Tesla Rolls Out FSD v12.4 Update with Driver Monitoring Improvements

TapTechNews May 20th news, Tesla has begun to roll out its latest FSD v12.4 update. This update removed the controversial 'keep hands on the steering wheel reminder' and simultaneously improved the camera-based driver monitoring system, addressing the loophole of avoiding detection using sunglasses previously.

Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla, has always liked to call the upcoming FSD update an 'astonishing' upgrade. However, aside from the exaggerated adjectives, Musk also disclosed some verifiable details. Musk stated that the v12.4 update should be able to increase the 'driving mileage between each takeover' by 5 to 10 times. Since Tesla has never published relevant data of past versions, this claim is difficult to verify.

A major highlight of this update is the removal of the 'keep hands on the steering wheel reminder', which many Tesla owners refer to as 'nagging'. Since Tesla currently cannot directly detect whether the driver has their hands on the steering wheel, therefore, the vehicle 'confirms' whether the driver keeps their hands on the steering wheel by detecting the torque change of the steering wheel.

Tesla initially rolled out the v12.4 update to its internal fleet this weekend, and now we can also learn more details about the driver monitoring system. Tesla wrote in the updated version note (from NotaTeslaApp): 'When FSD (Supervised) is enabled, the driver monitoring system will now mainly rely on the in-car camera to determine whether the driver's attention is focused. This improvement applies to vehicles equipped with an in-car camera and is only effective if the in-car camera can clearly and continuously see the driver's eyes (for example, the camera is not blocked, the in-car lighting is sufficient, the driver is looking forward at the road ahead, and is not wearing sunglasses, a hat with a low brim or other items that block the eyes).'

Tesla warns that in cases other than the above, there will still be a 'keep hands on the steering wheel reminder': 'In cases other than the above, the driver monitoring system will continue to rely on a combination of torque (steering wheel) and visual recognition to detect the driver's attention.'

Tesla also explained the working principle of the camera-based driver monitoring system: 'If the camera detects that the driver's attention is distracted, a warning will appear. The driver can eliminate the warning by immediately redirecting their attention back to the road ahead. Depending on the nature and frequency of the detected distraction, the warning will be gradually escalated and may eventually lead to the suspension of the autopilot function.'

Judging from the text description, the v12.4 update seems to have reduced the frequency of warnings for the driver's attention, as long as the driver focuses their attention in time to avoid the punishment after the warning escalation.

TapTechNews noted that for some users' concerns about the privacy of the in-car camera, Tesla also responded: 'The images collected by the in-car camera will not leave the vehicle itself, which means that only when you enable data sharing will the system save or transmit information.'

It is expected that Tesla will roll out the v12.4 update to more vehicles this week.