Tesla FSD V12.4.2 Expected To Go to Employees Today – What To Expect (2024)

FSD v12.4 has been in the works for quite a while now, with Elon Musk previously suggesting that it would arrive near the end of May.

Musk has now given us an update on the state of v12.4, saying that FSD v12.4.2 will start rolling out to employees today.

FSD V12.4.2

FSD V12.4 initially launched with V12.4.1 to select customers on build 2024.15.5, bringing the much anticipated no-nag update alongside it. V12.4.1 had some issues according to Tesla’s early access customers who received the update in early June, with lane drifting and lane selection still being issues. On the flipside, V12.4 tends to be more assertive and less hesitant in intersections and parking lots.

Elon also mentioned that FSD 12.4.2 is much smoother, but the challenge is “keeping safety high, while also increasing ride comfort.”

Although v12.4 didn’t come with Banish Autopark and Park Seek, it did include the new vison monitoring that lets the vehicle not nag you under certain conditions.

Expected Release

We just need to confirm there are no safety regressions

-Elon Musk

So, now with the new confirmation that 12.4.2 is going to roll out to internal testers and employees soon, how far away is it for customers? It looks like it may be at least a few days away at the earliest for customers that are on FSD v12.4.1, and probably at least a week away from adding additional owners, assuming that testing goes well with this upcoming build.

When asked if V12.4.2 would come to customers on the July 1^st weekend, Musk said “we just need to confirm there are no safety regressions”, which means it could be closer than we expect for ordinary customers.

FSD V12.5

So, with V12.4.2 on the horizon, what in the world is happening with V12.5? And what features will it bring with it?

In terms of features, Elon previously mentioned that V12.5 is supposed to bring Actually Smart Summon, along with fleet-based vehicle communications, and further reduce the likelihood of driver interventions. It’s also supposed to be the first iteration of Autopilot and FSD that the Cybertruck will be receiving.

It was previously supposed to arrive in early July, but that estimate is clearly out of the window given how delayed V12.4 has become. We could honestly expect FSD V12.5 to arrive alongside the 8/8 Robotaxi announcement, which would be fairly fitting.

Tesla has brought back the Model 3 Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive variant, which starts at $42,490. However, due to the batteries in the Long Range model, it qualifies for the $7,500 federal EV rebate. This makes this new model the cheapest model in Tesla’s lineup after the federal rebate that comes off at the point of sale.

After the federal rebate, this model is $34,990, exactly $4,000 less than the standard RWD model with the smaller LFP battery.

Improved Range

The Long Range RWD variant boasts a range of 363mi (vs 341mi for the AWD, and 272mi for the regular RWD), and a 0-60mph of 4.9sec (vs 4.2sec for the AWD). This makes the new Long Range RWD Model 3 Tesla’s longest-range economic vehicle (Model 3 / Model Y). The Model S AWD boasts an impressive 402-mile EPA estimate.

Other than the lack of a front motor for handling in rough or slippery terrain, or having a faster 0-60, the Long Range RWD is a fantastic option for most people.

It’s worth noting that only the Long Range AWD model can unlock Tesla’s Acceleration Boost, which increases power and reduces the vehicle’s 0-60 times by about half a second.

Availability

For now, the Model 3 Long Range RWD model is only available in the United States, with no availability in Canada.

As FSD V12.4.3 continues to get released to more vehicles, Elon Musk has posted that FSD V12.5 is already in testing and will include several key features.

The improvements in v12.5 are supposed to focus on rarer, more complex situations and vehicle-to-fleet communication. Tesla’s Autopilot lead, Ashok Elluswamy, also mentioned that FSD would gain the ability to go in reverse around this time.

Merge City & Highway Stacks

FSD v12 has been a multi-stack setup so far, with a city-streets stack that is end-to-end, and an older highway stack that was carried over from v11. FSD v12.5 will once again merge the city/highway stacks according to Musk, who confirmed the feature yesterday. That means that there will no longer be an implicit highway stack.

This could cause some regressions during highway driving, similar to the ones we experienced when Tesla first merged highway and city stacks back in FSD v11. Ultimately, when the issues were ironed out, we ended up with a smoother and better Autopilot experience on the highway. When FSD v12.5 rolls around, we may see some similar issues but expect FSD v12.5 to do to highways what v12 did for city driving.

Vehicle-to-Fleet Communications

Tesla’s FSD relies heavily upon maps, with the mapping information designating routing and lane changes. When vehicles encounter difficulties, they are unable to communicate that back to the rest of the fleet. This results in every vehicle encountering the same problem. With FSD V12.5, vehicles will be able to communicate road closures or other obstacles back to the rest of the fleet in real-time. This will turn FSD into software that’s constantly improving as the fleet gathers more data, instead of having to wait for a software update.

Cybertruck Finally Gets FSD

In a recent post on X, Musk also confirmed that V12.5 will finally bring FSD to the Cybertruck. Currently, all Cybertrucks only have access to Traffic Aware Cruise Control (TACC). Autopilot and FSD capabilities should arrive alongside all the other features.

Actually Smart Summon

Musk has talked quite a bit about Actually Smart Summon. With FSD 12.5, the new vision-based summon may finally be released. This will introduce Smart Summon capabilities to vision-only cars for the first time. However, it’s expected to be a drastic improvement for all vehicles in similar ways to the new Autopark. The new summon has been tied to the ability to move the vehicle in reverse by Tesla’s Autopilot lead, so expect either both of them to arrive in FSD 12.5, or be held off for a later release.

Release Date

Musk originally mentioned that FSD V12.5 would be released in late June, however, there were several delays with FSD 12.4 and that time frame has now come and gone. FSD 12.4 was initially released in May 2024, but it went through several lengthy revisions before it was introduced to public testers. Going by that time frame, it appears that FSD 12.5 was expected to be released about 4-6 weeks after FSD 12.4. If FSD 12.4.3 is finally got a good spot, we could see FSD 12.5 become available in the next 4-6 weeks or about late August.