cybertruck have since appeared. Unlike all the Tesla models that preceded it, the Cybertruck didn't ship with FSD or any other type of Autopilot technology, though buyers of the $99,990 vehicle were still able to pay for the feature with the promise that Tesla would deliver it in due course. With the weekend release to early access invitees, the Cybertruck now has access to the newest version of FSD. Most Teslas are still running version 12.5.4, which only recently saw a general release. We've asked Tesla when FSD will be generally available for the Cybertruck, but haven't received a response at the time of writing. There's plenty to criticize about the Cybertruck which has been found to rust, jam fingers, and have a flaw that can mean its accelerator becomes stuck. Automotive safety experts have been especially critical of the vehicle's shape and excessive weight, which they've suggested make it unsafe for pedestrians, cyclists, and other motorists. A recent report about all of Tesla's FSD wares offers another reason to worry about self-driving Cybertrucks. That report came from automotive research firm AMCI Testing, which last week published research that it claimed is the "most extensive real-world test of Tesla's FSD ever conducted by an independent third party," covering more than 1,000 miles of real-world driving. While Tesla FSD's performance was "impressive for a uniquely camera-based system ... our drivers had to intervene over 75 times during the evaluation; an average of once every 13 miles," AMCI found. The researchers described FSD's performance as being surprisingly capable, especially in the first few minutes of a drive. "The confidence (and often, competence) with which [Tesla FSD] undertakes complex driving tasks lulls users into believing that it is a thinking machine - with its decisions and performance based on a sophisticated assessment of risk (and the user's wellbeing)," AMCI said. But errors are frequent, the firm warned, and when they occur they're often "sudden, dramatic and dangerous." "In those circumstances, it is unlikely that a driver without their hands on the wheel will be able to intervene in time to prevent an accident - or possibly a fatality," AMCI found. The automaker has promised to reveal an autonomous robotaxi at an investor day scheduled for October 10 - after previous postponements. AMCI observed that its findings lead it to suspect Tesla's autonomous driving capabilities may not be up to the task of safely operating a fleet of self-driving taxis, however. "Getting close to foolproof, yet falling short, creates an insidious and unsafe operator complacency issue as proven in the test results," argued AMCI Global CEO David Stokols. "Although [Tesla FSD] positively impresses in some circumstances, you simply cannot reliably rely on the accuracy or reasoning behind its responses." ®

Cybertruck Finally Gets Full Self-Driving (Supervised)

Some owners of Tesla's electric pickup truck paid for the feature when they purchased it last fall -- and now it's starting to kick in. A select number of all-electric Tesla Cybertrucks now have the ability to drive on US highways hands-free, after the automaker pushed an update to vehicles this morning. Tesla AI head Ashok Elluswamy wrote on X that Cybertrucks will be the first Tesla features to receive the "end-to-end on highway" driving feature, which the company says uses a "neural net" to navigate all parts of highway driving. "Nice work," Tesla CEO (and X owner) Elon Musk responded to his AI chief. The feature appears to be in "early access," meaning it's only available to some Cybertruck owners who purchased the feature. It's unclear when the automaker will release the feature more widely. Tesla, which disbanded its public relations team in 2021, did not respond to WIRED's request for comment. Tesla owners' manuals maintain that the full-self driving feature, or "FSD (Supervised)", should only be used if drivers are paying attention to the road. The feature reportedly turns off if it detects that drivers are looking elsewhere. Critics have argued that Tesla's marketing incorrectly leads drivers to assume that FSD can truly drive itself, and that the automaker hasn't been proactive in preventing driver misuse. Customers who purchased base model Cybertrucks early, at pre-order, paid $7,000 for access to the driving feature, with some waiting almost a year for it to actually be available on their trucks. Tesla owners can now subscribe to the "FSD (Supervised)" feature at $99 per month. One Cybertruck driver reported on X that, based on driving this morning, the feature is "working well." The feature's introduction is some much-needed good news for the Cybertruck, which has faced a rocky introduction into Tesla's lineup. The vehicle was delayed for years by the Covid-19 pandemic and by engineering issues. (A leaked "alpha" briefing on the vehicle, first reported by WIRED, found the truck had serious issues with braking, handling, and noise.) The all-electric truck has also been subject to a handful of safety recalls, including one in which the company had to repair or replace accelerator pedals that had gotten stuck. As more automakers rush into the electrification race, and Tesla's huge lead in electric cars has been eroded by other manufacturers, Musk and company seem to believe that "self-driving" features enabled by AI will help Tesla regain its edge. "The value of Tesla overwhelmingly is autonomy," Musk told investors this summer. The US' road safety regulator, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, has found that Tesla's Autopilot feature, an older and less sophisticated version of FSD, didn't sufficiently prevent drivers from misuse -- and was involved in 13 fatal crashes between 2018 and 2023. After a years-long investigation into Autopilot, last year Tesla recalled 2 million vehicles with Autopilot. (The automaker said it did not agree with the government's conclusions.) Earlier this year, Tesla settled a lawsuit brought by the family of a Northern California man who died while using Autopilot on his Model X. Tesla also faces a class action lawsuit alleging it misled customers who purchased Teslas after Musk promised the cars had everything they needed to drive autonomously. Eight years later, Tesla has made significant improvements to its driverless features, and plans to make big bucks off the feature -- but still hasn't produced self-driving technology. That could change this month. Musk has promised that Tesla will unveil a self-driving taxi, called a "Cybercab," at an event in Southern California on October 10.

First Tesla Cybertrucks Get Semi-Autonomous 'FSD' Update

Tesla is now rolling out Full Self-Driving (FSD) to Cybertruck customers. "Boys and girls, the wait is finally over! It is real! It is here NOW! AND IT IS SPECTACULAR!" says one driver in the Tesla Cybertruck Owners Forum. "Received the update. Confirmed it's true," adds another driver. "Used it for short trips. Pretty impressed thus far. Handled city driving well." Since the Cybertruck's November 2023 debut, it has been the only vehicle in Tesla's lineup without FSD, which is enabled on vehicles through an over-the-air software update. The EV is still selling, with Tesla moving 5,175 Cybertrucks in July, which is almost more than all other EV pickup trucks combined, Jalopnik reports. Tesla has steadily pushed back the Cybertruck's FSD timeline over the past nine months, likely because of challenges adapting the tech to the Cybertruck's unique size and shape. But earlier this month, the Tesla AI team teased a September release. "This is an early access build," Tesla tells Cybertruck drivers who receive the update. "You and anyone you authorize must use additional caution and remain attentive." Tesla notes the update "does not make your vehicle autonomous. Do not become complacent." The company has battled lawsuits over fatal crashes involving vehicles with FSD enabled. The state of California banned Tesla from calling it "full" self-driving, as it still requires a driver's attention and steering wheel. On Oct. 10, Tesla will reveal the Cybercab, an autonomous robotaxi. It faces regulatory challenges to operate in the US, though CEO Elon Musk has reiterated on multiple earnings calls this year that solving autonomous driving AI challenges is the company's current focus.

Tesla starts pushing Full-Self Driving access for some Cybertrucks

Some Tesla Cybertruck owners are starting to get Full-Self Driving (FSD) access on their vehicles. The company's polarizing electric pickup truck has lacked the driver assistant software feature since its launch last November. Now, members of the Cybertruck Owners Club (as reported by Electrek) are reporting that the update has been installed on their vehicles. Tesla had promised that FSD would come to the Cybertruck in September after the launch of the Autopark feature -- and with today's news it would appear that it just hit that deadline. It's the latest version of FSD (12.5.5) and it's coming to Cybertrucks set up for the early access program to start. The update includes a promised vision-based attention monitoring system for drivers who are wearing sunglasses. Whole Mars Catalog, a Tesla fan account on X, posted over 20 minutes of footage testing the new update in a Cybertruck, and it mainly operated as it does in other Teslas. At about the 6:20 mark in the video, the driver needed to intervene as the Cybertruck almost drove into a median after making an automatic left turn at an intersection. FSD v12 is supposed to feature "end-to-end neural nets" that use just AI and cameras without relying on any additional sensors. Tesla also plans a more robust v13 FSD release for its vehicles in October.

Tesla is finally rolling out its Full Self-Driving tech to some Cybertrucks

Tesla (TSLA) has started rolling out its driving assistance software to some of its Cybertrucks, finally giving those owners of the futuristic electric truck what every other customer could already use. The Austin, Texas-based company's Full Self-Driving (FSD) software was missing when Cybertruck deliveries began last November after years of delays. Early adopters were still able to buy the software, but it couldn't be activated until FSD had been programmed to suit the Cybertruck's unique design. Past models sold by Tesla, such as the Model 3 and Model Y, were able to access and enable the use of FSD, or Autopilot, on release. According to posts on Tesla forums and X, the social media platform owned by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Cybertruck owners have started using FSD with the company's latest update. The update is labeled as "early access" and is limited to owners invited to Tesla's testing program. It's unclear when a wider release may occur. "End-to-end on the highway is first shipping to Cybertrucks," Ashok Elluswamy, who leads Tesla's Autopilot team, wrote on X. "We are close to an early release build for remaining platforms and will release to internal employees in the next week or so." Earlier this month, Tesla released a roadmap for its artificial intelligence goals, which included giving Cybertruck owners access to FSD and its Autopark feature, as well as launching Actually Smart Summon. It also laid out a plan to improve how many miles a Tesla can drive on average with FSD enabled without a driver intervening, although the company hasn't made such data public. AMCI, a third-party testing firm, recently tested some of Tesla's latest updates, driving more than 1,000 miles and discovering that it required an intervention every 13 miles. Electrek, citing crowdsourced data for a recent version of FSD, reports that drivers had a disengagement every 31 miles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has linked Autopilot to more than 200 crashes and 29 deaths and opened more than 50 special crash investigations into Tesla vehicles thought to be linked to Autopilot. Tesla has been investigated by state and federal authorities over its marketing of both FSD and Autopilot. Although FSD is expected to be a major money-maker for Tesla, and self-driving capabilities are a big driver of the company's stock, the automaker has had difficulty getting customers to buy the software. Earlier this year, Tesla slashed the price to $99 per month. During Tesla's second-quarter earnings call, CFO Vaibhav Taneja said he expects FSD to drive sales, primarily thanks to that reduced price.

Tesla's Full Self-Driving is now available for some Cybertrucks

Buyers that paid at least $93,990 to be among the first to own (and beta test) Tesla's Cybertruck are finally getting a key, promised feature: Full Self-Driving (FSD). Several people on the Cybertruck Owners Club forum -- including an Angeleno who posted a video -- say that it has finally arrived in early access to select users, Electrek reported. After Tesla promised that FSD would arrive to Cybertrucks in September, the supervised version 12.5.5 v12 (the latest available) is shipping, but only to users in the early access program. That means the feature (included in the Tesla Cybertruck Foundation package) won't be available to most buyers for at least another month, based on Tesla's previous FSD history. FSD worked smoothly for the short amount of time it was shown, according to the video above from Cybertruck Owner's Club forum user espresso-drumbeat. It guided the vehicle through an urban area then onto a freeway ramp before arriving on the I5 toward LA, all in relatively light evening traffic. According to the update description, FSD (Supervised) v12 includes vision-based attention monitoring with sunglasses and merges city and highway into a single software stack. In other words, it's the first version to fully manage driving using end-to-end AI. Cybertruck deliveries first started 10 months ago, so FSD has been a long time coming. Recent testing by the independent automotive testing group AMCI determined that Tesla's FSD can only go 13 miles on average before requiring human intervention. Elon Musk recently promised unsupervised self-driving by the end of 2025, but he has been making that same claim for nearly 10 years and it's still not here. There's more pressure now than ever, though, as the company is set to reveal its FSD-dependent robotaxi product on October 10th.

Tesla Cybertruck Starts Receiving Highly Anticipated FSD Software - Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)

EV giant Tesla Inc TSLA has reportedly started rolling out its full self-driving (FSD) driver assistance software to select Cybertruck drivers. What Happened: The limited rollout was flagged on social media platform X by Tesla enthusiast Sawyer Merritt on Sunday. "Great job by the Tesla AI team on meeting the goals laid out for September," Tesla senior executive Ashok Elluswamy wrote, seemingly confirming the rollout. Tesla rolls out FD updates to a select few first and to its wider customer base later, implying more Cybertrucks will receive access to the software in time. In the timeline provided by Tesla for FSD improvements earlier this month, Tesla said it will deploy FSD on Cybertruck in September. The company, known for its product and feature delays, has seemingly met the timeline this time. Why It Matters: The Cybertruck is the latest offering from Tesla. The company started delivering the vehicle in late November and since then customers have been requesting FSD on the stainless steel truck. Though Tesla CEO Elon Musk previously provided multiple tentative timelines before, none materialized. FSD is the most advanced version of Tesla's driver assistance features termed autopilot. The names, however, are a misnomer as the features do not make the vehicle autonomous or capable of self-driving but require active driver supervision. However, FSD allows for auto lane change, navigating interchanges, and more. Musk has previously said that FSD will enable autonomous driving in time. Check out more of Benzinga's Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link. Read More: BYD Recalls Nearly 97K EVs Over Concerns Of Overheating Part, Potential Fire Photo courtesy: Shutterstock Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs