So Blueberry got her HW3 Retrofit done awhile back, and I completely forgot to blog about it.
The upgrade went smooth, no complaints except that we have no normal Autopilot for highway drives for awhile during Tesla’s prep for the upcoming FSD software updates targeting HW3 cars. One interesting item of note: during these upgrades, Tesla has not been installing the interior cabin camera on all Retrofits for Model S and X cars. That new camera was introduced with Model 3 and Model Y cars. Apparently we S and X drivers will still need to “check-in” with the steering wheel when using FSD, as we have always done with Autopilot in the past. And apparently the Facelift Model S, and upcoming Facelift Model X, both get the cabin camera to round everything out.
I’ll report back if it is earth-shattering. Apparently a lot of static hard-coded driving “rules” will be replaced by genuine live-running AI models for the car’s actual self-driving. And, eventually, Highway the ADAS / lane-holding (“Autopilot”) software stack will get merged with the FSD software stack. Currently the car is apparently running an entirely differnt software stack for city roads when in “FSD mode”, and running different software for Autopilot mode on the hightway. Huh.
I think they have a real chance to get to Level 4 with this suite, if Mr Musk is to be believed. But he has been a bit grandiose, and late, before. But he does always seem to eventually get there.
We’ll see how it goes, but I’m keeping my hands on the wheel the entire time!