Why You May Still be on Tesla Update 2024.8.9 or 2024.3.25 and What to Expect (2024)

Tesla’s latest set of updates has been fast-moving, with lots of bug fixes, and this fits with Musk’s philosophy of moving fast and breaking things. Some people are still on 2024.8.9, some are still on 2024.3.25, and some people are already on the 2024.14.8 Spring Update, and there’s also the brand-new 2024.20 update that just went out to employees for testing.

Let’s take a look at how Tesla’s software distribution system works, and why you are where you are.

Statistics

Before diving deep into how it all works, let’s get some statistics out of the way. We’ll be using the statistics we use here on the site, which are powered by TeslaFi.

As we can see, the tracked fleet is about 30% 2024.14 – the spring update; 2024.8 – Tesla’s previous major update, which contains FSD V11; and 2024.3 – the FSD V12.3 update. The remaining fleet on 2023.44 or other updates is fairly negligible, at around 10%.

So, about 65% of the tracked fleet has access to FSD V12, depending on their country of origin. The remaining 25% of the fleet only has access to FSD V11 if they’re in an eligible region.

FSD Update Track

When someone subscribes or purchases FSD in the U.S. or Canada, Tesla enables the FSD feature on that vehicle’s firmware, which currently could be either FSD v11 or FSD v12.

Once you’ve subscribed to FSD, you’re generally put on the ‘FSD Track,’ which means you’ll start receiving the latest FSD updates, like FSD v12.4. These updates are usually exclusive to FSD subscribers as they serve as a testing ground for the latest FSD revision. They’ve been update versions such as 2024.9.5, 2024.3.25, 2023.27.5 and so on. In the past year or so, they’ve all been odd week numbers, but that hasn’t always been the case.

However, the downside is that Tesla develops FSD at a different pace, and while you’re one of the earlier individuals to test out the latest FSD version, these updates are usually several major updates behind Tesla’s latest, meaning you don’t always have access to Tesla’s latest features. Currently, these are owners on update 2024.3.25 who are waiting on FSD v12.4, but still don’t have the Tesla features in update 2024.8 or 2024.14.

Vehicle Eligibility

Not all vehicles are eligible for all updates, and this is a twofold reason. First, if you’re on an update that is on a newer branch, say 2024.8.9, you cannot go down to 2024.3.5. The version number is broken down to year, week number and revision. So update 2024.8.9 is the 9th revision of the update that was created on the 8th week of 2024.

In general, Tesla does not roll back versions, so if someone is already on update 2024.14, then their vehicle wouldn’t be eligible for FSD 12.4, which is update 2024.9.5. This is mainly due to potential issues since Tesla doesn’t thoroughly test rolling back software.

Your vehicle will always be eligible for updates on a later branch, even if you won’t necessarily receive that update – like the many owners on update 2024.8 or 2024.3 who haven’t received update 2024.14 yet.

The second factor is hardware. Vehicles on older hardware variants, or vehicles that are considered to be legacy, are just not eligible for some updates. This is something that Tesla decides as newer hardware is needed for newer features and support for legacy hardware may not be included in all updates.

If you’ve subscribed to FSD and you’re on update 2024.8.9 and wondering why you’re not receiving update 2024.14, that’s why. Tesla wants your vehicle to be eligible for the next FSD v12.4 update, which will be update 2024.9.5.

Vehicle Variants

Sometimes, updates are not sent out widely for the simple reason of hardware variants. Tesla’s fleet has become widely fractured over the years, with many different variants of vehicles on the road today. Some 2022 Model Y’s may have Matrix headlights, while some may not, and some may have USS, while others don’t. Most have HW3, but a few have HW4!

That’s 6 possible branching variants in one year – a total of 24 possible variants for just the 2022 Model Y, not including the Performance, Long-Range, Rear-Wheel Drive, 4680-cell Rear-Wheel Drive, and the odd 2022 Standard-Range Dual-Motor variants that are also all different! If you did the math, there are 362 thousand possible variants, but not likely more than ~40 or so actual builds that Tesla differentiates between for software for all vehicles.

Of course, Tesla has managed to pare down these variants through the 2023 and 2024 model years, with greatly simplified production chains, with the removal of USS in favor of Tesla Vision, the full move to Hardware 4 across all factories, and Matrix headlights becoming standard globally. But all those existing vehicles are not legacy, and still need updates.

That means a complex and well-thought-out update process has to be built in order to deploy a functional update to all these vehicle variants.

Bug Fixing

Besides the complexity of vehicle variants, Tesla also has to catch and fix bugs. No matter how good one is at software development, sometimes bugs just escape into the wild. And fixing those bugs is essential since they could leave a vehicle undriveable. Although a major issue is rare, Tesla has had some issues in the past, such as Automatic Emergency Braking being disabled due to a software issue. This is why Tesla rolls out updates gradually.

We’ve seen this play out with update 2024.14, which has received numerous bug-fix releases. Tesla will release an update to a set of cars, discover an issue, and stop the rollout. A few days later, another update is out with additional fixes, and so on.

Conclusion

So, if you’re stuck on update 2024.8.9 or 2024.3.25, and are wondering when you’ll get FSD V12 or the Spring Update, you’ll have to hang on – the author is also on 2024.8.9 with V11!

Elon Musk mentioned on X that FSD V12.4 should be the update the reduces FSD branching and will bring everyone to FSD V12 in general. 2024.9.5 is the FSD V12.4 update, and it looks like vehicles that are below that branch number should be collectively receiving the reduced-nag V12.4 update.

When we finally receive FSD V12.4, we’ll likely need to hang on for a little longer until FSD V12.4.1 or FSD V12.5 rolls along to have the Spring Update.

With the announcement of Apple’s focus on AI in iOS 18 at WWDC Monday, there has been a flurry of interesting news items.

From Elon Musk mentioning that Apple devices may be banned at his companies due to the integration of AI, to Apple allowing developers to add functions to the Control Center, and Musk confirming once again that Tesla has no intentions to produce a phone, it was a busy day.

Control Center

Also at WWDC, Apple showed off an updated Control Center – the swipe-down control menu on iOS. As of iOS 18, third-party developers will now be able to create buttons to add to Control Center.

This is a pretty neat feature and could make it even easier to manage your Tesla from Apple devices. You could soon be able to control the climate or begin charging your Tesla without even opening the app.

You can already do some of these things using Siri Shortcuts, but this could be the granular integration needed to control specific items with even more detail, rather than just simple routines.

Tesla typically launches new features on its iOS app first, and Android devices a few days or weeks later. An excellent example of this is Ultra Wideband support, which came to Apple devices first.

Banning Apple Devices

At WWDC, Apple showed off new AI integration in its OS, which allows users to leverage OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Elon Musk mentioned that this is a massive security concern on a post on X, and he said he may ban the presence of Apple’s devices at his companies.

Tesla App Lead Alex Guichet asked on X if this was any different than Gemini integration on Android – which Google has already announced and begun to roll out to customers in select markets. If you’re in Canada or the United States, you can replace your current Google Assistant with Gemini, which provides a similar level of system integration to Apple.

Since Musk’s initial reaction to Apple’s integration of AI and partnership with OpenAI, Musk’s concerns appear to have eased. Numerous users clarified that Apple is building its own AI, and Apple will not hand over information to OpenAI unless users explicitly confirm they want to do so.

Musk Denies Tesla Phone

Elon Musk has confirmed that even with his potential ban on Apple devices, he is not interested in building a Tesla phone. A Tesla phone has previously been mentioned, and Elon Musk had previously shown interest in the idea, but has also shot it down numerous times over the years.

With this final confirmation, it’s pretty clear that we won’t be expecting a Tesla phone anytime in the future. SpaceX has been working on integrating Starlink cell-to-satellite messaging, calling, and data to existing phones, so we could see further integration in a different way one day.

In a post on X, Tesla listed its achievements since 2018. Perhaps most interesting, Tesla stated it has successfully deployed two Optimus robots in one of its factories. The deployment is a pivotal moment – the first autonomous robots are now beginning to work in factories. This is one of the first examples of the industrial use of humanoid robots.

Optimus

Optimus, Tesla’s humanoid robot, has been designed to take on tasks that require a high level of precision, as well as everyday tasks typically performed by human workers. Tesla has invested heavily in Optimus, and just in the last two years, three major design revisions of Optimus, and four revisions of just its hands have been done. Tesla is placing Optimus pretty highly on its list of difficult challenges to tackle.

Elon Musk has previously mentioned he hopes to have Optimus perform tasks that are boring, repetitive, or dangerous for humans, such as picking up groceries, fixing or building cars, or even building houses.

Autonomy

One of the most unique things about Optimus is the fact that it uses the same core technology that lets Tesla’s cars drive themselves while supervised – as its core software. This enables Optimus to navigate autonomously – first around the labs and offices, and now around Tesla’s factories.

The adaptability of Tesla’s AI in this unique situation is a testament to Tesla’s engineering prowess, as well as FSD’s technology stack to work in unique environments – not on the road. Because Optimus uses AI that’s similar to Tesla’s FSD, it has clearly benefitted from the same updates that FSD V12 has benefitted from, with rapid advances recently moving FSD from its long-time Beta status to its newfound Supervised status.

As Tesla continues to refine Optimus and FSD, we’ll see some drastic advances in autonomous robots. Tesla has mentioned it plans to begin offering Optimus as a purchasable product in the future as it enters the humanoid robot market.