Tesla has begun rolling out software version 2020.40.8.12 to users of the company’s limited full autonomous driving beta, and based on feedback from the EV community, it appears that the update includes a new user interface that has been improved to power the FSD suite. This is evident in the FSD’s larger UI space, as well as its smoother vector views of driving paths, objects, and streets.
New Tesla UI images shared by FSD beta limited user Tesla Raj, Which appeared to be among the first Model 3 owners to receive the update. As a Tesla enthusiast noticed, the larger space devoted to visualizations was immediately noticed. This is especially surprising when the car is in parking mode, as the Tesla avatar on the screen is much larger and more detailed. Animations when opening the trunk, bed, and doors are now smoother, too.
Changes to the Tesla user interface affect the central screen layout. With more space devoted to driving visualizations, the map area is reduced. The Tesla “T” logo at the top of the screen has also been removed. Whether this will be popular with Tesla owners is questionable, although it is clear that a change has been made regarding the increased functionality of the fully autonomous driving range. Tesla clarified this in the release notes for 2020.40.8.12.
Driving perception improvements
Improved driving visualization to better support full autonomous driving capabilities by increasing the screen size to show additional peripheral information. The next turn will now appear above the visualization if the navigation turn menu is covered by another app.
With the larger visualization, the selected elements have been moved a bit but will still look and act the same way. Some notable differences include:
- Quick access to the backup camera and wipers has been moved to the bottom bar.
- The autopilot set speed is now displayed directly below the speedometer and can continue to be set using the steering wheel’s right-hand scroll wheel. Speed will turn blue when autopilot is on.
What’s interesting is the fact that improvements in the fully autonomous driving beta are coming at an incredibly fast pace. Since it was introduced to FSD Limited Beta members a little over a week ago, the system’s capabilities are already starting to show further improvements. This has been noted before Tesla owners Silicon Valley The group, who asked how the new update and user interface could improve actual FSD performance down the road. In response, Musk stated that the update could lead to fewer intrusions.
We primarily measure this in the probability of an intervention. This update addressed several issues, resulting in maybe about 1/3 of fewer interventions. Many improvements consist of fixing silly bugs versus eureka’s major moments. Musk wrote correct for most beta releases in my experience.
In detail, Musk explained that as fully autonomous driving improves, the errors the system will encounter will likely decrease dramatically. The CEO explained that while FSD faults will never be zero, there will ultimately be a point where the probability of defects is significantly lower than the probability of a normal human driver. Musk added that updates to the FSD Limited Beta will also be very fast, with new improvements coming every 5-10 days.
Watch our first look at Tesla’s new user interface and driving insights in the video below.
