Tesla releases its first major update in a year with FSD v14 now available

It’s been a long wait, but Tesla has finally dropped its first big Full Self-Driving update in a year.

After months of teasing, bug fixes, and delays, FSD v14 is now rolling out to customers with the latest HW4 hardware.

The EV company is folding everything it learned from its Robotaxi testing back into consumer cars.

But after a year of promises and hype, drivers want to know if this is actually progress, or just a glossier version of the same thing.

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What’s actually new in Full Self-Driving v14

It’s been almost 12 months since Tesla’s last significant FSD release.

The company’s been using that time to merge its Robotaxi experiments with its consumer software.

The result is v14 – a long-awaited update that incorporates lessons from autonomous fleet testing in Austin and delivers them directly to owners’ cars.

The biggest change is how the car handles arrivals. 

Drivers can now tell FSD exactly where to stop, whether that’s on the street, in a driveway, in a parking garage, or curbside.

A feature lifted directly from Tesla’s Robotaxi system.

Engineers have also improved the car’s emergency vehicle awareness, so it now pulls over for police, ambulances, and fire trucks instead of hesitating mid-lane.

Routing and navigation are now wired into Tesla’s vision-based neural network, giving the system more awareness of blocked roads and detours in real time.

Then there’s the new Speed Profile system, including a mode called ‘Sloth,’ designed for ultra-cautious driving.

The update also lets you start self-driving with a single tap, skipping the old brake-confirmation step.

And finally, the front cameras can now clean themselves mid-drive.

Tesla says it’s all smoother, smarter, and better at recovering from errors, and that future versions 14.1 and 14.2 will make the car ‘feel almost sentient.’

Still not the autonomy Tesla promised

Critics need some convincing.

Analysts say the update may deliver a 2-3x improvement in miles between critical disengagements, reaching roughly 1,200 miles.

But that’s still nowhere near the 10,000+ miles needed for limited unsupervised driving.

FSD v14 remains Level 2, meaning it’s still a driver-assistance system.

Not true autonomy. 

Drivers must stay alert, hands ready, eyes on the road, even as Tesla markets the tech as ‘Full Self-Driving.’

And while HW4 owners get the upgrade, those still on HW3 are stuck on v12 indefinitely.

That’s despite earlier promises their cars would one day drive themselves.

Meanwhile, other automakers have already rolled out unsupervised systems in select regions.

So yes, the tech might be a step closer to self-sufficient, but it still needs a babysitter.

FSD v14 might not be self-aware, but it’s finally self-cleaning.

And after a year of waiting, that’s probably close enough for now.

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