Tesla rolls out Cybertruck FSD with V12.5.5 update

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The long wait is over. After a 10-month wait, Tesla Cybertruck customers have started receiving access to FSD (Supervised). Release notes for the update indicate that the all-electric pickup truck also received Tesla’s highly-anticipated end-to-end highway stack.

Initial reports of the Cybertruck receiving an update with FSD were posted online this weekend. These reports were reportedly confirmed by Tesla software tracker Not A Tesla App, which noted that FSD was being released to the first batch of company employees and members of Tesla’s early access program. The update, FSD V12.5.5, came with software version 2024.32.20. 

Interestingly enough, Tesla’s release notes for the Cybertruck’s FSD update noted that the all-electric pickup truck was also receiving vision-based attention monitoring with sunglasses, as well as an end-to-end highway stack. Tesla, however, highlighted in the Cybertruck’s FSD release notes that the current iteration of the system is an early access build. Thus, extra caution is required when using FSD for the all-electric pickup truck. 

Following are the release notes for the Cybertruck’s FSD. 

FSD (Supervised) 12 upgrades the city-streets driving stack to a single end-to-end neural network trained on millions of video clips, replacing over 300k lines of explicit C++ code. 

  • Includes vision-based attention monitoring with sunglasses
  • Includes End to End on Highway

Upcoming Improvements:

  • Earlier and more natural lane change decisions
  • Improved performance in parking lots
  • Improved performance at intersections and stops
  • Introduction of Speed Profile

Note: This is an early access build. You and anyone you authorize must use additional caution and remain attentive. It does not make your vehicle autonomous. Do not become complacent. 

The addition of FSD to the Cybertruck could go a long way toward making the all-electric pickup truck an even more compelling option for car buyers. FSD, after all, is arguably one of the most advanced driver-assist systems in the market today, with its capability to navigate inner-city streets generally being a cut above what any competitor can offer today. FSD also makes the Cybertruck’s premium price worth it, especially with the Foundation Series still ongoing. 

The Tesla Cybertruck is currently only being offered in its Foundation Series trim, which involves a $20,000 premium over the vehicle’s price. A good part of this premium was FSD’s cost, as the advanced driver-assist system is bundled in the Foundation Series package. Tesla has released Vision-Based Park Assist, and more recently, Autopark, for the Cybertruck over the past weeks, but the addition of FSD makes the vehicle practically feature-complete. 

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Tesla rolls out Cybertruck FSD with V12.5.5 update





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Former Tesla executive talks EVs, Musk’s politics, and more

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A former Tesla executive went in-depth about his time at the company over the weekend, including discussions on electric vehicles (EVs), the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Elon Musk’s politics, China’s EV market, and more.

Former Tesla Vice President of Public Policy Rohan Patel was hosted on the Farzad Mesbahi podcast in an episode on Saturday, featuring discussions about the company with both Farzad and co-host Hans Nelson.

The discussion runs nearly an hour and a half long, and the former Tesla VP provides several insights in it, including what it was like working at the hyper-fast-paced company, debates on the federal $7,500 EV tax credit established by the IRA, and working with Musk from his insights on the global automotive industry to his political ideas.

At around 53 minutes into the video, Farzad asks Patel about Musk’s transition away from the Democratic party, which introduced the IRA and has traditionally been more supportive of EV and clean energy policies, to endorsing Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump.

Farzad notes Patel’s intersection of experience in government and public policy, as well as his time working at Tesla and direct experience working with Musk, as major qualifiers to talk about the topic.

While Patel doesn’t share some of Musk’s more far-right political ideas, including his support for Trump, he says that there are a lot of things that they do agree on.

In response to the video, longtime Tesla enthusiast and Full Self-Driving Supervised tester Chuck Cook highlighted the conversation’s “honest and genuine” approach, offering his thanks for the podcast episode. In response, Patel said it was Cook to whom was owed the thanks:

Patel left Tesla in April after working for the company for eight years, and he played an increasingly significant role in the company’s public-facing educational efforts on social media platforms like X. Especially in the past few years, Patel and other executives began being more vocal on X, interacting directly with fans and offering quick, public answers to questions.

His departure came as a surprise to many, though it was also accompanied by the departures of a few other executives around the same time, including former Senior Vice President of Powertrain and Energy Engineering Drew Baglino, who had been with the company for 18 years.

Upon his departure, Patel shared thanks to Musk himself for “giving him the chance and empowering him to lead big initiatives at the company.”

You can watch the full Rohan Patel episode from the Farzad Mesbahi podcast below.

What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.

Former Tesla executive talks EVs, Musk’s politics, and more





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Tesla’s Megafactory Shanghai is now around 60% complete

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Construction on Tesla’s upcoming Megapack factory in China has been coming along quite quickly, with a new local update stating that the plant has now surpassed the halfway point.

Tesla has reached 60 percent completion on the construction of the Shanghai Megafactory, as reported on Saturday by local media outlet IT Home. The news comes as Tesla aims to start Megapack production in the first quarter of 2025, though it will take some time for the company to ramp up to volume production.

Eventually, the Shanghai Megafactory is expected to match the volume production of Tesla’s Lathrop, California plant, both of which are aiming to reach an annual output of around 40GWh or roughly 10,000 Megapack units per year. The Lathrop Megafactory has also been ramping up production over the past couple of years, especially as demand for Tesla’s grid-scale energy products has been growing.

Tesla Lathrop Megafactory helps energy business see 360% YoY growth

Although Tesla held a signing ceremony for the Shanghai Megafactory last December, building materials for the construction project only began arriving in March. Tesla officially broke ground on the project on May 23, and construction has been progressing at an impressive rate in the months since—not unlike how quickly the company constructed its nearby Gigafactory Shanghai.

Last month, Tesla was thought to have reached about 45 percent completion, showing off just how quickly the company’s latest factory build has been coming together since breaking ground in May. The Shanghai Megafactory site is located in the city’s Lingang New Area industrial park, with the plant taking up around 200,000 square meters (~656,168 sq. ft.) total.

In the second quarter, Tesla deployed 9.4 GWh of battery storage, marking a record-high for single-quarter energy deployments. The record followed 4.1 GWh of battery storage deployments in Q1, which also marked a 157 percent increase year over year. The growth of Tesla Energy follows suit with predictions from Elon Musk made last year, in which he said that energy sales growth would soon begin outpacing that of the company’s automotive business.

Tesla China exports 1 million vehicles from Giga Shanghai

What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.

Tesla’s Megafactory Shanghai is now around 60% complete





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