Tesla has begun pushing software update 2026.38.5, which carries Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14.3.12. The release notes, dated Oct. 10, list it for HW4 vehicles only: the newer Model S and Model X, Model 3, Model Y and Cybertruck. Rollout trackers showed very few cars on it as of Saturday, so most owners will wait days or weeks.

What's new for HW4 cars in v14.3.12

The notes are nearly identical to v14.3.11, which arrived days earlier in update 2026.33.5. Highlights Tesla lists:

  • Faster reactions. Tesla says it rewrote its AI compiler and runtime "from the ground up" using MLIR, for 20% faster reaction time.
  • Better perception. An upgraded vision encoder for rare and low-visibility situations, better 3D geometry and broader traffic-sign understanding.
  • Driving manners. Less unnecessary lane biasing and "minor tailgating," more decisive parking-spot selection, and improved handling of complex traffic lights and yellow-light stops.
  • Rare events. Improved responses to emergency vehicles, school buses, right-of-way violators, small animals and objects hanging or leaning into the lane.
  • Fewer disengagements from temporary system degradations, which the car now tries to ride out and recover from on its own.
  • Driver monitoring with better eye-gaze tracking, including with eyewear and in changing light.
  • One model shared between Actually Smart Summon, FSD and Robotaxi, plus a new counter for miles driven without an intervention.

Tesla lists pothole avoidance and wider use of "reasoning" as upcoming improvements, without dates.

Also in 2026.38.5

HW4 cars get Automatic Collision Evasion, which can switch on FSD (Supervised) while you are driving manually if the car decides you aren't paying attention, for example reaching into the back seat, or if FSD seems to have been disengaged by accident. The update also adds Emergency Drive Away at Superchargers and the ability to set arrival energy from the phone app (app v4.58.0 or later).

HW3 vs. HW4: what older cars get

HW3 owners are not getting v14.3.12. Instead, update 2026.33.5 delivers FSD (Supervised) v14.3 Lite to HW3 Model 3 and Model Y. Tesla says it "distilled" the HW4 v14 model into HW3, letting the older computer learn from the newer one. The practical changes:

  • Parking, unparking and reversing for the first time on HW3.
  • Arrival Options: choose a parking lot, street, driveway or pull-over drop-off.
  • Speed Profiles available at all times, including a new, more conservative "Sloth" profile.
  • Fewer false slowdowns and smoother steering, per Tesla.

It is a meaningful step for HW3 cars, but they remain on a separate, lighter branch, and Tesla does not claim feature parity with HW4.

For European owners: where the feature is approved, it is now marketed as "Tesla Assisted Driving" after pushback from Germany's transport ministry. As always, FSD (Supervised) requires an attentive driver ready to take over; it does not make the car autonomous.