Upgraded Tesla Autopilot Interface Considered Through Unreal Engine Integration
Tesla is transitioning its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) visualization system from the lightweight, open-source Godot engine to Epic Games' Unreal Engine, as revealed by Tesla firmware version 2025.20 for Model S and Model X vehicles with AMD chips [1][2][4][5].
This shift brings several notable benefits:
- Much more detailed, smoother, and lifelike visuals: Unreal Engine is a world-class, high-fidelity graphics engine used in blockbuster video games and immersive simulations, enabling photorealistic rendering, advanced lighting effects, and dynamic, real-time updates. This can create a richer visual representation of the driving environment [1][2][4].
- Improved driver confidence: Enhanced and more precise graphics better reflect the real world, highlighting important safety-related objects (crosswalks, road signs, potholes, speed bumps) and allowing greater interaction—like a more detailed, interactive vehicle avatar—which can improve how drivers interpret the car's autonomous capabilities [1][4][5].
- Potential for 3D map integration: Moving to Unreal Engine may enable upgrades such as 3D visualizations on platforms like Google Maps and Apple Maps, offering a more immersive navigation experience [3].
- Industry alignment: Tesla joins a growing group of automakers (Rivian, Ford, GMC, Volvo, Lotus) adopting the Unreal Engine for next-generation vehicle displays, signaling a push towards premium in-car experiences amidst rising competition in autonomous driving technologies [3][4].
The update also contains multiple personalities for Tesla's in-car Grok AI assistant. The new UI could offer a more immersive and realistic experience for Tesla drivers, with the potential for the new graphics to extend to the entire infotainment system, including navigation and media playback.
However, activating the new visualization on the instrument cluster has proven tricky, and Tesla hasn't officially confirmed the switch to Unreal Engine. If history is any indication, Tesla will likely continue refining and expanding the upgrade to more vehicles over time.
The upgrade is currently in its early stages, with the new visualization only available for AMD-based Model S and Model X vehicles [1][2][3][5]. The use of Unreal Engine in the update suggests potential for sharper visuals, smoother animations, and weather simulation in Autopilot displays, a new feature that could be enabled by the shift to Unreal Engine.
The change was first spotted by Tesla firmware sleuth @greentheonly, and the Unreal Engine binaries started shipping with software update 2025.20. The new six-seat Model Y variant and Grok AI assistant personalities are part of the updates Tesla is quietly working on.
This significant graphical overhaul aims to deliver more sophisticated, immersive, and informative visualizations for Autopilot and FSD, enhancing both aesthetics and functional clarity inside the vehicle. If successful, it could mark Tesla's biggest in-car UI leap in years.
- The shift from Godot engine to Epic Games' Unreal Engine in Tesla's Autopilot and Full Self-Driving visualization system could result in more detailed, smoother, and lifelike visuals, as Unreal Engine is renowned for its high-fidelity graphics and real-time updates.
- This transformation potentially brings improvements in driver confidence, as enhanced graphics provide a more accurate representation of the driving environment, making it easier for drivers to understand the car's autonomous capabilities.
