Aug. 6 (UPI) — Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced Wednesday that the U.S. automaker is working on an improved full-self driving, or FSD, model that may be ready to roll soon.
“Tesla is training a new FSD model with ~10X params and a big improvement to video compression loss,” he posted to X. “Probably ready for public release end of next month if testing goes well.”
“Params” refers to a larger parameter size, which has to do with its artificial intelligence. An increase in parameters usually means that the AI is a larger model that is more capable and has been trained on more data. In a self-driving car, this means its AI can better use its cameras and sensors to recognize its surroundings and better navigate.
Tesla has been scrutinized in the past by the U.S. Department of Transportation, which in October of last year announced its Office of Defects Investigation was examining the records related to the use of Tesla’s self-driving systems.
According to the ODI, it identified four reports of a Tesla vehicle crashing after entering an area of “reduced roadway visibility conditions.” Each crash occurred with the FSD function engaged, in conditions like fog, sun glare or airborne dust.
The ODI reported that a pedestrian was fatally struck by a Tesla using its FSD, and another person was injured in a separate incident.
Tesla stock price has been down nearly 19% year-to-date as of Tuesday.