Elon Musk has announced that Tesla will enable the addition of more beta testers for Full Self-Driving and add a “download now” button to the computer display on Tesla vehicles.
“Still be careful, but it’s getting mature,” he said of the software in one of the tweets that are typical for announcing a new development for Tesla. The company still seems to lack a marketing team for formal announcements.
Tesla had opened a limited beta for Full Self-Driving in October. Its continues to use real-time driving data from users to make improvements to its AI and plans to bring a supercomputer that can improve the automatic labeling of objects online in late 2021.
Even with constant improvements, the company recommends staying alert while driving with Full Self-Driving activated. The software still may not be able to handle unexpected events like another driver suddenly cutting into the vehicle’s lane. Tesla vehicles have been involved in a few wrecks and the company says that complacency on the part of the owners could have been a contributing factor.
Musk mentioned that he calls it a beta version to “reduce complacency in usage and set expectations appropriately. All software is first tested by Tesla simulation and QA drive teams.”
The beta version currently has about 1,000 users. Musk says that users will be added on a region-by-region basis with the speed of regulatory approval and internal testing as possible limiting factors. Vermont, for instance, recently passed a bill favoring the testing of autonomous vehicles on public roads, although it will likely still need local approval.
Musk does seem to have a habit of getting into spats with regulators and government officials whom he sees as overreaching their authority, including a sharp tweet aimed at the FAA following the explosion of the Starship prototype SN8 and resulting FAA investigation. He also got into fights with Californian officials over what he calls the state’s overly heavy-handed response to COVID-19, which forced him to temporarily close the Gigafactory in the state, and ultimately moved to Texas.
Musk does seem to anticipate that self-driving vehicles will become seen as the norm instead of an exception in the not-so-distant future, though. In a bid to increase the potential demand for Full Self-Driving and similar driver assistance programs, he recently revealed plans to add a subscription model for Full Self-Driving and reintroduced Enhanced Autopilot in the European and Chinese markets. He also hinted at talks with other automakers to license Full Self-Driving. Some forecasters say that as many as 60% of vehicles on the road could have some level of automation by 2050.
Tesla’s Director of AI, Andrej Karpathy, said in a tweet that Tesla owners interested in the beta version of Full Self-Driving should send an email to [email protected].
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