Photo: @Stew_JStew, @BLKMDL3 via X
Tesla released Full Self Driving (Supervised) V12.3.6 over the weekend, and people shared positive feedback. However, the biggest surprise was that the update brought vision-based park assist features, including Autopark, to older Tesla vehicles with ultrasonic sensors.
Tesla removed ultrasonic sensors from its vehicles built after October 2022 after betting everything on Tesla Vision. The move was harshly criticized, especially after owners received new cars with missing features. The most notable features that disappeared alongside the ultrasonic sensors (USS) were Autopark, Park Assist, and Summon. Tesla promised to bring them back in future software updates, as it did with missing features after dropping the radar sensors in 2021.
However, replacing the USS functionality with vision-based equivalents proved more difficult than Tesla appreciated. Distance measurement to obstacles, one of the most basic functions of the ultrasonic sensors, reappeared on non-USS Tesla vehicles in March 2023. However, it was patchy, and many complained that the estimates were too inconsistent to be trusted.
It took another nine months until Tesla released High Fidelity Park Assist with the Holiday Update. This pushed things up a notch, making it the first time owners of older Teslas with ultrasonic sensors envied the other group. The new system was able to reconstruct the environment, offering clear visual cues that could be relied on when parking the car. It was better than the ultrasonic sensors but still needed improvements.
The revolution came in March when Tesla rolled out Autopark for vehicles without ultrasonic sensors with the 2024.2.12 software update. This automates parking the car in parallel and perpendicular spots and works like a charm. Once a parking spot is chosen out of existing options, all you have to do is press the "Start" button on the screen to start the maneuver. The car will then shift into drive or reverse as required to park automatically.
Tesla promised to improve vision-based features further, including by offering a reverse summon option that Elon Musk called "Banish." This made the USS crowd even more jealous, especially as neither function was available to them. Tesla appeared to have lost love for people with older cars and a more complete hardware configuration. Thankfully, things changed with the latest software update (2024.3.25).
This update brought the FSD V12.3.6, the latest iteration of its advanced driver-assist system, one week after the previous point update. Although it seemed like a bug-fix release, people soon discovered it was nothing but. Those with older vehicles, including those with Intel processors (MCU2), noticed that the update brought vision-based features like High Fidelity Park Assist and Autopark.
In the case of vehicles equipped with ultrasonic sensors, the latest update brings the option to toggle between "Standard" Park Assist and Tesla Vision. The former only shows how close nearby objects are, the same as before. The Vision option, on the other hand, displays a high-fidelity 3D representation of nearby objects. It also unlocks Autopark, which works similarly to the non-USS vehicles.
However, replacing the USS functionality with vision-based equivalents proved more difficult than Tesla appreciated. Distance measurement to obstacles, one of the most basic functions of the ultrasonic sensors, reappeared on non-USS Tesla vehicles in March 2023. However, it was patchy, and many complained that the estimates were too inconsistent to be trusted.
It took another nine months until Tesla released High Fidelity Park Assist with the Holiday Update. This pushed things up a notch, making it the first time owners of older Teslas with ultrasonic sensors envied the other group. The new system was able to reconstruct the environment, offering clear visual cues that could be relied on when parking the car. It was better than the ultrasonic sensors but still needed improvements.
The revolution came in March when Tesla rolled out Autopark for vehicles without ultrasonic sensors with the 2024.2.12 software update. This automates parking the car in parallel and perpendicular spots and works like a charm. Once a parking spot is chosen out of existing options, all you have to do is press the "Start" button on the screen to start the maneuver. The car will then shift into drive or reverse as required to park automatically.
Tesla promised to improve vision-based features further, including by offering a reverse summon option that Elon Musk called "Banish." This made the USS crowd even more jealous, especially as neither function was available to them. Tesla appeared to have lost love for people with older cars and a more complete hardware configuration. Thankfully, things changed with the latest software update (2024.3.25).
This update brought the FSD V12.3.6, the latest iteration of its advanced driver-assist system, one week after the previous point update. Although it seemed like a bug-fix release, people soon discovered it was nothing but. Those with older vehicles, including those with Intel processors (MCU2), noticed that the update brought vision-based features like High Fidelity Park Assist and Autopark.
In the case of vehicles equipped with ultrasonic sensors, the latest update brings the option to toggle between "Standard" Park Assist and Tesla Vision. The former only shows how close nearby objects are, the same as before. The Vision option, on the other hand, displays a high-fidelity 3D representation of nearby objects. It also unlocks Autopark, which works similarly to the non-USS vehicles.
This is coming to all vehicles with MCU2 (Intel Atom) and MCU3 (Ryzen) infotainment computers!
— Teslascope (@teslascope) April 28, 2024
So all 2018+ vehicles, and any legacy Model S/X that has upgraded to MCU2. https://t.co/GsXGDTO0kr
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