Elon Musk Explains Strategy for Tesla's FSD 12.5 Initial Rollout on Model Y

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has provided crucial insights into the company’s strategy for the initial rollout of Full Self-Driving (FSD) 12.5, a highly-anticipated update to its advanced driver-assist system. The initial focus is on Model Y units equipped with Hardware 4.0 (HW4).

Early reports from FSD testers, including longtime user @WholeMarsBlog, observed that FSD 12.5 is currently being released only to vehicles with HW4. Tesla’s decision has sparked curiosity among the community, especially those with older hardware versions.

Elon Musk responded to these observations, confirming that the initial release targets Model Y with HW4. This approach allows Tesla to ensure the system works well on the latest hardware before expanding the rollout to other models and hardware versions.

Musk explained that once the initial rollout proves successful, FSD 12.5 will be made available to a broader range of vehicles. He noted that Teslas with Hardware 3.0 (HW3) can run the same parameter count as HW4 vehicles, but optimizing the code for HW3 requires additional effort.

“We are focusing on just Model Y with HW4 for the initial release. Make sure that works well, then broaden. This has the 5X increase in parameters. HW3 would run the same parameter count, but requires extra work to optimize the code,” Musk stated.

The reception of FSD 12.5 has been positive among early testers. However, some noted the absence of features that had been previously teased, such as the merger of city and highway software stacks and driver monitoring support for sunglasses.

Tesla Autopilot Director Ashok Elluswamy addressed these concerns, stating that these features are expected in subsequent FSD 12.5.x releases. He emphasized that the primary focus for FSD 12.5 was on enhancing safety and smoothness.