Tesla FSD (Supervised) v14.x represents an enormous leap ahead to their comuter-vision and neural network-powered AI mind for the automotive.
The software program has now reached a degree of maturity that has prompted homeowners like David Moss to try the final word problem. He believes the system is lastly able to deal with an entire coast-to-coast drive throughout america and not using a single human intervention.
He’s at the moment as much as 8,715 miles pushed 100% on FSD, as per the FSDDB service that permits group members to trace their progress and compete on a leaderboard. His automotive is a Tesla Mannequin 3, working the AI4 {hardware} and is at the moment working v14.2.1.25.
It is a vital milestone as a result of Elon Musk has lengthy promised {that a} Tesla would sooner or later drive from Los Angeles to New York autonomously. Whereas a number of makes an attempt had been made with earlier software program builds in years passed by, they finally required human assist to navigate complicated eventualities.
An information level for the Robotaxi future
The success of this mission is about greater than only a highway journey; it’s a important proof of idea for Tesla’s upcoming Robotaxi service. With the service slated for an early 2026 launch, the software program must show it will possibly deal with hundreds of kilometres of various roads.
Reaching a zero-intervention run throughout a complete continent is a posh proposition that no different passenger automobile has ever completed. The automotive should not solely drive on highways however navigate metropolis streets, handle detours, and even autopark in Supercharger bays to recharge.
Seeing the software program carry out at this degree in late 2025 provides us a transparent take a look at what’s coming to our personal roads. Whereas David is testing this within the US, the underlying intelligence is identical system that was not too long ago rolled out to Australian homeowners.
Mapping the journey: Hollywood to the Atlantic
David’s journey started on the iconic Tesla Diner and Drive-in website in Hollywood, California, with the aim of reaching the Atlantic Ocean. It is a huge trek overlaying roughly 4,500 kilometres (roughly 2,800 miles) by a number of states and time zones.
Primarily based on customary driving speeds and the mandatory stops for the Tesla Supercharger community, the overall journey time is estimated to be round 45 to 50 hours. This consists of roughly 8 to 10 hours particularly devoted to charging the battery at varied factors alongside the route.
The automotive is accountable for each side of the journey, from the preliminary pull-out in Los Angeles to the ultimate parking manoeuvre at an East Coast seashore. It’s a true “end-to-end” take a look at of the neural community’s means to purpose by hundreds of distinctive driving choices.
FSD Coast-to-Coast: The Hollywood launch
The mission formally kicked off on the Tesla Diner, the place David engaged the FSD software program to start the lengthy climb out of the Los Angeles basin. This preliminary leg is usually essentially the most tough as a result of dense city site visitors and complicated lane markings of town.
The automotive dealt with the transition from the parking space to the primary highway seamlessly, utilizing its new “Arrival Choices” logic in reverse to seek out its approach onto the road. David famous that the arrogance of the v14.2.x construct was instantly obvious because it merged into heavy California site visitors.
FSD Coast-to-Coast Replace #1: Navigating the Mojave Desert
Because the journey moved into the Mojave Desert, the automotive needed to take care of excessive temperatures and shimmering warmth haze on the tarmac. It is a traditional take a look at for a vision-only system, because the AI should distinguish between actual obstacles and visible distortions brought on by the warmth.
David reported that the automotive maintained a rock-solid lane place even because the highway stretched towards the horizon with only a few landmarks. The system’s means to stay attentive over these lengthy, monotonous stretches is a serious benefit over a human driver who would possibly undergo from freeway hypnosis.
FSD Coast-to-Coast Replace #2: The Arizona border and complicated interchanges
Crossing into Arizona introduced the primary main high-speed interchanges the place a number of freeways merge without delay. These eventualities require the automotive to assume a number of steps forward to make sure it’s within the right lane effectively earlier than the exit seems.
“The automotive is now making lane modifications with zero hesitation, carving by the interchange like an expert driver who has lived right here for years.”
David Moss, Tesla Proprietor and FSD Tester, @DavidMoss on X.
The software program used the up to date velocity profiles to assertively transfer into gaps in site visitors with out being aggressive. This degree of refinement is strictly what is required for the system to really feel pure to different highway customers.
FSD Coast-to-Coast Replace #3: New Mexico and mountain passes
As David climbed into the upper elevations of New Mexico, the automotive confronted steep gradients and winding mountain passes. The v14.2.x replace consists of improved dealing with for “static and dynamic gates,” which proved helpful when navigating by smaller rural checkpoints.
The automotive managed its regenerative braking on the lengthy descents completely, sustaining a constant velocity with out the motive force ever needing to the touch the pedals. It’s this “sentient” really feel that many testers are reporting with the brand new v14 structure.
FSD Coast-to-Coast Replace #4: The center of Texas
Coming into Texas meant coping with a few of the highest velocity limits within the nation and big quantities of long-haul trucking. The imaginative and prescient system needed to continually monitor massive semi-trailers and anticipate once they would possibly transfer into the Tesla’s lane.
David’s updates from this leg confirmed the automotive efficiently “offsetting” inside its lane to provide massive automobiles additional room. This human-like behaviour makes the drive way more snug for the occupants and reduces the sensation of being “boxed in” on the freeway.
FSD Coast-to-Coast Replace #5: Imaginative and prescient-based detours and navigation
One of many standout options of the v14.2.x launch is the inclusion of routing instantly into the vision-based neural community. Throughout a piece of the drive, the automotive encountered a blocked highway that was not but mirrored within the GPS map information.
Fairly than getting caught or asking for assist, the automotive “noticed” the site visitors cones and the detour signal and mechanically calculated a brand new path. This means to react to real-world visible cues somewhat than simply counting on pre-loaded maps is a game-changer for autonomous driving.
FSD Coast-to-Coast Replace #6: Night time imaginative and prescient and human gestures
Driving by the night time supplied David with an opportunity to check the upgraded neural community imaginative and prescient encoder in low-light circumstances. The automotive was in a position to determine highway particles and even a freeway employee waving a torch from a major distance.
“The decision of what the automotive can see at night time is now higher than my very own eyes; it picked up a discarded tyre in the midst of the lane lengthy earlier than I did.”
David Moss, Tesla Proprietor and FSD Tester, @DavidMoss on X.
The software program mechanically adjusted its path to keep away from the particles whereas remaining safely inside the lane boundaries. This degree of security efficiency is a key a part of the worth proposition for FSD right here in Australia.
FSD Coast-to-Coast Replace #7: The house stretch to the Atlantic
As David approached the ultimate leg of the journey, the automotive’s endurance was the primary story. After hundreds of kilometres and dozens of Supercharger stops—the place the automotive autoparked itself every time—the system confirmed no indicators of degradation.
The ultimate vacation spot is an Atlantic Ocean seashore, the place David plans to let the automotive use its “Curbside” arrival choice to complete the journey. This is able to mark the primary time a client automobile has crossed your complete North American continent with out human arms on the wheel.
What this implies for Australia
In Australia, the Full Self-Driving Functionality bundle is accessible for A$10,100, and we’re lastly seeing the identical software program variations being examined right here. The progress David is making within the US is the “beta” take a look at for the options we will probably be counting on for our personal long-distance journeys.
If a Tesla can navigate the complexities of a 4,500km US crossing, it provides us immense confidence within the system’s means to deal with a drive from Sydney to Melbourne. We’re primarily watching the ultimate sprucing of a know-how that may change how we take into consideration highway journey eternally.
The transition from a automotive that “helps you drive” to a automotive that “drives you” is nearly full. David Moss’s journey is the clearest proof but that the period of the human driver being a requirement for long-distance journey is coming to an finish.
For extra data, head to https://www.tesla.com/en_au/
Elevate your perspective with NextTech Information, the place innovation meets perception.
Uncover the newest breakthroughs, get unique updates, and join with a worldwide community of future-focused thinkers.
Unlock tomorrow’s traits as we speak: learn extra, subscribe to our e-newsletter, and turn out to be a part of the NextTech group at NextTech-news.com
