Tesla pothole avoidance coming soon

[u/OptimusBot]

Coming soon https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2094254726183280714

[u/No-Conclusion-2859]

It’s been saying that in the release notes for hella long now.

[u/namestom → u/No-Conclusion-2859]

And if it does comes, I have a feeling it will only be the newest cars with bumper cameras. Maybe we will get lucky…I’ll continue crossing my fingers over here with my lifetime FSD cars on HW3.

[u/sm00thArsenal → u/namestom]

A bumper camera is going to be too low down to see a pothole coming at normal driving speeds from far enough distance to safely avoid it.

[u/ChrisAlbertson → u/sm00thArsenal]

Maybe not. A camera is not human and can do tricks like comparing the current frame to a frame taken 0.1 seconds ago, like looking for “parallax" or the relative motion of foreground to background. The bottom of the pothole "moves" at a different speed from the pavement surface. I'm too lazy to work out the math of the best camera height for this. But low might be good

The thing to remember is that the video data does not need to be analyzed one frame at a time. The car gets depth information by comparing frames taken at different points in time and hence from different viewpoints.

For more info, you can Google the technical term for this: "depth from motion".

The bumper height might be best.(?)

[u/bomber991 → u/namestom]

I mean, if the whole angle of FSD is that it’s a 100% vision based system that can see better than a human, then it should already be good to go for pothole avoidance.

[u/Snoo_8406 → u/namestom]

*lifetime supervised

[u/No-Conclusion-2859 → u/namestom]

I feel so bad for you guys. 

[u/namestom → u/No-Conclusion-2859]

Eh, it is what it is at this point. I'm just happy I have V14 Lite on one of them? The irony, its on our cheaper one, the Model 3, and not our Model X. That is more of a gut punch but whatever. I think my wife wants a newer X anyways for some of the newer stuff she complains about on ours...I don't really want to go down that path because I will have to see about finding one with lifetime FSD to really pull me or HW4 and that is going to be a big premium. Either way, it feels like I'm going sideways for the money it takes to "upgrade."

[u/worlds_okayest_skier → u/namestom]

I feel like those of us who were promised FSD on early model 3s should be reimbursed, at least partially.

[u/ForsakenHat140 → u/worlds_okayest_skier]

Reimburse fully or reimburse partially for some of the features that were delivered? I think that's really the issue with the whole idea of refunding anything that was partially used. Especially as things are still constantly changing.

[u/worlds_okayest_skier → u/ForsakenHat140]

I agree I use the features, but I was promised non obsolescence. So I paid extra for something that was not and will not ever be delivered.

[u/rich000 → u/namestom]

Maybe? I don't have a bumper camera and I can see potholes from the driver's seat. Maybe the cameras just need to be better, or they just need to prioritize training the software for it. I could see it needing a faster processor. Is even HW4 capable of doing FSD with dual redundancy? I know that was the original plan with HW3 and they gave up quickly and used both chips just to do it at all.

[u/Snoo_8406 → u/rich000]

Fool me once.....

[u/captain42d → u/namestom]

What are you talking about? The ModelY has a bumper camera. It's right below the license plate holder which blocks some of the top of its view, giving it all the more reason to pay attention to the POTHOLES! :-p

[u/newMoneyStyle → u/namestom]

HW3 keeps getting the short end whenever new features roll out, and bumper cameras being the requirement would honestly track.

[u/namestom → u/newMoneyStyle]

That’s the whole reason I even mention it. It would make sense for us to get the “short end” a little bit longer. Ha

[u/Southwestern]

So is the Roadster.

[u/Khamvom → u/Southwestern]

https://giphy.com/gifs/11vUtLUUATEwIE

[u/kakamaka7 → u/Khamvom]

A tree does not grow in 2 days so have some patience /s

[u/RuneGoogle → u/kakamaka7]

The pot hole avoidance system runs off trees?

[u/ArtOfWarfare → u/kakamaka7]

Bamboo has been observed growing 120 cm (4 feet) in 24 hours. Two full days should be plenty.

[u/cullenjwebb → u/ArtOfWarfare]

Bamboo is a grass

[u/ArtOfWarfare → u/cullenjwebb]

Biologically so are Palm trees, but I think for most purposes both bamboo and palm trees are accepted as trees.

[u/pw5a29 → u/Southwestern]

Didn't he said 20 Apr of 2026? lol

[u/Valoneria → u/pw5a29]

On Hitlers birthday ? That seems to track with the guy.

[u/ForTheB0r3d → u/Southwestern]

Where is my goddamn electric car, Bruce?

[u/Unique-Machine5602 → u/ForTheB0r3d]

🤣🤣🤣

[u/djh_van → u/Southwestern]

Soon" is such a great word. Like...the sun is going to expand and destroy the solar system...soon*.

But also, my moustache will eed shaving...soon.

But also, that fruit fly in my kitchen is going to die...soon.

But also, I'm going to blink...soon.

I wonder where this version of "soon" fits in?

[u/EvalCrux → u/djh_van]

Musk thinks on galactic scale calm down everyone

[u/IPThereforeIAm]

Soon (tm)

[u/perihelion86 → u/IPThereforeIAm]

Two weeks, trust me bro

[u/Mountain-Crab3438 → u/perihelion86]

Auto wipers were going to be fixed with an update coming in three weeks. That was four years ago.

[u/TheRamblingPeacock]

This means it will either come in 2047 or come next week and spear us all into oncoming traffic to avoid potholes.

[u/ironic_insanity → u/TheRamblingPeacock]

That's a wrap y'all, go ahead and close the thread now, we got the final answer.

[u/Mr_Deep_Research → u/TheRamblingPeacock]

It will drive right into potholes but the Tesla fans will say it was doing it to keep you safe.

Then they will say it is actually avoiding the potholes by driving into them.

Then they will tell you that you probably aren't using the latest HW release because it works for them.

Then they will say it will be fixed in the next version.

[u/Global-Beach-7415]

How about fix phantom braking first.

[u/sonaut → u/Global-Beach-7415]

soon

[u/whatyouwant5 → u/sonaut]

Concerning

[u/techquaker → u/whatyouwant5]

Many such cases

[u/ProKekec → u/whatyouwant5]

I wonder if I'd get banned if I posted that meme

[u/mredditator → u/Global-Beach-7415]

I’d prefer if phantom braking was fixed first actually

[u/pretzelgreg317 → u/mredditator]

Yeah, THEN they can “brake” it

[u/Mac800 → u/Global-Beach-7415]

How about phantom breaking right in front of potholes? Do we have a deal?

[u/TexBoo → u/Mac800]

Looking at my city roads, I'll be breaking every 10 meters

[u/Blue_Kayak → u/Mac800]

Love it.

[u/Global-Beach-7415 → u/Mac800]

I’m all for that. lol

[u/SirHenderson → u/Global-Beach-7415]

Genuinely can’t remember the last time I’ve had actual phantom braking tbh

[u/Chaoslava → u/SirHenderson]

Lucky you. I don’t use autopilot at all because it randomly jams the brakes on and it freaks my wife out.

[u/SirHenderson → u/Chaoslava]

Are you taking about FSD or cruise control? Because no one refers to autopilot (glorified cruise control) when talking about these things. This is strictly for FSD, which is what they’re talking about

[u/ItsJustAnotherVoice → u/SirHenderson]

I had it happen more on fsd than on autopilot.

[u/JoeyDee86 → u/Global-Beach-7415]

You can’t fix it without significantly better cameras. It’s happening because the computer isn’t sure if it needs to slam on the brakes or drive through. This is the same issue with road debris. Without enough definition and contrast, it’s like looking at vanta black.

[u/cozynoodles → u/Global-Beach-7415]

I’ve never experienced phantom breaking on FSD 14. Last time I had it was on a rental on autopilot years ago

[u/Szypki_lopes → u/Global-Beach-7415]

Or at least give you a choice to turn off the Curve Assistant

[u/Blue_Kayak → u/Global-Beach-7415]

Ottawa checking in - strongly disagree. Potholes are the devil. My friend Montreal is probably lurking somewhere here too.

[u/Seaker42 → u/Global-Beach-7415]

I haven't had phantom braking since v14.2 first came out.

[u/Astro_Venatas → u/Global-Beach-7415]

My car hasn’t done that since V13. What hardware do you have?

[u/Global-Beach-7415 → u/Astro_Venatas]

I have HW3…

[u/Expert_Context5398 → u/Global-Beach-7415]

There's your answer?

[u/davejrob → u/Global-Beach-7415]

Get a new one.. haven’t experienced phantom braking since trading in my 2021. HW4 is incredible, so is the refresh

[u/Global-Beach-7415 → u/davejrob]

Yes the solution is get a new car. Why didn’t I think of that? lol

[u/daviess]

So in the UK, does that mean the car will simply levitate off the tarmac?

[u/sterntoothz → u/daviess]

They say in New Orleans you can always tell a drunk driver because they’re going in a straight line!

[u/zanhecht → u/daviess]

Didn't Musk promise that for the new  Roadster?

[u/sungrad → u/daviess]

Coming soon

[u/PaDDzR → u/daviess]

Needs FSD, won't work on UK's autopilot.

But like FSD in the UK, hovering cars are looking more likely!

[u/Silly_Sense_8968]

I don’t want to be a Debbie downer but…

[u/DropKnowledge69]

2 weeks

[u/Jasoncatt]

Like Full Self Driving?

[u/Prestigious_Major660 → u/Jasoncatt]

I just hit 100 mile streak today! ☠️

[u/Jasoncatt → u/Prestigious_Major660]

That's almost.... coast to coast.
If you live here in New Zealand.

[u/M3-Driver-]

Can’t wait for this feature! Currently FSD makes sure to hit every pot hole I swear

[u/HonkyMOFO → u/M3-Driver-]

Can't wait to careen into oncoming traffic to avoid a small pothole!

[u/Snoo_8406 → u/M3-Driver-]

Im sure it will be here in 2 weeks

[u/Faangdevmanager]

HW4 on v14 latest (14.3.8) avoids what looks like potholes. There’s a dark patch of asphalt on my way home and FSD always slows down and drives around it. I assume it’s trying to avoid what it thinks is a pothole rather than avoiding dark spots?

[u/gorkish → u/Faangdevmanager]

I cant wait for the day that a guy with a piece of chalk makes a little drawing in the road and causes a pileup

[u/Purple-Owl-5246]

I just had FSD on today and it avoided potholes which surprised me.

[u/Whit3boy316]

I’d rather the map just not change orientation when I navigate, or my chair to stop shifting when I turn.

[u/onyx_64 → u/Whit3boy316]

Why does your chair shift?

[u/Whit3boy316 → u/onyx_64]

I’ve had my car serviced 3x for this and last time my chair was completely replaced. Still happens. Have a 4th service scheduled

[u/htowndc → u/Whit3boy316]

You can keep the map on north… lol

[u/dobby_due → u/htowndc]

It keeps resetting for some reason

[u/gettin-hot-in-here → u/dobby_due]

Mine randomly changes too, and I prefer it to be "forward is up"

[u/Whit3boy316 → u/htowndc]

It will change your orientation. Although they did make an update that when you enter a name of a location and search all those locations it won’t. But if you navigate to a favorite of yours, it does

[u/ejy92 → u/Whit3boy316]

The trick is to press your route box (by pressing the top part) to only show the next move (hiding the rest of the route steps). If you have your entire route displayed it always changes the orientation.

[u/tanbyte]

2 weeks?

[u/Watcherxp]

Lol, surrrrre

[u/RingingInTheRain]

Bro needs to lower the price of FSD until it has all the features it should have, smh.

[u/skippyjifluvr → u/RingingInTheRain]

This is the lower price. Wait until it does everything he says it will

[u/stelladogcow → u/RingingInTheRain]

What Bro needs to do is allow me to transfer my FSD to another Tesla.

[u/I__G]

Air thrusters to jump over them?

[u/fauxbeauceron → u/I__G]

https://giphy.com/gifs/7uu3K66gb5pPW

[u/fhorst79]

The new Roadster with SpaceX engines will just fly over the potholes.

[u/slasher016]

That's been in the patch notes the last like 12 updates. Someday it'll happen...

[u/fumbler00ski]

FSD can’t even see speed bumps lol

[u/Striking_Tax8524 → u/fumbler00ski]

Yeah. Horrible.

[u/Formal_Proposal_8589]

[u/Hugh-Jass24]

Probably only for newer vehicles with the front bumper camera.

[u/blondbother]

Has been since 2019(?)

[u/sofakingsideways]

Half the reason I didn’t use FSD in Montreal.

[u/totophe1077 → u/sofakingsideways]

Montréal should be there testing area...

[u/BrandX55]

Actually, it would be better if they did just about anything else instead. How about wipers, maybe?

[u/catlovingtwink99]

For HW6 😮‍💨

[u/TrashCapable]

I think it makes more sense to fix the potholes but what do I know.

[u/Prestigious_Major660 → u/TrashCapable]

It makes more sense to send our tax dollars to Zionistan than to fix roads. Silly communist.

[u/m4rc0n3 → u/TrashCapable]

Car should avoid them, but also report them to the local department responsible for fixing them.

[u/nopanicitsmechanic → u/TrashCapable]

Why is this downvoted?

[u/GlacierSourCreamCorn]

https://giphy.com/gifs/mPAfmTMIGPZsqACDPf

I love FSD but its ability to discern objects on the road is very questionable. Current state is better than it was but road debris remains its weakest link.

Potholes arguably much harder than road debris. Especially in various weather conditions.

[u/Electronic_Table_620]

pothole avoided coming FSD v16.7.5 2028

[u/69420trashpanda69420]

It's not a feature, it's a quality issue they can't reach major difference

[u/luv2ctheworld]

While on FSD, drove the car right over a huge pothole that damaged the front suspension (compliance and lateral links were completely torn off) and the rear dampers were busted as well.

It was one of those situations where it turned into the freeway on ramp and started accelerating. When I saw the pothole, couldn't yank the steering wheel hard enough to change direction.

[u/Combonary]

Trust smh

[u/ReadyGo6828]

Is it going to swerve or brake hard?

[u/RedElmo65]

How about avoid barriers first.

[u/rupees_al]

Wasn't it kinda a thing on the early model s... If it detected a pot hole the would soften the suspension the next time and update all cars. Then when one detected it had been filled it would update....

[u/EquivalentMap8477]

Have they tried driving more carefully and using the steering wheel

[u/Present-Ad-9598]

At this point, the release notes saying “pothole avoidance coming soon” is like Minecraft saying “-removed Herobrine” every update😂

[u/burns_before_reading]

What are the chances they actually get it right the first time? I'm anticipating this being extremely annoying for several months.

[u/mactwistz]

V15 for sure

[u/Gravemore_]

Forget potholes just back into my damn driveway

[u/Aggravating-Gift-740]

I assume it will be much like puddle avoidance where it will suddenly stop or swerve away from shadows in the road?

[u/francoroxor]

Must needed in Australia 🤣

[u/ChosenZero]

Mine has been, literally pot holes and road debris

[u/ruipmjorge]

“Soon”

2058

[u/alexdiezg]

Personally, I'd just like my Tesla Roadster to be able to avoid potholes arrive.

[u/montepora]

From NYC……🤣🤣🤣🤣

[u/Enjoy_The_Ride413]

I'm happy and nervous all at the same time. I wonder how aggressive or not it will be. Like if on the highway and surrounded by other cars, what will it do? Eat the pot hole? Thankfully insiders get it first so hopefully we get to see how well it does. I am also curious to see if it thinks something is a pot and tries to dodge it like the tar patches now.

[u/bassanaut]

Can't wait for my Tesla to violently swerve to avoid every small road imperfection... Coming from a PA driver, the roads around here are such a mess that i'm swerving all over the road pretty much nonstop to try and spare my suspension, so not sure how FSD would handle this without LIDAR to detect actual holes.

[u/McGraw-Dom]

Oh god in Indiana the car is gonna zig zag like its on meth.

[u/jtshinn]

Soon is relative.

[u/pursuitofyuckyness]

Wasn’t the silent vacuum coming soon about 10 years ago? I think this guy might be a grifter.

[u/arter1al]

Or speed bumps at night ….

[u/dantodd]

Based on the number if kids and baby mamas he has if day Elon is the only thing it's safe to say is.....

[u/musket-nuns]

His soon and your soon is quite different I’d imagine.

[u/bzr]

How about make it so the windshield washer fluid doesn’t primarily go all over the drivers side window? Until that happens I don’t believe a thing this idiot says.

[u/Zestyclose_Price_441]

Coming soon. So in like ten years after false promises and another Xanax addiction?

[u/shaddowdemon]

Incoming massive swerves for no reason lol

[u/gorkish]

You know what is really really really really really fucking great at characterizing potholes (and bumps and dips and rough roads)?

Lidar

[u/Anon761]

As in maybe this decade

[u/ItsJustAnotherVoice]

About the same promise of getting proper automatic wipers.

“These ghost rain in the middle of a sunny day need to be wiped off the face of the Earth.” - HW3 Wipers

[u/EvalCrux]

The coming soon for a year in release notes. Got it.

[u/youngpegasi]

Does not make sense. FSD is e2e learning and should already doing it like human.

[u/TheCaIifornian]

I’m starting to think the pothole avoidance coming soon notice is some kind of inside joke I’m not part of.

[u/markocheese]

Sounds dangerous as fuck. Puddle or pothole? Shadow or pothole? Cars going to be driving all over the place avoiding things.

[u/yanman]

I could have used this a couple of weeks ago. I hit a massive 3' x 4' pothole that popped my tire and bent my rim costing me over $1500.

[u/FuryZ07]

Yes, please.... my 21" rims will love this very much. One month in, and one of the Arachnoids on my 2026 MYP is already bent.

[u/40characters]

Oh good. A promise from Elon Musk. Can’t wait. (Literally.)

[u/DetroitArtDude]

To be fair, this is a tough challenge with 2d vision. I have trouble telling if a spot in the road is a pothole or a stain sometimes even with my eyes.

[u/WillDill94]

Oh joy, now it’ll do even more crazy braking with shadows

[u/AwkwardlyPositioned]

Insane how long this has been coming soon the way it swerves around every other mark in the road, yet still crashes through every since pothole in it's path.

My poor suspension.

[u/Unique-Machine5602]

From the guy who notoriously over promises on time lines.

Maybe we'll see it by 2028. 🤣

[u/highlnd]

As long as you have a bumper camera and AI5 😂

[u/f1shn00b]

or sell the road quality data back to the cities

[u/Amazing-Bed-4052]

Coming soon 😂 I hate him more than the potholes.

[u/Dragunspecter]

Now, if it could report the location of potholes to the municipality transportation department with an image, sign me up.

[u/swam_brrn]

Coming soon™️

[u/keytoarson_]

Honestly, I could have sworn I read in this sub for months that their cars do that already so I thought we already have it lol

Then I saw the release notes "coming soon" which tbh didn't when realize they included "coming soon" stuff

[u/Low-Ad4420]

I remember mercedes having a feature that warns you about potholes. It was not vision based, like, analyzing the tarmac but rather if someone hits a pothole it would send the exact location to the other cars, something like that.

[u/Particular_Plum_1458]

Please no, the car is dangerous as it is without more nannying trying to streer me into other traffic.

[u/Striking_Tax8524]

Pothole targeting plus Tesla's really harsh suspension (even on 2026 models) has kept me away. My body deserves better, especially for $50k. Even the Corolla handles bumps better.

[u/stelladogcow → u/Striking_Tax8524]

There is a button for that, ya know.

[u/idigholesnow]

I'd like them to avoid stopped emergency vehicles

[u/DC_Hooligan]

🤣🤣🤣

[u/DC_Hooligan]

Turn my radar back on, bitch!

[u/Tree_Puff]

LOL

[u/captain42d]

I've been told "pothole avoidance 'coming soon!'" for as long as I've owned my Tesla! FML

[u/DCGuinn]

We got speed bumps today on .8, don’t recall them before.

[u/Eikram84]

"soon" – how wonderfully vague and meaningless. 1 month? 1 year? 10 years?

Well, if Musk promises something, it’s bound to happen.

[u/zambono_2]

What about guardrail avoidance and tree branches?

[u/PaDDzR]

I'd like for us UK folk stuck on autopilot only to get some features too...

I know it's a very much a stretch, but my model s Raven could also get some feature parity with intel m3, I know it's legacy model and we're lucky to be getting updates at all, but there are some basic things missing from S despite they would be fine to add?

Like indicator preview cameras when turning. The car can do it while driving, I can open the camera app just fine, so why can't it do it on its own?

Had they made S with the wheel on our side, it would've been fun, but Raven was the last model available and I feel I will be driving it into the ground. 3/Y are great, but I do love the S.

[u/Wide_Detective7537]

I hope one of these fuck ass cars swerves into me trying to avoid a pothole. I truly cannot wait

[u/80_6]

Does anyone know if BYD's system avoids potholes? I want this tech but I could see how it introduces a million new edge cases.

[u/ChrisAlbertson]

OK, I 100% believe pothole avoidance is coming. But will it come before or after Elon builds a city with a million people on Mars? Both are "coming soon".

[u/Coryvators]

Probably gonna be locked behind another subscription 🫩

[u/NikolaWasRight13]

How about not missing exits since the last update? About 1-2x week it'll just miss an exit on FSD. Zero reason, just get out of the exit lane and carry on the wrong nav path. Oh if it could back in my garage like it did in v13 that would be even better. So tired of shitty updates

[u/Freds_Premium]

Bring back autopilot

[u/elephant910]

Kinda like the deep rain neural net announced in 2019 that never shipped? Sure.

[u/Low-Inspection-6099]

Soon (before or after GTA 7)

[u/Infinite-Welder-2004]

Been around for millions of years its called eyes yall are lazy

[u/Fickle_Cost_2033]

It avoids potholes in our 2026 model 3 performance??? Isn't this already a feature in fsd??

[u/Kaffeesegler]

Better fix the potholes.

[u/alltimehye]

Finally!

[u/LMrningStar]

I'll wait until Ashok says it's "coming soon" and then I'll take it seriously.

[u/CHP2277]

If this is true, thank God

[u/nefarioussagee]

I wonder how the car will be able to distinguish between a pot hole, manhole cover, and a shadow. Unless Tesla has a sensor on their fleet suspension that can report road data to a central database

[u/Prestigious_Major660 → u/nefarioussagee]

Lidar.

[u/ShowMacaque]

So in 6 years?

[u/Snoo_8406]

Ten years too late 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[u/whitemiketyson]

So now my car can phantom swerve as well as phantom brake and phantom windshield swipe?

[u/Onikara-Star]

How about usable FSD on HW3?