Firmware
Tesla begins 14-day Enhanced Autopilot free trial program ahead of Software V9 release
True to Elon Musk’s announcement during Tesla’s 2018 Annual Shareholder Meeting, the electric car company has started rolling out a 14-day free trial program for Enhanced Autopilot. Invitations for the program are being sent to Tesla owners who opted out of the driver-assist system when they purchased their vehicles.
This would be the second time that Tesla is offering its Autopilot software as a free trial to its customers. Tesla initially offered a similar program back in 2016, though the company was still utilizing the hardware of former partner MobilEye then. The current program stands as the first time Tesla is offering free trials for Enhanced Autopilot, a driver-assist system the company designed in-house. Here is a brief outline of what Tesla owners need to know about the ongoing Enhanced Autopilot free trial program.
Eligible Vehicles
The company expects all Model S, X, and 3 owners who have not purchased the driver-assist system to receive an invitation to the free trial program over the next few weeks. For vehicles to receive an invitation, owners must make sure that their cars are updated at least to software version 2018.28.1. Tesla notes that Enhanced Autopilot features — comprised of Autosteer, Traffic Aware Cruise Control (TACC), Auto Lane Change, Summon, and Autopark — will automatically be downloaded on cars that don’t have the feature installed as soon as the vehicles receive software update 2018.28.1 or later.
Standard Cruise Control
Owners who opt-in for Tesla’s Enhanced Autopilot free trial should keep in mind that standard cruise control would not be accessible for the duration of the program. Instead, standard cruise control would be replaced by Traffic-Aware Cruise Control, which adjusts speed according to the flow of surrounding traffic. Standard cruise control would be reactivated after the 14-day Autopilot free trial ends.
Opting-out of the program
Owners have full control if they would like to participate in the free trial program or not. Upon receiving an invite, those who wish to opt-out of the program can select “I do not want to experience Enhanced Autopilot” on a notification displayed on their vehicle’s screen. To opt out of the program before the 14-day free trial period is over, owners must navigate to the “Autopilot” tab in the Settings menu, then select “Trial” near the top right of the display. A notification should appear allowing users to tap on “I do not want to experience Enhanced Autopilot.” Those that end the free trial before the 14-day period is over should expect their electric cars to reboot, which would remove Enhanced Autopilot from the vehicle.
Purchasing Enhanced Autopilot
Electric car owners have the option to purchase Enhanced Autopilot at any time during the free trial period. Purchasing the driver-assist suite could be done through the vehicle’s touchscreen or through a Tesla Account. Enhanced Autopilot costs $5,000 for Hardware 1 cars and $6,000 for vehicles equipped with Hardware 2. Those who wish to purchase Enhanced Autopilot from their vehicles must navigate to the free trial screen in the “Autopilot” tab in the Settings menu, and selecting the “Order Now” option. All Autopilot features would become permanently available after the system is purchased.
Tesla’s support page for the free trial program could be accessed here.
Tesla’s rollout of its free trial program comes as the company is setting the stage for the introduction of Software V9.0, a major update expected to introduce the first self-driving features for the Model S, X, and 3, together with a number of classic Atari games such as Pole Position. Musk previously announced on Twitter that Tesla is targeting version 9’s release sometime in August, but during the Q2 2018 earnings call, Musk stated that software V9 would likely be introduced in around four weeks, followed by a broad rollout in September.
“Right now, our focus (is) on the version 9 software release which has got a number of really cool things in it. And we’re hoping to get that out to early access program in about four weeks and then broadly in September. That’s the hardcore focus right now, and that will certainly include some significant advancements in autonomy,” Musk said.
It appears that Tesla may be preparing to roll out some subscription-based services soon. Based on the observations of a Wales-based Model 3 owner who performed some reverse-engineering on the Tesla mobile app, it seems that the electric car maker has added a new “Subscribe” option beside the “Buy” option within the “Upgrades” tab, at least behind the scenes.
A screenshot of the new option was posted in the r/TeslaMotors subreddit, and while the Tesla owner in question, u/Callump01, admitted that the screenshot looks like something that could be easily fabricated, he did submit proof of his reverse-engineering to the community’s moderators. The moderators of the r/TeslaMotors subreddit confirmed the legitimacy of the Model 3 owner’s work, further suggesting that subscription options may indeed be coming to Tesla owners soon.
Did some reverse engineering on the app and Tesla looks to be preparing for subscriptions? from r/teslamotors
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite has been heavily speculated to be offered as a subscription option, similar to the company’s Premium Connectivity feature. And back in April, noted Tesla hacker @greentheonly stated that the company’s vehicles already had the source codes for a pay-as-you-go subscription model. The Tesla hacker suggested then that Tesla would likely release such a feature by the end of the year — something that Elon Musk also suggested in the first-quarter earnings call. “I think we will offer Full Self-Driving as a subscription service, but it will be probably towards the end of this year,” Musk stated.
While the signs for an upcoming FSD subscription option seem to be getting more and more prominent as the year approaches its final quarter, the details for such a feature are still quite slim. Pricing for FSD subscriptions, for example, have not been teased by Elon Musk yet, though he has stated on Twitter that purchasing the suite upfront would be more worth it in the long term. References to the feature in the vehicles’ source code, and now in the Tesla mobile app, also listed no references to pricing.
The idea of FSD subscriptions could prove quite popular among electric car owners, especially since it would allow budget-conscious customers to make the most out of the company’s driver-assist and self-driving systems without committing to the features’ full price. The current price of the Full Self-Driving suite is no joke, after all, being listed at $8,000 on top of a vehicle’s cost. By offering subscriptions to features like Navigate on Autopilot with automatic lane changes, owners could gain access to advanced functions only as they are needed.
Elon Musk, for his part, has explained that ultimately, he still believes that purchasing the Full Self-Driving suite outright provides the most value to customers, as it is an investment that would pay off in the future. “I should say, it will still make sense to buy FSD as an option as in our view, buying FSD is an investment in the future. And we are confident that it is an investment that will pay off to the consumer – to the benefit of the consumer.” Musk said.
Tesla has started rolling out update 2020.36 this weekend, introducing a couple of notable new features for its vehicles. While there are only a few handful of vehicles that have reportedly received the update so far, 2020.36 makes it evident that the electric car maker has made some strides in its efforts to refine its driver-assist systems for inner-city driving.
Tesla is currently hard at work developing key features for its Full Self-Driving suite, which should allow vehicles to navigate through inner-city streets without driver input. Tesla’s FSD suite is still a work in progress, though the company has released the initial iterations of key features such Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control, which was introduced last April. Similar to the first release of Navigate on Autopilot, however, the capabilities of Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control were pretty basic during their initial rollout.
2020.36 Showing Speed Limit Signs in Visualization from r/teslamotors
With the release of update 2020.36, Tesla has rolled out some improvements that should allow its vehicles to handle traffic lights better. What’s more, the update also includes a particularly useful feature that enables better recognition of speed limit signs, which should make Autopilot’s speed adjustments better during use. Following are the Release Notes for these two new features.
Green Traffic Light Chime
“A chime will play when the traffic light you are waiting for turns green. If you are waiting behind another car, the chime will play once the car advances unless Traffic-Aware Cruise Control or Autosteer is active. When Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control is activated, a chime will play when you can confirm to proceed through a green traffic light. To enable, tap Controls > Autopilot > Green Traffic Light Chime.
“Note: This chime is only designed as a notification. It is the driver’s responsibility to observe their environment and make decisions accordingly.”
Speed Assist Improvements
“Speed Assist now leverages your car’s cameras to detect speed limit signs to improve the accuracy of speed limit data on local roads. Detected speed limit signs will be displayed in the driving visualization and used to set the associated Speed Limit Warning.
“As usual, to adjust Speed Assist settings, tap Controls > Autopilot > Speed Limit.”
Footage of the new green light chime in action via @NASA8500 on Twitter ✈️ from r/teslamotors
Amidst the rollout of 2020.36’s new features, speculations were abounding among Tesla community members that this update may include the first pieces of the company’s highly-anticipated Autopilot rewrite. Inasmuch as the idea is exciting, however, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has stated that this was not the case. While responding to a Tesla owner who asked if the Autopilot rewrite is in “shadow mode” in 2020.36, Musk responded “Not yet.”
Tesla has rolled out a free three-month trial subscription to Sirius XM, in what appears to be the company’s latest push into making its vehicles’ entertainment systems more feature-rich. The new Sirius XM offer will likely be appreciated by owners of the company’s vehicles, especially considering that the service is among the most popular satellite radios in the country today.
Tesla announced its new offer in an email sent on Monday. An image that accompanied the communication also teased Tesla’s updated and optimized Sirius XM UI for its vehicles. Following is the email’s text.
“Beginning now, enjoy a free, All Access three-month trial subscription to Sirius XM, plus a completely new look and improved functionality. Our latest over-the-air software update includes significant improvements to overall Sirius XM navigation, organization, and search features, including access to more than 150 satellite channels.
“To access simply tap the Sirius XM app from the ‘Music’ section of your in-car center touchscreen—or enjoy your subscription online, on your phone, or at home on connected devices. If you can’t hear SiriusXM channels in your car, select the Sirius XM ‘Subscription’ tab for instruction on how to refresh your audio.”
Tesla has actually been working on Sirius XM improvements for some time now. Back in June, for example, Tesla rolled out its 2020.24.6.4 update, and it included some optimizations to its Model S and Model X’s Sirius XM interface. As noted by noted Tesla owner and hacker @greentheonly, the source code of this update revealed that the Sirius XM optimizations were also intended to be released to other areas such as Canada.
Interestingly enough, Sirius XM is a popular feature that has been exclusive to the Model S and X. Tesla’s most popular vehicle to date, the Model 3, is yet to receive the feature. One could only hope that Sirius XM integration to the Model 3 may eventually be included in the future. Such an update would most definitely be appreciated by the EV community, especially since some Model 3 owners have resorted to using their smartphones or third-party solutions to gain access to the satellite radio service.
The fact that Tesla seems to be pushing Sirius XM rather assertively to its customers seems to suggest that the company may be poised to roll out more entertainment-based apps in the coming months. Apps such as Sirius XM, Spotify, Netflix, and YouTube, may seem quite minor when compared to key functions like Autopilot, after all, but they do help round out the ownership experience of Tesla owners. In a way, Sirius XM does make sense for Tesla’s next-generation of vehicles, especially the Cybertruck and the Semi, both of which would likely be driven in areas that lack LTE connectivity.
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