Despite Elon Musk’s promises, the latest version of Tesla’s FSD 12.5 has been put to the test. These initial tests, conducted in the rain, reveal whether the system is finally up to par or not.
Tesla continues to make progress in the development of its supervised autonomous driving system. The previous version, FSD 12.4.2, brought significant improvements, especially in decision-making and driver attention monitoring. However, issues persisted, such as hesitations when entering the highway and using normal brakes instead of regenerative braking.
In May, Elon Musk promised us that FSD version 12.5 would revolutionize autonomous driving and impress us with its performance. Recently, the YouTube channel Out Of Spec Videos had the opportunity to test this new version on a Tesla Model 3. The conditions were not ideal, with constant rain reducing visibility. This situation allowed for testing its capabilities in real and challenging conditions.
Compared to version 12.4.2, FSD 12.5 includes five times more parameters to perceive the environment and make decisions. It also offers monitoring for drivers wearing sunglasses and a combined software stack for highway and city driving. Despite these advancements, the system often seemed confused in various environments. For example, it made a wrong turn coming out of a neighborhood and stopped dangerously in the middle of the road waiting for a car to pass.
The bad weather further highlighted the limitations of FSD 12.5. Tesla relies solely on cameras and neural networks trained from real driving sequences from millions of vehicles. Unlike its competitors like Cruise and Waymo, the company does not use radar or lidar. In this rain, the vehicle’s vision was compromised, and the system even alerted drivers of a degradation in FSD. At one point, the Model 3 even attempted to turn around on an imaginary shoulder. This revealed a critical flaw in its environment perception.
In conclusion, while Tesla’s FSD 12.5 has made significant advancements in autonomous driving technology, it still faces challenges, especially in adverse weather conditions. As the company continues to refine and improve its system, it will be interesting to see how it addresses these issues and enhances the overall driving experience for Tesla owners.