Tesla has finally started rolling out the much-awaited version 11.3.1 of its Full Self-Driving software to non-employee beta testers.
Tesla previously released FSD Beta V11.3 to its internal testing team last month. The only information about this version until yesterday was the release notes we published earlier (versions 11.3 & 11.3.1 have the same release notes).
But the number of external testers is very limited as of this writing. According to Tesla firmware tracking websites TeslaFi and TeslaScope, the maximum number of users who have received FSD Beta 11.3.1 (2022.45.10) is 5 and 7 respectively.
However, some avid testers like Chuck Cook received the anticipated software update. Chuck Cook and users like Dirty Tesla regularly share their FSD Beta experience on YouTube.
Updated Driving Visualizations in FSD Beta v11.3
A Tesla vehicle renders the real world where it is driving to a 3D model and displays as graphics it on the car’s center touchscreen in real-time. These on-screen rendered graphics are called Driving Visualizations in Tesla’s lingo. These renders constantly change in relation to traffic, objects, and events happening around the vehicle.
Tesla has significantly improved and partially re-designed the driving visualizations in FSD Beta v11.3. The projected path in front of the vehicle is now highlighted with a wider and blue graphic compared to a narrow gray line that was introduced in FSD Beta v10.
Chevrons pointing in the direction of the vehicle now appear when the car is decelerating. The creep line is now also displayed in a lighter blue color.
FSD Beta V11.3.1 First Drive Impressions
Let’s go over some of their FSD Beta V11 first impressions videos and see what’s improved in the new version when it comes to real-world testing.
Chuck Cook has been one of the most ardent FSD Beta testers from Jacksonville, Florida — even to the point Tesla once mentioned him in the release notes. With a background in the US Navy as a Captain, Chuck also gets invited by the Tesla team to the company’s events to provide in-depth feedback on his FSD Beta test drives.
For example, in the above video, FSD Beta v11.3.1 was able to detect an object as small as a tire that was rolling back on the highway. Tesla’s occupancy network clearly identified the tire that probably rolled down from a truck and was creating a potentially dangerous situation for road users.
Chuck drove his Tesla Model Y on FSD Beta 11.3.1 for the first time in Orlando, Florida. During this test drive (video below), Tesla Autopilot stopped at a traffic light even when it was green because a car at this intersection just ran a red light. This was a good decision by Autopilot which potentially saved some lives.
As it was revealed in the FSD Beta V11 Release Notes last year, Tesla has merged the vision and planning stack for highways (single stack) and Chuck showed it multiple times during his videos.
Chuck and some other FSD Beta 11.3.1 beta testers say that this new version is a big improvement over the previous one but it’s still not perfect.
Last month, Elon Musk hinted that the new FSD Beta will go wide release with the rollout of version 11.3.2. So, we’re still a sub-version away from this update before FSD Beta V11 is pushed to around 400,000 beta testers in the United States and Canada.
“Overall, it’s an awesome build! Huge improvement over 10.69.25.2 and can’t wait to see how 11.3.2 does with the slight bit of polish,” A Tesla Model 3 owner and FSD Beta tester Zack tweeted in his initial review of FSD Beta 11.3.1.
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