Photo: @chazman via Twitter | Edited
Tesla surprised many people on Wednesday when it released the FSD Beta V11.3.1 to a small group of customers outside the wave1 group. Eager Tesla owners have already put hundreds of miles on the automated driving software, and the first impressions look promising.
Tesla has paused the FSD Beta deployment to new cars not previously enrolled in the program. Reports suggest that vehicles that had activated the FSD Beta but never used it were also bumped out of the beta branch, and moved to the production (non-FSD) version of Tesla firmware. Tesla has done all this to ensure compliance with the NHTSA findings and the voluntary “OTA recall” it initiated in February.
Although many believed it would take a long time before Tesla would fix the issues raised by the NHTSA, it has already provided a fix and integrated it into the FSD Beta V11.3.1 version. The software has just been pushed to a wider group of testers, including a small group of paying customers. We’re sure the NHTSA’s Tesla has also received it, and Tesla is working with the agency to address the concerns. Until this becomes clear, we’ve got the first impressions from people who tested the new FSD version.
There are marked improvements in how the software handles driving, especially on highways. This being the first version to replace the old Navigate on Autopilot stack with the new FSD stack, driving on highways will feel much more different now. Several testers reported that the FSD is smoother than before in all driving scenarios. The new version would shift the car’s position in the lane when passing trucks to leave them more room. Sometimes, it moves too much, making the car ride the line.
The new version is also better around the corners, behaving more like a human driver. Braking, accelerating, and steering inputs are also noticeably smoother than before. It also drives without issues on non-marked roads with no center line. The software is more assertive and sometimes can be a real jerk when avoiding long queues. A video shows the Tesla going in the adjacent lane when the exit lane is blocked and cutting the line right before the highway exit. This might be more human-like, but it would probably annoy other drivers.
Critics also note that the car would “unnecessarily” slow down when another car cuts in on the highway to maintain the two-car following distance. However, the braking is not hard, and the FSD only reduces speed by 1-2 mph (2-3 kph) when this happens. The V11.3.1 also hesitates at empty intersections more than it should, a behavior present in previous iterations of the software.
The new version is far from perfect, but no one expected it to be. Elon Musk commented on the new release saying that although it’s a major improvement, it still “needs another point release of polish” before rolling out widely. This all but implies that the rest of the FSD testing fleet, which Tesla estimated at more than 400,000 testers, would not get to test the V11.3.1 version but rather the 11.3.2.
Although many believed it would take a long time before Tesla would fix the issues raised by the NHTSA, it has already provided a fix and integrated it into the FSD Beta V11.3.1 version. The software has just been pushed to a wider group of testers, including a small group of paying customers. We’re sure the NHTSA’s Tesla has also received it, and Tesla is working with the agency to address the concerns. Until this becomes clear, we’ve got the first impressions from people who tested the new FSD version.
There are marked improvements in how the software handles driving, especially on highways. This being the first version to replace the old Navigate on Autopilot stack with the new FSD stack, driving on highways will feel much more different now. Several testers reported that the FSD is smoother than before in all driving scenarios. The new version would shift the car’s position in the lane when passing trucks to leave them more room. Sometimes, it moves too much, making the car ride the line.
The new version is also better around the corners, behaving more like a human driver. Braking, accelerating, and steering inputs are also noticeably smoother than before. It also drives without issues on non-marked roads with no center line. The software is more assertive and sometimes can be a real jerk when avoiding long queues. A video shows the Tesla going in the adjacent lane when the exit lane is blocked and cutting the line right before the highway exit. This might be more human-like, but it would probably annoy other drivers.
Critics also note that the car would “unnecessarily” slow down when another car cuts in on the highway to maintain the two-car following distance. However, the braking is not hard, and the FSD only reduces speed by 1-2 mph (2-3 kph) when this happens. The V11.3.1 also hesitates at empty intersections more than it should, a behavior present in previous iterations of the software.
The new version is far from perfect, but no one expected it to be. Elon Musk commented on the new release saying that although it’s a major improvement, it still “needs another point release of polish” before rolling out widely. This all but implies that the rest of the FSD testing fleet, which Tesla estimated at more than 400,000 testers, would not get to test the V11.3.1 version but rather the 11.3.2.
#FSDBeta v11.3.1 - Single Stack Highlight Clip
— Chuck Cook (@chazman) March 9, 2023
Late lane change, check it out. @elonmusk @aelluswamy pic.twitter.com/WR84q2qQxE
For a complete list of my thoughts so far regarding #FSDBeta v11.3.1, see below:
— Dan Burkland (@DBurkland) March 9, 2023
Pros:
- Smoother Car Control - Car controls are noticeably SMOOTHER including brake, throttle, and steering inputs!
- Semi Awareness & Detection - Moving within lane to give space to adjacent Semis… https://t.co/dFMa7ZhJBL pic.twitter.com/Z65GP2Xim8
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