Tesla's long-awaited Full Self-Driving V12 release – billed as the most advanced FSD variant to date – is only two weeks away, if we're to believe Elon Musk's latest promise.
The news comes after Musk was asked on X by Tesla enthusiast @WholeMarsBlog when customers will first be able to try out FSD 12, and his reply was "about two weeks." While Musk's "two weeks" timeline predictions have proven hardly accurate so far – some people translate that as "at some point in the future" – his timing for this one is especially intriguing. That's because the Cybertruck's delivery event at Gigafactory Texas will take place about two weeks from now, on Nov. 30.
So is it possible that Tesla's electric pickup will come equipped with FSD Beta 12 from the get-go? That remains to be seen, but it would be a huge deal if it does.
Musk said in June that version 12 would no longer be "beta", but what that means exactly is extremely unclear. Ever since its launch in late 2020, the FSD feature has been described by Tesla as beta software that requires full supervision from drivers as it's still being tested and developed. Tesla has used that "beta" designation to offset some criticism and counter certain legal claims when various mishaps have happened. At least in 2016, Musk described a system out of beta as one that's had more than "one billion miles of real-world driving."
Musk has said several times in the past that the company is very close to achieving full self-driving capability, but that has yet to happen. "I have been wrong about this prediction in the past, but I feel we are closer to it than we ever have been," Musk said in July at the 2023 World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai.
In August, Musk live-streamed a 45-minute drive of a Tesla Model S using the FSD v12 release. During that test, he said the system works like a human brain, using neural nets and eyes (cameras), as well as relying on artificial intelligence across the board. He said in May that FSD v12 is "reserved for when FSD is end-to-end AI, from images in to steering, brakes & acceleration out." As The Verge noted at the time, FSD now relies on cameras and AI, not other types of sensors like radar and Lidar like other competitors.
Musk noted that the software has no line of code instructing the vehicle to stop at a stop sign, slow down for speed bumps, or give clearance to cyclists – as opposed to FSD Beta v11, which has over 300,000 lines of C++. Instead, the FSD v12 is said to mimic human drivers by using videos from millions of Teslas from around the world as training material.
During the demonstration, the vehicle seemed to operate safely and smoothly for much of the drive. However, Musk had to take over around the 19-minute mark to stop the car from running a red light. That was the most serious traffic violation in the entire livestream.
Musk made some questionable decisions while in the driver's seat, such as holding the smartphone that filmed the entire trip in his hand and interacting with Twitter users – which goes against Tesla's recommendation for drivers to keep their hands on the steering wheel at all times.
That's also an illegal thing to do in California, but police spared Musk from a ticket as the Palo Alto Police Department said that officers didn't witness the violation of the state's hands-free law themselves.
As always, there's no such thing as true "full self-driving" anywhere on the market yet, and any such systems – including Tesla's – should be used with caution and supervision.
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