In a recent comment on Twitter, Elon Musk apologized for Tesla’s auto wipers, which have been quite inconsistent, to say the least. Observations from a noted Tesla hacker suggest that Tesla has already implemented a slight change that makes the feature more acceptable.
Longtime Tesla hacker @greentheonly, who has gained a reputation for discovering new features in the electric vehicle maker’s code, recently noted that software update 11.4.2 actually features some notable improvements under the hood. This was despite the fact that v11.4.2’s release notes are identical to v11.4.1.
The noted Tesla hacker mentioned several of these “secret” improvements, one of which was “Autowiper V4 with the ability to disable “deep rain.”
“So despite 11.4.2 release notes not changing from .1, the differences underneath are substantial. There’s now Autowiper v4 with ability to disable “deep rain” (I guess that did not pan out all that well). There’s AEB for cut-in traffic (server side toggle), and a bunch of more stuff,” the Tesla hacker noted.
The ability to disable “deep rain” would likely be a welcome update for Tesla’s auto wiper feature. Tesla’s auto wiper system, which uses Autopilot cameras and neural networks, was initially rolled out in early 2018. The feature’s performance proved quite polarizing, and the company pushed a “deep rain” update later on that was designed to make the feature more accurate. Despite the “deep rain” update, however, some Tesla owners maintained that auto wipers which use rain sensors are still more accurate.
Apart from improvements to auto wipers, the Tesla hacker also noted that the 11.4.2 update also includes automatic emergency braking for cut-in traffic, which should make Teslas even safer on the road. While AEB is already useful for vehicles or objects that are in front, the feature’s use for vehicles that are cutting in would likely prevent even more accidents.
Lastly, @greentheonly noted that the interval for FSD Beta suspensions was reduced to just one week with the 11.4.2 update. Previously, this interval was set at two weeks. Such a change would likely be welcomed by Tesla owners who wish to use the company’s advanced driver-assist systems, such as FSD Beta and Autopilot.
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