On February 15, 2023, NHTSA issued a recall notice for nearly 400,000 Tesla vehicles equipped with the so-called “Full Self Driving” (beta) driver assistance system. In the, the agency said, “The FSD Beta system can cause the vehicle to behave unsafely around intersections, such as driving straight through an intersection while in a turn-only lane, entering a stop sign-controlled intersection without coming to a complete stop or entering an intersection during a solid yellow traffic light without due caution. In addition, the system may not respond adequately to changes in the posted speed limits or take into account the driver’s adjustment of the vehicle’s speed to exceed the posted speed limits.”
Tesla says it’s a over the air update ready for the Full Self Driving Beta software, which is designated as version 11.3.2 (2022.45.11). The update includes a huge number of changes designed to address the concerns NHTSA identified in its recall notice. The new update fixes them all and adds several other changes. For full details on the release notes for this update, they can be found at the No Tesla app website.
Tesla Full Self Driving Beta Update Details
According to Yahoo!, the updates merge the FSD Beta software stack with the Autopilot Highway software stack, which should improve the performance of Autopilot, which reportedly hasn’t had a significant update in the past four years. In addition, version 11 will address issues such as how the system reacts when other drivers stop in front of a Tesla when FSD is active, how the software positions the car in wide lanes, how the system reacts to a lane block on the road ahead, how the car changes lanes and turns, and how the car communicates with the driver.
The release also addresses the larger security issue. In the release notes, Tesla says, “In accordance with a recent recall (Campaign #23V085 for the US and #2023-063 for Canada), Tesla is making improvements to the following specific behaviors within FSD Beta” and then lists a number of items addressed to:
- Improved decision logic to continue or stop at certain yellow traffic lights by modeling the decision as a consideration framework that takes into account estimated: delay required to stop, time to enter and exit the intersection, and distance traveled crossing the intersection before the light changes to red . This should make dealing with yellow light more natural and humane.
- Improved longitudinal deceleration control profile leading up to stop sign intersections to make the overall maneuver feel more tactile and natural.
- Improved Tesla speed adaptation when entering certain speed zones by enabling earlier checks for detected speed limit signs. The assertiveness of the response when slowing down for detected speed signs is determined by the current speed and the difference from the speed indicated by the detected sign. Added a visual glow behind the speed limit icon on the UI to alert the driver when the vehicle’s set speed exceeds the detected speed limit by more than 50%. Finally, the option for an absolute speed limit offset in FSD Beta has been removed; only the percentage offset is available.
- The behavior has been updated for certain scenarios where the Tesla can maneuver from a turning lane to go straight ahead. These maneuvers are now treated like changing lanes, using the turn signal to warn other drivers of the Tesla’s intent.
Then, of course, Tesla issued its default reminder that the driver is always responsible for driving the vehicle, even when FSD Beta is enabled. “You have to constantly monitor the road, keep your hands on the wheel and be ready to intervene to maintain safety,” the company says.
Drivers will notice their touchscreen looks different after the update is installed as Tesla has reorganized its look and feel. The changes are extensive and include new ways for the car to communicate with the driver, which are expected to be more intuitive and easier to understand.
Tesla and the Mind of Musk
FSD edge case? Credit: Fritz Hasler
While the new update is promising, we’ll have to wait for owner feedback before knowing how successful it is in addressing complaints drivers have had with the system. Our own Fritz Hasler has had problems with the system, which he dutifully did reported regularly. Two other members of the CleanTechnica team owns Teslas with FSD and have been less than thrilled with his performanceto the point where they have both stopped using it.
Tesla, of course, doesn’t deign to respond to press inquiries because it has too many important things to do to waste time on stupid journalists and their nagging questions. Dauntless, the Washington Post did an in-depth story about Fully Self-driving last Sunday. What was particularly striking about that article was the number of times people with the After asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal. Tesla is run like a dictatorship in the developing world, punishing those who don’t follow the company’s line. Every organization is a reflection of its leaders and in this case that is Elon Musk.
In May 2021, Tesla announced that it would end the use of radar in its cars. Soon after, it began deactivating the radar units installed in cars already produced. [Over-the-air updates are a two-way street. What can be enabled wirelessly can also be disabled wirelessly.]
Some Tesla engineers were baffled, sources told the Washington Post. They reached out to a trusted former executive for advice on how to talk Musk out of it. They feared that the cars without radar would be prone to basic sighting errors if the cameras were obscured by raindrops or even bright sunlight – problems that could lead to crashes. [Editor’s note: Those two conditions sometimes cause my Tesla to say it cannot engage Autopilot/FSD. I am not at all surprised to read about their concerns. —Zach] Musk was not convinced and ignored his engineers. Once the radar was turned off, there was an increase in accidents and near misses, according to interviews with nearly a dozen former employees, test drivers, safety officials and other experts.
They said Musk’s erratic leadership style forced them to work at breakneck speed to develop the technology and push it to the public before it was ready. Some said they are concerned that even today the software is not safe for use on public roads. Most spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.
“The system was progressing very slowly internally,” but “the public wanted a product in their hands,” says John Bernal, a former Tesla test operator who worked in the Autopilot division. He was fired in February 2022 after posting videos online of FSD in action (or not in action, as the case may be). “Elon keeps tweeting, ‘Oh we’re almost there, we’re almost there,'” Bernal said. But “internally, we’re nowhere near close, so now we have to work harder and harder and harder.” The team has also bled members, including senior executives, in recent months, he said.
Devil or Angel
The debate over whether Musk is a devil or an angel is one that always draws strong reactions from people. Some see Musk as a godlike figure, citing his incredible wealth as a kind of litmus test of his genius. Others see him as an autocratic, domineering, uncompromising tyrant who rules with an iron fist and tolerates no dissent.
Those of us who have followed Tesla for more than a decade still remember when Mobileye was behind the newly introduced Autopilot system. Then Joshua Brown died on a Florida highway when his Model S failed to “see” a tractor crossing the road. After that, Musk had a public hissing fit and a very messy split between Tesla and Mobileye ensued. Soon after, Tesla made radar the primary sensor and relegated cameras to a lower status in the Autopilot hierarchy.
Musk was effusive about the capabilities of radar and was eloquent about how Tesla could now bounce radar signals under a vehicle in front to detect what was happening in front of him. There was nothing radar couldn’t do back then… but now it’s been completely eliminated, meaning there’s no backup system to help the cameras understand the outside world.
Some may remember Musk’s biography written by Ashley Vance that describes how, when he was head honcho at PayPal, he berated workers who wouldn’t work until 3 a.m. That’s a common refrain we hear from Musk. Even when he took over Twitter, he made a lot of noise about wanting only engineers who are “hardcore” and willing to work 18-hour shifts or more. If you want to work for Elon, you have to be willing to put the rest of your life on hold and focus on his needs to the exclusion of everything else.
Kicking this around the avocado toast breakfast bar this morning, some members of the crack CleanTechnica the editors wondered aloud if we should be reassured that Tesla engineers who work days and weeks on end with little sleep are who we want to write code that meets the needs of the Tesla drivers, as well as the non-Tesla drivers sharing the road around them do not know they are part of a grand self-driving experiment known as Tesla Full Self Driving version 11.3.2. We know our readers have strong opinions on this topic and can’t wait to read your comments.
I don’t like paywalls. You don’t like paywalls. Who likes paywalls? Here at CleanTechnica, we implemented a restricted paywall for a while, but it always felt wrong – and it was always hard to decide what to put behind that. In theory, your most exclusive and best content goes behind a paywall. But then less people will read it! We just don’t like paywalls so we decided to drop ours.
Unfortunately, the media business is still a hard, cut-throat business with small margins. It’s a never-ending Olympic challenge to stay afloat or maybe even — gasping for breath – to grow. So …
