Tesla CEO Musk said on Wednesday (August 5) on social media that Tesla is training a new Full Self-Driving (FSD) model that will achieve a “significant” upgrade in video processing capabilities and model scale.
Musk posted on the social platform X: “Tesla is training a new FSD model, with about 10 times the parameters of the current version, which will significantly reduce video compression losses. If testing goes well, it could be publicly released as early as the end of next month.”
FSD is a partially automated driving system designed to allow Tesla vehicles to navigate and control themselves with minimal human intervention during driving. However, drivers still need to keep their hands on the steering wheel, ready to take over steering or braking at any time. This system is an upgraded version of Tesla’s Autopilot, which is currently available in European and Chinese markets.
The FSD system is built on an artificial intelligence model foundation that helps the car’s cameras and sensors perceive the surrounding environment. Musk’s mention of “10 times the parameters” refers to the expanded model scale, which typically means adopting a larger model architecture and using more data for training to achieve better performance.
Tesla’s autonomous driving technology, especially Autopilot and FSD, has faced criticism and scrutiny due to its flaws and safety risks. These issues include “phantom braking” (unexpected braking by the system), lane departure, and failure of collision prevention systems. Some drivers have been reported to overly rely on the system, leading to accidents.
In a recent case, Tesla was found liable for the first time. According to CBS News, a federal jury in Miami, Florida, ruled on August 1 that Tesla bore significant responsibility for a fatal car accident in Florida in 2019 and ordered Tesla to pay $243 million in compensation.
The accident occurred on the evening of April 25, 2019, when George McGee was driving a Tesla Model S on a rural road in Florida. He activated Tesla’s enhanced Autopilot system. During the drive, his phone slipped onto the car’s floor. When he bent down to pick up his phone, he did not notice the intersection ahead. By the time he looked up, the car had passed through a stop sign at the intersection and crashed into a parked Chevrolet in a nearby parking lot, resulting in one fatality and one injury to a couple who were standing by the Chevrolet.
One of the plaintiff’s lawyers stated that the key evidence in the trial was a video containing Autopilot automated driving data, which documented the scene of the accident.
Adam Boumel, one of the plaintiff’s lawyers, said: “Ultimately, from the enhanced video, we understand that the car fully knew it was about to leave the road, negotiate a stop sign, run a flashing red light, navigate a parked car, and plow over pedestrians, yet did nothing other than automatically shut off when a collision was imminent.”
During the court presentation and the entire trial process, plaintiff’s lawyers and expert witnesses cited Musk’s numerous past promises regarding Tesla’s autonomous driving technology, accusing Musk of making false statements to customers, shareholders, and the public, exaggerating the safety performance of autonomous driving, and encouraging drivers to overly rely on Autopilot.
Although Tesla has stated that it will appeal the judgment, this case poses a significant challenge for the company.
In the increasingly competitive electric vehicle market, full autonomous driving has been a core pillar for Musk to drive Tesla’s revenue growth and technological advancement, especially as the Chinese electric vehicle manufacturing industry rapidly rises, putting pressure on Tesla to accelerate technological progress.
Supporters of Tesla generally believe that as Musk shifts the focus to enhancing autonomous driving capabilities, the future of the company will depend on autonomous driving technology.
This year, Tesla launched a Robotaxi service in Austin, Texas.
However, the market is more concerned about Tesla’s core automotive sales performance, which is facing serious challenges. Tesla recently reported a 16% year-on-year decline in second-quarter automotive sales revenue, with sales in the European market continuing to decline significantly.
Tesla’s stock price this year has also been weak, with sales performance declines and deteriorating relations between Musk and the White House damaging its reputation, further exacerbating Tesla’s troubles. As of Wednesday’s close, Tesla’s stock price has fallen by 20.78% this year.