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How will Tesla Version 8 compare to current Autopilot in the real world?
Tesla’s upcoming Version 8 software will be the company’s most significant Autopilot upgrade since its October 2014 initial release, but how will these updates compare to current Autopilot behavior in the real world?
This will be the first time the company will switch from using the vehicle’s front-facing camera as the core hardware responsible for visual image recognition, to radar technology which will now become the primary sensor used in creating a virtual picture of the vehicle’s surroundings.
With these improvements, to be rolled out via an over-the-air software update in the coming weeks, Model S equipped with the Autopilot hardware suite and Model X should theoretically be able to handle emergency braking situations with more precision, provide a smoother Traffic Aware Cruise Control (TACC) experience, take highway exits on its own, and provide drivers and passengers with an overall safer experience.
Let’s take a look at each of these features and see how Autopilot in Version 8 will differ from current Version 7 capabilities.
Automatic Emergency Braking
Following the much publicized death of Joshua Brown after his Model S crashed into the side of a tractor trailer while driving on Autopilot, reliability of Autopilot’s Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) feature was immediately put to question. Tesla released a statement stating that the high, white side of the tractor trailer, combined with a radar signature that would have looked very similar to an overhead sign, caused automatic braking not to fire. “Since January 2016, Autopilot activates automatic emergency braking in response to any interruption of the ground plane in the path of the vehicle that cross-checks against a consistent radar signature,” said Tesla.
Spy shots taken from the Naval Air Station reveal Tesla was testing and calibrating its AEB system this past summer. But despite the tests which seemingly show a Model S automatically braking in a staged collision event, Tesla has been overly cautious when it comes to activation of its AEB feature. AEB is reliant on imagery received from its front-facing camera, and supplemented by radar input, to decide on the degree of confidence that would trigger a braking event.
Some Tesla owners have even taken it upon themselves to stage scenarios that would seemingly trigger the AEB response of the vehicle, but to no avail leaving further mystery as to how AEB works.
The current Autopilot system under Version 7 is limited in its ability to reliably detect people or pinpoint false positives such as reflective objects that may appear larger than they are. Tesla uses the concave bottom of a soda can as an example. When the radar signal is reflected back from the can’s bottom dish-shaped surface, the reflected signal is amplified to many times its actual size leading the radar to believe there’s a large object before it. Because of that, programming the AEB system to suddenly engage could lead to a dangerous situation so Tesla decided to limit the scenarios that could actually trigger an automatic emergency braking response.
However, Version 8 will combine the power of fleet learning with “radar snapshots” to improve the vehicle’s ability to more accurately depict the circumstances of an event. In other words, we can expect Autopilot under Version 8 to have a much higher degree of confidence when it comes to engaging automatic emergency braking. Tesla CEO Elon Musk believes this set up will provide safety improvements by a factor of three over existing Autopilot.
Traffic Aware Cruise Control
Beyond being able to track a vehicle that’s directly in front of the car, Version 8 of Autopilot will also be able to see the vehicle ahead of that. Tesla describes this update as follows: Tesla will also be able to bounce the radar signal under a vehicle in front – using the radar pulse signature and photon time of flight to distinguish the signal – and still brake even when trailing a car that is opaque to both vision and radar. The car in front might hit the UFO in dense fog, but the Tesla will not.
The improvement will lead to smoother braking events when TACC is engaged since Autopilot will no longer solely rely on the actions from the vehicle before it. If a hard braking event happened in front of the vehicle that Autopilot is immediately tracking, Version 8 will be able to identify it and slow the Model S (or Model X) even before the vehicle directly ahead may have applied the brakes.
The following video captures an incident whereby the vehicle being tracked by Version 7 of Autopilot could not see the hard braking event that took place two cars ahead. TACC seemingly did not have enough time to stop the Model S.
Being able to see two cars ahead in Version 8 will provide a smoother TACC experience and increased safety.
Improved Auto Lane Change and Freeway Exiting
What we’re particularly excited about is the new feature in Version 8.1 that will allow an Autopilot-equipped Model S and Model X to take highway exits using the onboard navigation system.
Currently, Version 7 of Autopilot is capable of handling lane changes when the driver explicitly uses the turn signal stalk. Signaling left and the vehicle will make a left lane change, and vice versa. However with the ability to punch in a destination through Tesla Nav and have the vehicle assist with freeway exiting, assuming that’s part of the route, in our minds, Tesla is taking a critical step towards the ultimate goal of building fully autonomous self-driving vehicles. It’s a small step, but nonetheless it’s a notable step.
Photo credit: Rob M.
Full details of Tesla Version 8 can be found here.
Tesla’s new Full Self-Driving pricing strategy will eliminate one recurring complaint that many owners have had in the past: FSD transfers.
In the past, if a Tesla owner purchased the Full Self-Driving suite outright, the company did not allow them to transfer the purchase to a new vehicle, essentially requiring them to buy it all over again, which could obviously get pretty pricey.
This was until Q3 2023, when Tesla allowed a one-time amnesty to transfer Full Self-Driving to a new vehicle, and then again last year.
Tesla is now allowing it to happen again ahead of the February 14th deadline.
The program has given people the opportunity to upgrade to new vehicles with newer Hardware and AI versions, especially those with Hardware 3 who wish to transfer to AI4, without feeling the drastic cost impact of having to buy the $8,000 suite outright on several occasions.
Now, that issue will never be presented again.
Last night, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced on X that the Full Self-Driving suite would only be available in a subscription platform, which is the other purchase option it currently offers for FSD use, priced at just $99 per month.
Tesla is shifting FSD to a subscription-only model, confirms Elon Musk
Having it available in a subscription-only platform boasts several advantages, including the potential for a tiered system that would potentially offer less expensive options, a pay-per-mile platform, and even coupling the program with other benefits, like Supercharging and vehicle protection programs.
While none of that is confirmed and is purely speculative, the one thing that does appear to be a major advantage is that this will completely eliminate any questions about transferring the Full Self-Driving suite to a new vehicle. This has been a particular point of contention for owners, and it is now completely eliminated, as everyone, apart from those who have purchased the suite on their current vehicle.
Now, everyone will pay month-to-month, and it could make things much easier for those who want to try the suite, justifying it from a financial perspective.
The important thing to note is that Tesla would benefit from a higher take rate, as more drivers using it would result in more data, which would help the company reach its recently-revealed 10 billion-mile threshold to reach an Unsupervised level. It does not cost Tesla anything to run FSD, only to develop it. If it could slice the price significantly, more people would buy it, and more data would be made available.
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Tesla Model 3 and Model Y dominates U.S. EV market in 2025
The figures were detailed in Kelley Blue Book’s Q4 2025 U.S. Electric Vehicle Sales Report.
Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y continued to overwhelmingly dominate the United States’ electric vehicle market in 2025. New sales data showed that Tesla’s two mass market cars maintained a commanding segment share, with the Model 3 posting year-to-date growth and the Model Y remaining resilient despite factory shutdowns tied to its refresh.
The figures were detailed in Kelley Blue Book’s Q4 2025 U.S. Electric Vehicle Sales Report.
Model 3 and Model Y are still dominant
According to the report, Tesla delivered an estimated 192,440 Model 3 sedans in the United States in 2025, representing a 1.3% year-to-date increase compared to 2024. The Model 3 alone accounted for 15.9% of all U.S. EV sales, making it one of the highest-volume electric vehicles in the country.
The Model Y was even more dominant. U.S. deliveries of the all-electric crossover reached 357,528 units in 2025, a 4.0% year-to-date decline from the prior year. It should be noted, however, that the drop came during a year that included production shutdowns at Tesla’s Fremont Factory and Gigafactory Texas as the company transitioned to the new Model Y. Even with those disruptions, the Model Y captured an overwhelming 39.5% share of the market, far surpassing any single competitor.
Combined, the Model 3 and Model Y represented more than half of all EVs sold in the United States during 2025, highlighting Tesla’s iron grip on the country’s mass-market EV segment.
Tesla’s challenges in 2025
Tesla’s sustained performance came amid a year of elevated public and political controversy surrounding Elon Musk, whose political activities in the first half of the year ended up fueling a narrative that the CEO’s actions are damaging the automaker’s consumer appeal. However, U.S. sales data suggest that demand for Tesla’s core vehicles has remained remarkably resilient.
Based on Kelley Blue Book’s Q4 2025 U.S. Electric Vehicle Sales Report, Tesla’s most expensive offerings such as the Tesla Cybertruck, Model S, and Model X, all saw steep declines in 2025. This suggests that mainstream EV buyers might have had a price issue with Tesla’s more expensive offerings, not an Elon Musk issue.
Ultimately, despite broader EV market softness, with total U.S. EV sales slipping about 2% year-to-date, Tesla still accounted for 58.9% of all EV deliveries in 2025, according to the report. This means that out of every ten EVs sold in the United States in 2025, more than half of them were Teslas.
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Tesla Model 3 and Model Y earn Euro NCAP Best in Class safety awards
“The company’s best-selling Model Y proved the gold standard for small SUVs,” Euro NCAP noted.
Tesla won dual categories in the Euro NCAP Best in Class awards, with the Model 3 being named the safest Large Family Car and the Model Y being recognized as the safest Small SUV.
The feat was highlighted by Tesla Europe & Middle East in a post on its official account on social media platform X.
Model 3 and Model Y lead their respective segments
As per a press release from the Euro NCAP, the organization’s Best in Class designation is based on a weighted assessment of four key areas: Adult Occupant, Child Occupant, Vulnerable Road User, and Safety Assist. Only vehicles that achieved a 5-star Euro NCAP rating and were evaluated with standard safety equipment are eligible for the award.
Euro NCAP noted that the updated Tesla Model 3 performed particularly well in Child Occupant protection, while its Safety Assist score reflected Tesla’s ongoing improvements to driver-assistance systems. The Model Y similarly stood out in Child Occupant protection and Safety Assist, reinforcing Tesla’s dual-category win.
“The company’s best-selling Model Y proved the gold standard for small SUVs,” Euro NCAP noted.
Euro NCAP leadership shares insights
Euro NCAP Secretary General Dr. Michiel van Ratingen said the organization’s Best in Class awards are designed to help consumers identify the safest vehicles over the past year.
Van Ratingen noted that 2025 was Euro NCAP’s busiest year to date, with more vehicles tested than ever before, amid a growing variety of electric cars and increasingly sophisticated safety systems. While the Mercedes-Benz CLA ultimately earned the title of Best Performer of 2025, he emphasized that Tesla finished only fractionally behind in the overall rankings.
“It was a close-run competition,” van Ratingen said. “Tesla was only fractionally behind, and new entrants like firefly and Leapmotor show how global competition continues to grow, which can only be a good thing for consumers who value safety as much as style, practicality, driving performance, and running costs from their next car.”
Tesla Full Self-Driving pricing strategy eliminates one recurring complaint
Tesla Model 3 and Model Y dominates U.S. EV market in 2025
