Tesla started rolling out Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta version 12.1 earlier this week to employees, and now we’re seeing what appears to be the first drive of FSD beta v12.1.
A video was shared by what appears to be a Tesla employee pulling out of the company’s parking lot. Now it seems that this video was not supposed to be shared but it has been making its way across X on Friday morning.
The first FSD beta v12.1 drive was posted by @WholeMarsBlog to his YouTube channel and also widely shared on X. Check out the drive below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOUupM0XRy8
The video highlights the system’s refined speed control and responsiveness. Notably, the vehicle demonstrates improved acceleration in response to a green light while on FSD beta v12.1.
Further into the drive, FSD beta v12.1 shows an enhanced ability to maintain proximity to the lead car during turns, while ensuring sufficient space to observe oncoming traffic before completing the maneuver. The Tesla employee later expresses satisfaction with how the vehicle smoothly navigates close to curbs without reducing speed.
The most striking improvement observed is the vehicle’s ability to simultaneously accelerate and turn more frequently than in previous versions, suggesting a leap forward in its operational capabilities.
Back in August, Tesla CEO Elon Musk shared a first look at FSD beta v12 with a live test drive streamed on X in Palo Alto, California. “There’s no line of code that tells the car to slow down for speed bumps or give clearance to bicyclists. This is all neural nets,” Musk said at the time.
It’s unclear when FSD beta v12.1 will make its way beyond employees to beta testers. But hopefully, it will happen sooner rather than later. Expect a release in early 2024?