Tesla exec posts optimistic teaser about FSD V13

Tesla Vice President of AI Software Ashok Elluswamy recently shared an optimistic update about Full Self Driving (FSD) V13. Based on the executive’s post, it does seem like FSD V13 would be a notable improvement over the system’s current iteration. 

A few weeks ago, Elluswamy noted in a post on X that Tesla’s AI team would be aiming to get to feature complete for unsupervised FSD with the V13 release series. This resulted in much excitement from Tesla owners, many of whom have been eagerly awaiting the release of unsupervised FSD. At the time, the Tesla AI team also noted that the company was looking to release FSD V13 to internal customers by early November.

Since then, updates regarding the release of FSD V13 have been scarce, though the company has continued promoting the advanced driver-assist system’s capabilities in social media. One of these came in the form of 16 videos showing FSD’s safety systems reacting to rare and adversarial scenarios on closed courses.

The demonstrations in the videos, however, were accomplished using FSD V12.5.6.3, the latest iteration of FSD that’s been shipped widely to consumers. It was then no surprise that when Elluswamy noted in a post on X that V13 is looking (fire), many were promptly excited. Elon Musk seemed to support the executive’s post as well, with the CEO posting a couple of emojis on the VP’s post. 

Considering Tesla’s bet on an autonomous future with vehicles like the Cybercab and the Robovan, it would not be an exaggeration to state that FSD would be the factor that could determine if the company succeeds or fails in the long run. Elon Musk seems confident about Tesla’s self-driving efforts, however, with the CEO stating during the third quarter earnings call that Tesla is looking to secure approval for unsupervised FSD in California and Texas sometime next year.

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