Tesla has started rolling out the newest installment of its Full Self-Driving Beta (FSD Beta 10.69.1) to a larger number of owners. The original major version 10.69 released late last month had a limited reach of around ~1,000 Tesla owners.
As per Elon Musk’s previous announcement, FSD Beta 10.69.1 still is not going to be distributed to all of the early access program participants until the next version 10.69.2 is here in the next few weeks.
Release Notes for FSD Beta 10.69.1 are the same as the v10.69. However, Tesla has reset the counter for Forced Autopilot Disengagements (safety strikes) with 10.69.1. Tesla explains what Forced Autopilot Disengagements are in the Full Self-Driving Beta Suspension notice as follows:
For maximum safety and accountability, use of Full Self-Driving (Beta) will be suspended if improper usage is detected. Improper usage is when you, or another driver of your vehicle, receive five ‘Forced Autopilot Disengagements’.
A disengagement is when the Autopilot system disengages for the remainder of a trip after the driver receives several audio and visual warnings for inattentiveness. Driver-initiated disengagements do not count as improper usage and are expected from the driver. Keep your hands on the wheel and remain attentive at all times. Use of any hand-held devices while using Autopilot is not allowed.
Beta testers of the Tesla Full Self-Driving program have already started evaluating the system and most of the reviews are positive for this update.
Since the previous version 10.69 was not a wide release, many Tesla owners are getting the FSD Beta version 10.69.1 (2020.20.10) directly — skipping the previous one entirely.
FSD Beta 10.69.1 Reviews
Since these software releases are in beta, there are always going to be some bugs around and room for improvement in various scenarios. Tesla has been working hard on unprotected left turns (UPLs) and 10.69.1 also focuses on “deep lane guidance” (check out release notes for details).
Dan Burkland was one of the very first ones to receive the FSD Beta 10.69.1 update on his Tesla Model 3 and he reported the following improvements in his initial review:
- 1 long-standing lane selection issue seems to be resolved
- Acceleration after the apex of turns could be a bit more aggressive
- Got red hands 20 secs into my 2nd drive, FSD came back after ~1min
In some scenarios, the absence of correct map data is also resulting in Tesla vehicles taking the wrong decision or becoming confused/less confident as we saw in the test evaluation video above.
He got a chance to thoroughly test this version for the next couple of days and shared the following results from his evaluation.
(3/5) The ego car’s posture also leads to some issues (ex. like confusing surrounding drivers) as it aligns itself to the right using dead space while also aiming the vehicle’s nose (& steering wheel) across the intersection towards oncoming traffic. pic.twitter.com/CUvmUmpA6y
— Dan Burkland (@DBurkland) September 1, 2022
So, UPLs are still a headache for FSD Beta and the Tesla Autopilot software team has a lot more to do for similar scenarios. FSD Beta 10.69.1 was still not confident in taking this specific UPL.
However, with the new “deep lane guidance” module in 10.69, FSD Beta testers are experiencing that the vehicle is now selecting the correct lane in most scenarios. This was a longstanding issue that plagued the previous FSD Beta versions.
Dan shared the following results from his extensive testing of FSD Beta 10.698.1 on his Tesla Model 3.
Chuck Cook (made famous by getting mentioned in FSD Beta 10.13 release notes), also took his Tesla vehicle to test the latest version 10.69.1. Interestingly, in his latest video (below), Chuck took FSD Beta 10.69.1 for a test on unmarked roads.
On these unmarked streets, Autopilot comes to a complete stop for oncoming traffic most of the time. But in most cases, totally stopping the car was rather unnecessary because there was enough space on the left for the oncoming vehicle to easily pass through. FSD Beta 10.69.1 has been overcautious in these scenarios.
If the ego car (the one driven by FSD Beta) stays more toward the red line on the right and Tesla Vision is able to correctly calculate the size of the oncoming vehicle — this would lessen Autopilot’s confusion. This is the summary of Chuck’s feedback for unmarked roads.
Tesla has come a long way in Autopilot/Self-Driving software technology and it seems there’s a long path ahead as well. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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I tried out the FSD 10.69.1 update today. It could not make a u turn at the end of a cul de sac. 2. Failed to change lanes when construction cones were in its lane. 3. Ran a stop sign that was bent almost 90 degrees and then stopped in the oncoming traffic lane. Otherwise, it looks good.
My Model X has the latest software update but still shows only 3 screwups allowed instead of 5 and the screen shows there are no previous events. There appears to be no way to access the “score.”
I have added my tweet where I replied to Dan Burkland after seeing his strikes getting reset to zero. Some FSD Beta testers replied to my tweet as well. Dan told me the Tesla Raj had his counter reset with the 10.69.1 update.
The number of strikes might be different for users with different safety scores and based on location etc. Dan’s screenshot from his Tesla’s center touchscreen shows a threshold of ‘five’ strikes (check tweet above).