Issue 395 - FSD transfers ending on March 31
Batteries
New lithium refinery now operational in North America 📹
The new lithium refinery is now operational in North America, marking a huge step for battery supply chain independence. The facility gives Tesla more control over battery mineral sourcing, supports local job creation, and helps cut emissions for its future vehicles.
FSD
FSD transfers ending on March 31, 2026
The Full Self-Driving FSD transfer program will officially end on March 31, 2026. If you have FSD on your current Tesla, you need to place a new vehicle order by that date to secure your transfer; you do not need to take delivery by then. After this, FSD will only be available as a subscription, and your existing license will not move to your next car, so this is the last call for hardware 3 owners considering an upgrade unless Tesla decides to bring it back.
Owner nears 13,000 miles of intervention-free FSD driving 📷
David Moss managed to rack up 12,961 miles driving a Tesla with FSD v14.2 without a single intervention, including a coast-to-coast trip across 30 states. His impressive streak was only broken by gnarly winter weather in rural Wisconsin, providing a real-world stress test that nearly anyone would struggle with.
Tinkering
Rear screen hack for any streaming app 📹
Here's a clever way to watch almost any streaming service on the rear screen, not just the default lineup of Netflix or YouTube. By navigating through the YouTube app on Tesla Theater and jumping to Google Search via a few menu taps, you can access sites like HBO Max or Prime Video and stream right from the rear display. You do have to repeat the process each time, but at least Tesla remembers your logins, which makes it a handy trick for road trip entertainment or letting the kids watch what they want on long drives.
Robotaxi
Robotaxi fleet milestone should end common complaint
The Robotaxi fleet in Austin and the Bay Area has now grown to 200 vehicles, which has noticeably improved ride availability and helped reduce wait times, especially in California where the fleet is bigger. While other driverless services like Waymo are expanding in the same cities, Tesla's approach focuses on scaling coverage and gradually moving toward fully autonomous operations as testing ramps up.
Rear camera washer added to Cybercab 📷
A long-standing complaint has been addressed by adding a rear camera washer to the Cybercab, spotted while being tested in Chicago. Given how much cameras are now relied on for safety features and FSD, a washer is a genuinely useful upgrade, especially for those who drive in salty, snowy, or dusty regions.
Safety
ANCAP reveals 2025 safety standouts
The Tesla Model Y has been named the top overall safety performer by ANCAP for 2025, standing out as the safest vehicle tested in all key categories, including adult and child protection, crash avoidance, and active safety tech. This marks the second time the Model Y has nabbed the top spot. It is great to see more diverse vehicles hitting such high safety marks, with the Model Y leading the charge yet again.
FSD Hardware
Bit-Augmented Arithmetic Convolution could extend life of HW3 cars
A newly patented technique called Bit-Augmented Arithmetic Convolution could let older HW3-equipped vehicles keep up with the latest Full Self-Driving software. By breaking up high-precision AI computations into smaller chunks, the system enables modern neural networks to run on older chips, preserving value for current owners and sparing them hardware upgrades.
Dojo3 supercomputer project restarts as AI5 chip design firms up
The Dojo3 supercomputer effort is moving forward again, thanks to major progress on the in-house AI5 chip. This chip aims to provide performance close to Nvidia's high-end GPUs but with much lower power consumption, aiming to make Tesla less dependent on third-party hardware.
🤓 What the acronym
As a Tesla fan, I find myself sometimes having to remember what are all those acronyms, here is a list of the ones you can find in this issue.
ANCAP: Australasian New Car Assessment
FSD: Full Self-Driving
Fantastic roundup! The 13,000-mile intervention-free FSD streak is absolutly wild and shows genuine autonomy is closer than most realize. I dunno if hardware limitations will become the real bottelneck though, especially for HW3 owners despite that clever convolution patent. My brother's been testing FSD on his Model 3 and the year-over-year improvements have been night-and-day.