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In late 2020, Tesla released the next generation of the company’s full self-driving software called FSD Beta.
This software version is a significant architectural rewrite of Tesla’s Autopilot software and unlike previous iterations of Autopilot, requires merging all images coming from 8 cameras into a vector space that the vehicle uses to execute driving in the real world.
In simple terms, the new software creates a representation of the real world by piecing together images coming from the 8 cameras, and the vehicle uses this virtual representation of the real world to make driving decisions.
The new approach has allowed Tesla to enable vehicles to tackle more complex driving settings such as surface streets, roundabouts, and unprotected left turns, which are currently impossible for Tesla’s previous Autopilot software.
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Tesla initially released FSD Beta to the 3000 or so individuals in the company’s Early Access Program. However, that number has currently grown to more than 400,000 vehicles, and now the capability comes standard with any purchase of the full-self driving feature in the US and Canada.
Since FSD Beta’s initial rollout in late 2020, the software has seen several upgrades which have improved the smoothness and capabilities of the self-driving software.
Tesla’s last major FSD update, which is currently running on the overwhelming majority of Tesla vehicles is FSD Beta 10.69. This iteration of FSD Beta was released at the end of August and has brought with it several improvements getting Tesla one step closer to the goal of having the software completely take over the driving task.
Having said that, FSD Beta 10.69 is still far from a level 5 fully autonomous solution and the software still needs a lot of work to make it fully self-driving.
One significant area the current iteration of FSD Beta could improve is on the highways. This improvement has less to do with functionality but rather with the fundamental software architecture the vehicle uses to navigate highways.
On highways, Tesla still uses the pre-FSD Beta iteration of autopilot that doesn’t use all 8 cameras to create a vector space and heavily relies on manually written codes as opposed to AI to make driving decisions.
However, the Tesla autopilot team has been working hard to bring FSD Beta to the highway.
And last week, all that hard work seemed to have finally come to fruition as Tesla started releasing FSD Beta v11.3 beyond employees and to a select group of Tesla owners in the company’s Early Access program.
Tesla was expected to roll out FSD Beta v11.3 to the wider fleet but the EV maker has chosen to be cautious with the rollout and even after months the software is limited to vehicles owned by employees and Early Access program participants.
However, for those who can’t wait, today we have some good news as Tesla has finally started rolling out FSD Beta V11.3 to the wider public. This new release is FSD Beta V11.3.3 and given that the new software shares the same release note as FSD Beta V11.3 it means that V11.3.3 only contains minor bug fixes.
Just got FSD Beta V11.3.3 pic.twitter.com/TsjStSeYwL— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) March 26, 2023
The first to report on the new release was Tesla enthusiast Sawyer Merritt who is not part of Tesla’s Early Access program and confirmed that prior to this update his vehicle was still on the last generation FSD Beta 10.69.
This means following the bug fixes, Tesla now feels confident enough and has released FSD Beta V11 to the wider public. This is certainly exciting and even though the software is just beginning to roll out to the public, we will be sure to keep posted on FSD Beta V11’s wide release.
Until then, make sure to visit our site torquenews.com/Tesla regularly for the latest updates.
So what do you think? Excited that Tesla has finally released FSD Beta V.11 to the wider public? Also, what do you think about all the improvements coming with FSD Beta V11? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
Image: Screenshot from Whole Mars Catalog YouTube channel
For more information check out: Updating The Tesla Model 3: Expected Changes And Innovations
Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and The evolution of the EV space on a daily basis for several years. He covers everything about Tesla from the cars to Elon Musk, the energy business, and autonomy. Follow Tinsae on Twitter at @TinsaeAregay for daily Tesla news.
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