Tesla's FSD: Sleeping Behind the Wheel 😴🤯

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Tesla’s Autopilot Era Ends: A Shift Towards Full Self-Driving
Tesla has dramatically altered its approach to driver-assistance technology, discontinuing the basic Autopilot system and refocusing on its more advanced “Full Self-Driving” (Supervised) capabilities following a significant legal challenge. This decision stems from a court ruling in December that determined Tesla had misled consumers for years regarding Autopilot and FSD’s capabilities, leading to a suspension of the company’s California licenses.

Legal Battles and License Suspension
The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) initiated legal action against Tesla, ultimately securing a court ruling that found Tesla engaged in deceptive marketing practices. This resulted in a 30-day suspension of the company’s manufacturing and dealer licenses in California, highlighting serious concerns about the clarity of Tesla’s marketing regarding its driver-assistance systems.

A New Vehicle Configuration: Traffic Aware Cruise Control Only
The changes extend to the configuration of new vehicles, with Tesla now offering only Traffic Aware Cruise Control as a standard feature. Previously combined with Autosteer, this signifies a deliberate move away from the broader Autopilot branding and functionality.

Subscription Model Takes Center Stage
Tesla is also shifting its business model for Full Self-Driving access, abandoning the $8,000 one-time fee. Starting February 14th, FSD access will be exclusively available through a $99 monthly subscription. CEO Elon Musk has indicated that this price will likely increase as the software’s capabilities expand, with a long-term vision of “unsupervised” driving.

Unlocking True Autonomy: The Robotaxi Debut
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software has evolved to a point where drivers can utilize their phones or even sleep during a ride, a capability previously illegal in nearly all states. This advancement enabled the rollout of Tesla’s first robotaxi versions of the Model Y SUVs in Austin, Texas, which operate on an advanced iteration of the driving software and are currently accompanied by company cars for supervision.

Struggles with Adoption and Musk’s Compensation Goal
Despite the launch of the beta version in late 2020, Full Self-Driving adoption has consistently lagged behind expectations, even with CEO Elon Musk’s ambitious goals. Achieving 10 million active FSD subscriptions by 2035 is a critical milestone for Musk, a key component of his $1 trillion compensation package.

Safety Concerns and a Decade of Miscommunication
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that Tesla’s increasingly overconfident performance contributed to hundreds of crashes and at least thirteen fatalities, underscoring the challenges associated with deploying advanced driver-assistance systems. The company’s history is marked by a consistent struggle to clearly communicate the software’s capabilities, frequently overpromising and leading to driver misinterpretations.

Origins and a Long Road to Full Autonomy
Tesla’s journey into driver-assistance technology began in the early 2010s, following unsuccessful negotiations with Google regarding autonomous driving technology developed by Google’s then-emerging autonomous driving division, which subsequently became Waymo. The system was initially introduced as a standard feature on all Tesla vehicles in April 2019.

This article is AI-synthesized from public sources and may not reflect original reporting.