When fsd in europe?
Tesla's highly anticipated FSD hardware 4, also known as HW4, will be installed in new vehicles any day. The company received European approval to sell its latest FSD hardware in the Model S and Model X vehicles.
The timeline for deployment of the new computer that operates the most technologically advanced vehicle in the world has been a mystery. There was some speculation that Tesla may hold off launching the highly advanced system until Cybertruck's release. However, only a limited number of Cybertrucks are expected this year, with full production starting in 2024.
Several other changes are being made to Teslas according to the European Certificate, issued by the Dutch vehicle authority RDW, dated January 20, 2023. The maximum speed for the Model S is increasing to 174 MPH (280 km/h) from the factory. But owners can tack on even more speed with the optional Carbon Ceramic Brake Kit, which will boost the car to the previously mentioned 200 MPH (322 km/h). It sounds like the Carbon Ceramic Brake Kit option may soon become available.
Unfortunately, the European certificate doesn't reveal any details on what is included in Tesla's 4th generation Autopilot hardware. The system is expected to use 5-megapixel cameras, which will give Autopilot a substantial advantage in determining objects that are further away. The new hardware will also include a new FSD computer which is expected to be about 4x more powerful than the FSD computer in hardware 3 today. Additionally, HW4 is expected to include an HD radar, which could significantly improve FSD. In the same line item as the new FSD computer, Tesla also mentions a new GNSS antenna that is used for GPS. However, GNSS antennas also provide support for other systems such as GLONASS, Baidu, and Galileo.
Other approved European updates are new Gen3 inverters and changes to the automatic headlights. In addition, the Model X will have a unified braking system and a new stay arm for the interior rear-view mirror. Finally, the cosmetic changes that rolled out in North America last month will also be implemented in Europe with the rear badging.
It is yet to be known when the new hardware will debut, but Tesla will not retrofit the existing fleet. During the fourth quarter earnings call, Elon Musk said that the "cost and difficulty of retrofitting hardware 3 with hardware 4 is quite significant. So, it would not be, I think, economically feasible to do so."
This could be due to the new HD radar, new power, or space requirements for the new computer or radar, or due to complexities with wiring harnesses. It would also put a huge burden on Tesla Service, which would have to upgrade millions of vehicles. There could also be more to hardware 4.0 that has not been disclosed.
It's not surprising that Tesla has decided to introduce hardware 4.0 to the Model S and Model X first. These are lower-volume vehicles and it makes sense for them to slowly roll out these changes. Parts may still be limited or Tesla may want to reduce the cost of a recall if there are any issues with the new hardware. We know the upcoming Cybertruck will also use hardware 4.0, but that still leaves the Model 3 and Model Y out. However, we speculate that Tesla will try to get the Model 3 and Y updated as soon as possible. Once the word is out that the Model S and Model X vehicles include hardware 4.0, many owners may prefer to wait before ordering or taking delivery of a Model 3 or Model Y.
We will likely find out more about FSD hardware 4.0 very soon as these vehicles start being delivered to customers.
2023 is sure to bring good things, but if you live in Europe, it could get even more exciting. Tesla has posted a new job position to its careers site for an ADAS test operator.
ADAS, which stands for “Advanced Driver Assistance Systems,” is the broader category for Tesla's Autopilot and FSD features. Although FSD is quite capable, it is still officially a level-2 system. The addition of this position to Tesla's careers site could mean that Tesla is stepping up testing in Europe, where it expects to release FSD next.
The job description says the "ADAS test operator will be responsible to identify improvements and regressions across software iterations."
This is particularly interesting because Tesla hasn't been actively developing its Autopilot or Navigate on Autopilot features for several years since the new tech stack that FSD leverages will be the foundation for future iterations of Autopilot.
Elon Musk has said various times before that Tesla's FSD feature will expand to Europe next. In March of 2022, Musk stated that he expects FSD to be available in Europe as early as summer. He tweeted:
"FSD Beta should be available in Europe for LHD this summer, RHD a few months later. These dates depend on regulatory approval."
During Tesla's AI Day 2, Elon Musk also mentioned that he hopes to expand FSD to Europe before the end of 2022.
Tesla's FSD feature was limited to the U.S. until it expanded to Canada with FSD Beta version 10.11.1, which was rolled out in March 2022.
Tesla required public testers to achieve a certain safety score in order to be included in the FSD beta program in the U.S. and Canada. That restriction was removed at the end of 2022 when FSD Beta was opened up to everyone eligible.
It's not clear what Tesla's plan is for the expansion of FSD, but we know it will expand to Europe next and this job posting appears to indicate testing is already underway. Tesla may utilize the Safety Score again once they're ready to open up FSD Beta in Europe to public testers.
The Austin, Texas-based automotive company continues to ramp up production and prepare for a new vehicle platform in March 2023. Furthermore, they’re preparing for hardware 4.0, which will see a higher megapixel cameras, heaters, and fans. It will also reduce the amount of front-facing cameras from three down to two.
And as Tesla’s autopilot software grows to tackle more complex driving situations such as traffic lights, surface streets, roundabouts, unprotected left turns, and U-turns, the EV maker has chosen to initially deploy and test the new capabilities on US and Canadian roads.
The main reason Tesla chose North America to be the testbed for the company’s full self-driving capability is that the EV maker’s engineers working on the autopilot software are situated in the US. And more specifically the engineers are situated in the Bay Area.
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Because of this fact, Musk has previously said Tesla’s FSD software works best in the Bay Area. And once you zoom out to the US, autopilot’s ability to deal with complex driving situations starts to decrease.
And when you see autopilot’s performance outside the US, Teslas’ ability to self-drive starts to suffer even more. Autopilot users in Europe have especially pointed out the difference in capability between their vehicle’s autopilot compared to US Teslas.
And it is the same story in the rest of the world be it in China, the Middle East, or the rest of Asia. However, according to Elon Musk, significant improvements are on the way for autopilot users outside the US, especially for those in the EU.
Currently, Tesla is working on a major update to the company’s FSD Beta software dubbed FSD Beta v11. Since EU regulators don’t yet allow Tesla autopilot to be activated outside highways, an FSD Beta update usually doesn’t mean much to EU Tesla drivers.
However, FSD Beta V11 is special since unlike previous updates is specifically targeted to improve Teslas’ driving ability on highways. This improvement has less to do with functionality but rather with the fundamental software architecture the vehicle uses to navigate highways.
Currently, on highways, be it in North America or any other part of the world, 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, Tesla engineers have been working hard and FSD Beta v11 which will integrate Tesla’s autopilot software into a single stack throughout highways and surface streets is expected to enter limited release in the coming days.
This on its own is exciting however, now Musk says 90% of work done on FSD Beta in the US and Canada applies Worldwide, and after FSD Beta V11 is released in North America, it will be adapted for EU roads and submitted to regulators for approval.
Currently, it’s not entirely clear whether Musk means the part of FSD Beta concerned with highways will come to the EU or if Tesla is going to try and add all the surface street functionalities.
And although Musk saying 90% of the work is already done to release FSD Beta to EU roads makes us hopeful the software can be released on the continent soon, the EU, however, has a famously stringent self-driving approval process which on its own could be a cause for significant delays.
As of now, it’s hard to predict how long it will take Tesla to release FSD Beta in the EU, however, we will be sure to keep you posted as we learn more about the EV maker’s plans. Until then, make sure to visit our site torquenews.com/Tesla regularly for the latest information.
So what do you think? Are you excited to learn 90% of the work Tesla has done on FSD Beta applies worldwide? Also, how do you think regulations will affect the software’s rollout in the EU? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
This change in priority means that FSD Beta could become available in Europe at the earliest by January 2024, and at the latest by the summer of 2024. The acceleration of the timeline will likely be welcome news for Tesla owners and enthusiasts in Europe who have been eagerly awaiting FSD capabilities.
