Newbie - should I buy monthly FSD?

[Joe2765]

I got my 2023 Model Y USA at the end of February. It has camera only.

I currently have firmware 2023.12.5.4 which was installed yesterday.

I would like to buy FSD for a month to try it out, but worry that I might not get beta or that too many features will be disabled due to camera only.

1. With my current release level, am I likely to get the beta if I buy FSD?

2. Does monthly FSD charge from day of purchase to same day next month, or does it go by the calendar month. That is buying near the end of May only gets a week?

3. I use autopilot to drive on rural two-lane roads with marked lanes. Would FSD without beta improve on this? Stop signs and traffic lights? Automatic navigation?

4. Do the firmware releases apply to both Y and 3, or are they specific to the model? I read about people having 2023.12.7 or2023.12.9 but not me yet?

5. Is it worth it for me to try it out for a month now, or should I wait until the camera-only limitations have been fixed?

Thanks.

Joe

 

[Tam]

I got my 2023 Model Y USA at the end of February. It has camera only.

I currently have firmware 2023.12.5.4 which was installed yesterday.

I would like to buy FSD for a month to try it out, but worry that I might not get beta or that too many features will be disabled due to camera only.

1. With my current release level, am I likely to get the beta if I buy FSD?

It's hard to predict with Tesla. There's no guarantee that you'll get FSD beta within 1 month.

3. I use autopilot to drive on rural two-lane roads with marked lanes. Would FSD without beta improve on this?

Not much in your particular driving scenario: There's nothing to do but to keep the lane center and brake for the moving car in front. No need to pay FSD/FSD beta just to use free Autopilot driving scenarios.

Stop signs and traffic lights?

Yes. It's an improvement. It stops for stop signs and traffic lights. Some find this annoying in FSD because it stops for all green lights without a leading car leading the way. FSD beta will go for green lights without a need for a leading car.

Automatic navigation?

Yes. Auto Exit to different highway interchanges and also to your exit ramps.

5. Is it worth it for me to try it out for a month now, or should I wait until the camera-only limitations have been fixed?

If you are curious, paying for FSD and FSD beta might have some value.

When it will be reasonably better:

Elon Musk Promises One Month Free FSD Trial to All Tesla Cars in North America

Elon Musk agreed that more people should experience FSD Beta first-hand and promised Tesla would offer a one-month free trial to all cars in North America

www.autoevolution.com

 

[alhounos]

I’m a Tesla noob in the same boat, and I was very disappointed to read last week in a few threads on here that new subscribers are not getting FSD beta.

However it appears literally as of today the beta has been reopened and all subscribers will be getting it soon. I plan on waiting until early June to subscribe since it aligns better with my road trip plans.

What I’m not quite as clear on - should I wait on doing any further software updates until I subscribe to minimize wait time? I’m currently on 2023.12.5.

 

[uscbucsfan]

I’m a Tesla noob in the same boat, and I was very disappointed to read last week in a few threads on here that new subscribers are not getting FSD beta.

However it appears literally as of today the beta has been reopened and all subscribers will be getting it soon. I plan on waiting until early June to subscribe since it aligns better with my road trip plans.

What I’m not quite as clear on - should I wait on doing any further software updates until I subscribe to minimize wait time? I’m currently on 2023.12.5.

Not all subscribers immediately, no. Tesla is rolling this out in waves like they always do.

Also, it appears that cars with HW4 cannot get 2023.12.10, they may have to wait until FSD 11.4.X is released on whatever version that is offered on.

 

[EVRider-FL]

Depending on how long you plan to keep your car, you might consider buying EAP for $6k, which will give you all of the driver assistance features except Traffic Light/Stop Sign Control and access to FSD Beta. If you have EAP, subscribing to FSD is only $100/month. That way you'll get the most useful assistance features without paying a premium for FSD unless you need it.

I just upgraded my 2018 Model S, which had FSD, to a new S, but this time I purchased EAP. I figured I can subscribe to FSD if I need it for a road trip or whenever it becomes worthwhile. I had FSD Beta in my old car, but my wife's Model 3 still has it, so I can continue to use it (we drive her car most of the time anyway).

 

[ewoodrick]

I’m a Tesla noob in the same boat, and I was very disappointed to read last week in a few threads on here that new subscribers are not getting FSD beta.

However it appears literally as of today the beta has been reopened and all subscribers will be getting it soon. I plan on waiting until early June to subscribe since it aligns better with my road trip plans.

What I’m not quite as clear on - should I wait on doing any further software updates until I subscribe to minimize wait time? I’m currently on 2023.12.5.

Absolutely stay chill on the software update, it will come when it wants to, and not before. Not all cars will get the update, not all cars will get the update and the same time. It often feels like the lottery.

 

[melmalinowski]

I’m a Tesla noob in the same boat, and I was very disappointed to read last week in a few threads on here that new subscribers are not getting FSD beta.

However it appears literally as of today the beta has been reopened and all subscribers will be getting it soon. I plan on waiting until early June to subscribe since it aligns better with my road trip plans.

What I’m not quite as clear on - should I wait on doing any further software updates until I subscribe to minimize wait time? I’m currently on 2023.12.5.

I just did a software update this morning, and voila! Finally I am allowed to use FSD Beta. I'm subscribing, and have been waiting.

 

[melmalinowski]

I just did a software update this morning, and voila! Finally I am allowed to use FSD Beta. I'm subscribing, and have been waiting.

It updated to 2023.12.10, taking about an hour on a relatively slow motel wifi connection to download. It said '25 minutes'. After about 40 minutes, I got in thinking it was done (I had not checked on the app) and it ran the driver's window down halfway and would not put it up! My bad. So I sat there to prevent theft until it finished, rebooted, and all was back to normal. Per release notes, I then had to go into Autopilot and elect to use Beta.

I just used FSD Beta on a five mile drive through suburban Grand Junction, Colorado. It managed turns, and stoplights red and green, starting up from stops at reds without delay, and negotiated a roundabout adroitly. Impressive, with no intervention or dropouts. It asked me to apply pressure to steering wheel twice to prove I was attentive. Tomorrow we take it on a multihour freeway drive. I had subscribed for 28 days without getting it, so am glad I can renew it confidently.

 

[Resist]

I'd honestly just wait because I don't feel it's worth the price, even the monthly price. I paid $5k for Enhance AutoPilot back in 2018 when I bought my Model 3 and didn't think paying an extra $3k was worth it for FSD. Then in 2019 Tesla offered FSD to me for $2k, so I bought it. From my experience right now it's not worth what Tesla wants for it, basic Autopilot is good enough.

 

[BitJam]

I got my 2023 Model Y USA at the end of February. It has camera only.

I currently have firmware 2023.12.5.4 which was installed yesterday.

I would like to buy FSD for a month to try it out, but worry that I might not get beta or that too many features will be disabled due to camera only.

1. With my current release level, am I likely to get the beta if I buy FSD?

2. Does monthly FSD charge from day of purchase to same day next month, or does it go by the calendar month. That is buying near the end of May only gets a week?

3. I use autopilot to drive on rural two-lane roads with marked lanes. Would FSD without beta improve on this? Stop signs and traffic lights? Automatic navigation?

4. Do the firmware releases apply to both Y and 3, or are they specific to the model? I read about people having 2023.12.7 or2023.12.9 but not me yet?

5. Is it worth it for me to try it out for a month now, or should I wait until the camera-only limitations have been fixed?

Thanks.

Joe

You should get FSD beta right away unless it's put on hold again. FSD beta works better than AP on rural roads for me, mostly getting the correct speed limit. And, of course, handling stop signs and turns. I also trust FSDb to slow down due for curves in the road. It drove me down the windy access road to the land fill just fine, without map data (at least it wasn't on the screen).

The camera-only limitations should not be a big deal. Tesla is planning to release a much improved smart summon in a month or two. If these features are important to you then you may want to wait for the new version(s) to be released. IMO unless something drastic happens, from now on FSDb should be available to everyone soon after they subscribe. And yes, the time period for the subscription is based on the day you subscribe.

FSDb should be better, and maybe even have more features, each month. The more you wait the better it gets. IMO the biggest downside to getting it now is you may become addicted. I loved using AP on rural roads. FSDb is much better. AP was not able to deal with the very windy Route 15 to Gila Hot Springs last summer. I don't blame AP and it's a fun road to drive. I look forward to seeing if FSDb will be up to the challenge. Time for a day trip!

 

[Resist]

Well, for me Autopilot was very good on the highway and made long drives stress free. But FSD beta has had a lot of issues on my drives. Using it on the highway is kind of okay but in the City is just a nerve racking event.

 

[RowdyMY]

You should get FSD beta right away unless it's put on hold again.

Glad to see you got it right away. This is not great advice.

It appears they batch their firmware rollouts. You just got lucky.

For example, Tesla hasn't added any new vehicles since 5/23 to 2023.12.10 (re-release of 11.3.6) and no new vehicles to 2023.7.10 since the 27th.

While I agree that right now is a good time to subscribe some queuing is still too be expected.

 

[Resist]

I miss the days when all the cars mostly had the same options and got the same firmware updates. Now things have gotten complicated with who gets what update.

 

[ewoodrick]

I miss the days when all the cars mostly had the same options and got the same firmware updates. Now things have gotten complicated with who gets what update.

That has only happened because of the NHTSA recall and the removal of the ultrasonic sensors.
Originally, I'm sure that Tesla anticipated that everyone would be getting the combined autopilot release at the same time, but there were more delays than expected getting that update released. The USS removal was intended to be aligned with this release, but became an issue as the release delayed.
And to top it off, the recall started to force Tesla to get an update out the door. They had no choice to create different branches of the software, one with FSD and the other with the recall and Tesla Vision support
We're now coming back into alignment.

 

[noobla3]

So the subscription says city street (forgot the exact wording) is coming soon. Is that true?

 

[JB47394]

So the subscription says city street (forgot the exact wording) is coming soon. Is that true?

No. It's been "coming soon" for years. Customers have been testing it all that time and, while improving, it's not clear when Tesla will pronounce it ready to go. Elon tweeted about a "super smooth" moment, and that moment is probably still at least a year off. They're definitely making progress, but it's naturally very slow because nobody has ever done this before.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1655629768279089171

 

[CleanDemon]

We signed up for the monthly subscription last Friday and got the full FSD download on Sunday. YMMV.

 

[Resist]

That has only happened because of the NHTSA recall and the removal of the ultrasonic sensors.

That's not entirely true. Tesla caused the firmware update changes when they added things like heated steering wheels, different battery configurations and yes, removing ultra sonic sensors. It had nothing to do with the NHTSA.

 

[ewoodrick]

That's not entirely true. Tesla caused the firmware update changes when they added things like heated steering wheels, different battery configurations and yes, removing ultra sonic sensors. It had nothing to do with the NHTSA.

No, those didn't cause the push, they got caught up with the push.
Those were normal updates that were occurring irrespective of the FSD update or Recall.

In general, when software branches like it had to, The developers got split into three groups, one for each of the new branches and one to stay working on the main core branch. Heated steering wheels aren't a big deal and I'm sure that they were implemented by the core team and got replicated into each of the branches.

 

[Joe2765]

I did the subscription on 6/1 with 2023.12.5.4 and had FSD enabled that evening. As of noon 6/3 I have not seen any sign of an update.

I took it out for a short ride yesterday to test the stop sign feature, which worked well. Trying to turn right at the stop sign was a bit confusing and it seemed I had to turn off FSD to do the turn or it turned itself off.

I have my car in chill mode. I guess I will have to put myself in chill mode as well and hope that I get an update and can use FSDb. At this point, I would not pay $200/month for normal FSD.

I have been very happy with basic autopilot and am now using it for 95% of my highway driving. I don't drive that much, but already have 1026 miles on the car.