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Tesla has finally released its highly-anticipated Full Self-Driving Beta v9 software update.

Here’s what it looks like.

It was a long time coming, but when CEO Elon Musk put an actual date on the release, we knew it was around the corner and Tesla stuck to it.

Last night, the automaker started pushing Tesla FSD Beta v9, a new software update for Tesla’s ‘feature complete’ version of its self-driving software package.

The new version is now using Tesla Vision, a computer vision system that only relies on optical imagery and not any readings from the radar sensor that was previously an important part of Tesla’s sensor suite.

Musk has been touting the new update as “mind-blowing” and an important step toward Tesla’s FSD package actually delivering a true full self-driving system

Tesla Full Self-Driving Beta v9 Release Notes

Tesla didn’t go into many details about the improvements to the driving system in the release notes.

Instead, the automaker mainly reiterated important warnings regarding the use of the feature:

“Full Self-Driving is in early limited access Beta and must be used with additional caution. It may do the wrong thing at the worst time, so you must always keep your hands on the wheel and pay extra attention on the road. Do not become complacent. When Full Self-Driving is enabled your vehicle will make lane changes off highway, select forks to follow your navigation route, navigate around other vehicles and objects, and make left and right turns. Use Full Self-Driving in limited BEta only if you will pay constant attention to the road, and be prepared to act immediately, especially around blind corners, crossing intersections, and in narrow driving situations.”

The release notes also include some comments on “driving visualization improvements” – what Musk called “mind of car” view recently.

Tesla wrote in the notes about the new driving visualization as it applies to Model S and Model X, which are equipped with an instrument cluster screen:

“The driving visualization has been improved to better support Full Self-Driving capabilities. When Full Self-Driving is engaged, the instrument panel will display an expanded visualization to show additional surrounding information. The apps on the left and right side of the instrument panel will be temporarily dismissed and the driving speed, Autopilot availability, Autopilot set speed, and detected speed limit will move to the bottom of the instrument panel.”

Here’s what it looks like on a Model S/X instrument panel:

The change is not as drastic for Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, which don’t have a separate instrument panel and instead, the information listed above is displayed on the center screen.

However, the actual rendering of the visualizations have also improved for all vehicles, including Model 3 and Model Y.

Tesla Full Self-Driving Beta v9 First Drives

The new update is only being pushed to Tesla’s early access program for now. Based on the latest information released by Tesla, the program consists of about 2,000 Tesla owners and the majority are Tesla employees.

Some of them are already posting videos of their first drives with the new version of the software.

Here are a few:

Electrek’s Take

The driving visualization looks like a massive improvement. The lines are much clearer, the intersections are beautifully displayed, and the object detection looks on point.

As for the actual driving behavior, it looks like the testers are seeing some improvements, but the tests have so far being mostly at night and in low traffic situations.

We should expect to see a lot more tests in the next few days with traffic and in more complex intersections to see how the system has improved.

Also of note, Tesla is using neural nets and machine learning systems to improve FSD and a big selling point of this vision-only v9 update is actually the acceleration of the improvement rate.

So what should be more interesting is to see how it improves in the coming weeks as more people use it.


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Phillip Schofield: Ex-This Morning star Dr Ranj Singh criticises ‘toxic culture’ at ITV show and claims he was ‘managed out’

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Phillip Schofield: Ex-This Morning star Dr Ranj Singh criticises 'toxic culture' at ITV show and claims he was 'managed out'

Former This Morning star Dr Ranj Singh has spoken out in the wake of the Phillip Schofield controversy and hit out at the “toxic culture” at the ITV daytime show.

He claimed he was “managed out” after taking his concerns to Emma Gormley, the head of ITV Daytime.

“I was on the show for 10 years and I genuinely loved and valued working there,” he said in a post on Twitter.

“However, over time I grew increasingly worried about things were behind the scenes and how people including myself, were being treated.

“I didn’t know the truth about what was going on with Philip [sic], but I do know the issues with TM [This Morning] go far beyond him. It takes more than one person to create a culture.”

Dr Ranj said he “did what I thought was right” and made a complaint about This Morning editor Martin Frizell’s behaviour, adding “especially given that my job is to look after people’s wellbeing and I had been heavily involved in diversity, anti-bullying and mental health projects across the channel”.

“I then found myself being used less and less,” he said.

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“I even took my concerns directly to the top of ITV: the culture at This Morning had become toxic, no longer aligned with ITV values, and I felt like because I whistle-blew I was managed out.

“But as history and experience have taught us, things like bullying and discrimination are very hard to prove, particularly in hindsight and when the ‘people in power’ control the narrative. As we’ve seen, no review or investigation is foolproof.

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‘No mistakes’ were made says ITV boss

“I haven’t worked on the show since… and I’m not the only one who has spoken up or experienced similar,” he added.

“That was two years ago and, frankly, it still hurts. The whole process was pretty heart-breaking and even affected my mental health. But I’m happy to say I’ve found my feet again, know my worth and have found my tribe.

He continued: “There are some good people in TV, but we need to be brave and stand up to those who aren’t. Even if it’s scary as hell, we have to do the right thing otherwise nothing will change. I sincerely hope something good comes from all this.”

He also added in the post’s caption that “there is so much more” he could say.

An ITV spokesperson earlier confirmed to Sky News they carried out an external review following a complaint made by Dr Ranj, and it “found no evidence to support the complaint of bullying”.

It comes as ITV confirmed that Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary will present the show tomorrow after days of significant revelations about ex-presenter Phillip Schofield’s behaviour and the culture on set.

Last Saturday, Phillip Schofield announced he would be leaving This Morning after 20 years at the helm following reports his relationship with co-host Holly Willoughby had become strained.

Less than a week later, Schofield released a statement admitting an “unwise, but not illegal” affair with a “much younger man” and announced he was stepping down from ITV completely.

He also admitted he lied about the affair to ITV bosses, his agents and the media, resulting in the channel saying the were “deeply disappointed by the admissions of deceit” and the management company YMU Group dropping him.

ITV confirmed on Saturday they had investigated “rumours of a relationship” but the pair repeatedly denied the affair.

Ms Willoughby said the admission was “very hurtful” while other TV personalities including Eamonn Holmes and Andrea Catherwood hit out at ITV executives.

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Phillip Schofield: ITV responds to reports This Morning could be axed – as boss denies mistakes in broadcaster’s investigation

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Phillip Schofield: ITV responds to reports This Morning could be axed - as boss denies mistakes in broadcaster's investigation

An ITV boss has denied mistakes were made in the broadcaster’s investigation into rumours of a relationship between Phillip Schofield and a younger male employee.

Kevin Lygo, director of television at ITV, was approached by Sky News following questions over what bosses knew about Schofield’s conduct.

ITV said it investigated “rumours of a relationship” in 2020 but both Schofield and the employee “repeatedly denied” the affair.

Speaking on Sunday, Lygo declined to comment further, telling Sky News: “Honestly, we’ve made a statement today, yesterday. I think it’s all clear.”

Asked if mistakes were made in the 2020 investigation, he replied: “No.”

ITV has said there are no plans to axe its flagship This Morning show following reports it could be taken off air in the wake of the Schofield controversy.

The veteran TV presenter, 61, quit the broadcaster on Friday and was dropped by his talent agency after admitting he lied about an “unwise, but not illegal” affair with a young male colleague who worked on the programme.

More on Phillip Schofield

Rumours of the relationship had first begun to circulate in 2020.

Denying reports in Sunday’s newspapers about the future of This Morning, an ITV spokesperson said: “As we said on the record yesterday, This Morning is not under review and there’s no plans for the show to be axed.

“This Morning will return as normal tomorrow.”

Read more:
Holly Willoughby accuses Schofield of lying to her
Schofield leaves This Morning after more than 20 years

Timeline of departure and rumours of rift with co-host Holly
Statements from presenter and his agents in full

TV presenter Phillip Schofield with his friend and This Morning co-host Holly Willoughby
Image:
TV presenter Phillip Schofield with his then co-host Holly Willoughby on This Morning

It comes after presenter Holly Willoughby spoke of her hurt after finding out that her former co-host had lied to her about his affair.

Writing on Instagram, she said: “When reports of this relationship first surfaced, I asked Phil directly if this was true and was told it was not.

“It’s been very hurtful to now find out that this was a lie.”

Analysis:
Admission should kill off career – but will star pals stand by him?

Holly Willoughby (left) and Phillip Schofield attending the launch of Dancing On Ice 2020, held at Bovingdon Airfield, Hertfordshire. PA Photo. Picture date: Monday December 9, 2019. See PA story SHOWBIZ Ice. Photo credit should read: Ian West/PA Wire.

Schofield ‘deeply sorry’

In a statement on Friday, Schofield said he was “deeply sorry” for lying about the relationship.

It is understood the younger colleague, who is not a public figure, did not want the relationship to be made public.

The affair took place before Schofield came out as gay in 2020, and while he was still married to his wife, Stephanie Lowe.

In a damning statement, his former agents YMU Group said “honesty and integrity” were core values of their business and that their relationships are “based entirely on trust”.

Schofield, 61, left This Morning last week, amid reports his long-term friendship with Willoughby had come under strain.

Rumours of behind-the-scenes problems between the pair surfaced after his brother Tim Schofield was convicted of child sex offences.

Willoughby is expected to return to This Morning on 5 June.

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Holly Willoughby says Phillip Schofield ‘directly’ lied to her over affair with younger colleague

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Holly Willoughby says Phillip Schofield 'directly' lied to her over affair with younger colleague

Holly Willoughby has said Phillip Schofield lied to her about his affair with a much younger male colleague.

Speaking for the first time since Schofield admitted having an “unwise, but not illegal” affair, his former This Morning co-presenter wrote on Instagram: “It has taken time to process yesterday’s news.

“When reports of this relationship first surfaced, I asked Phil directly if this was true and was told it was not.

“It’s been very hurtful to now find out that this was a lie.”

On Friday, the veteran broadcaster quit ITV and admitted to having an affair with a colleague who worked on This Morning. Rumours of the relationship had first begun to circulate in 2020.

ITV said it had investigated – but both Schofield and the employee “repeatedly denied” the affair.

The broadcaster was forced to issue the statement after questions were raised over what network bosses knew about Schofield’s conduct.

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Fellow former This Morning presenter Eamonn Holmes had said Schofield was “not the only guilty party” and claimed top management “knew what sort of man he was”.

Questions had also been raised about what his co-host, Ms Willoughby knew, something she has now hit back at with her statement.

Schofield, 61, left This Morning last week, amid reports his long-term friendship with Willoughby had come under strain.

The two have been open about their close friendship over the years, including sharing pictures on social media of them while on joint holidays with their families.

Holly made a statement via Instagram Stories. (Pic: Instagram)
Image:
Holly made a statement via Instagram Stories. (Pic: Instagram)

What ITV said

In response to mounting pressure on the broadcaster, an ITV spokesperson said: “Further to our statement last night, ITV can confirm that when rumours of a relationship between Phillip Schofield and an employee of ITV first began to circulate in early 2020 ITV investigated.

“Both parties were questioned and both categorically and repeatedly denied the rumours as did Phillip’s then agency YMU.

Analysis:
Admission should kill off his career – but will his star pals stand by him?

“In addition, ITV spoke to a number of people who worked on This Morning and were not provided with, and did not find, any evidence of a relationship beyond hearsay and rumour.

“Phillip’s statement yesterday reveals that he lied to people at ITV, from senior management to fellow presenters, to YMU, to the media and to others over this relationship.”

Phillip Schofield arriving at St Michael's church, Heckfield in Hampshire, for the wedding of Anthony McPartlin to Anne-Marie Corbett. Ant is one half of the entertainment duo Ant and Dec. Picture date: Saturday August 7, 2021.
Image:
Phillip Schofield in 2021

Schofield ‘deeply sorry’ for lying

In a statement on Friday, Schofield said he was “deeply sorry” for lying about the relationship.

It is understood the younger colleague, who is not a public figure, did not want the relationship to be made public.

The affair took place before Mr Schofield publicly came out as gay in 2020, and while he was still married to his wife Stephanie Lowe.

Read more:
Schofield leaves This Morning after more than 20 years

Timeline of departure and rumours of rift with co-host Holly
Statements from presenter and his agents in full

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Dermot O’Leary asked about Phillip Schofield

In a damning statement, his former agents YMU Group said “honesty and integrity” were core values of their business and that their relationships are “based entirely on trust”.

They have since parted ways with Schofield.

Willoughby is set to return to This Morning on 5 June.

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