Whereas the driver's safety score was previously decisive for the availability of the Full Self-Driving Beta, Tesla has now lifted this ban and is making the feature available to anyone who owns a car with the appropriate equipment . Meanwhile, the United States Department of Justice is to investigate Tesla.
Tesla has started the large-scale rollout of the Full Self-Driving Beta, as announced by CEO Elon Musk via Twitter. As a result, the enhanced autopilot can now be requested by anyone in North America via the infotainment system, provided that the appropriate equipment, which includes the FSD computer and cameras only, has been purchased. In the US, Full Self-Driving currently costs $15,000 before taxes, and the price of the feature has recently been raised regularly. In Germany, Tesla is currently asking 7,500 euros for a version that is limited compared to the USA.
Tesla Full Self-Driving Beta is now available to anyone in North America who requests it from the car screen, assuming you have bought this option.
Congratulations to Tesla Autopilot/AI team on achieving a major milestone!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 24, 2022
Safety Score no longer decisive
However, Tesla is not releasing the feature from the beta phase; instead, the customer base is being significantly expanded. The release for everyone comes with the update to version 2022.36.20 and the Full Self-Driving Beta v10.69.3.1. Several users report on Twitter that their vehicles are currently being supplied with the new update. Until now, a driver's high safety score was decisive for participation in the beta. Tesla evaluates driving behavior in areas such as collision warnings, hard braking, aggressive steering, tailgating or autopilot shutdown. A user reports that he has now received the Full Self-Driving Beta, even though the safety score over the last 30 days was only 68 points.
Safety score doesn't matter. I had a 68 and got beta 😂. I'll be safe on beta tho. pic.twitter.com/Xj274rSIKr
— Adnan Shaikh (@sh98538914) November 24, 2022
Autopilot is offered in three levels
Tesla currently offers three levels of Autopilot: Autopilot (standard), Enhanced Autopilot and Full Self-Driving Capability. The base package comes with Traffic-Aware Cruise Control, which adapts the vehicle's speed to that of surrounding traffic, and Autosteer, which assists in steering “in a clearly marked lane” using Traffic-Aware Cruise Control. Selecting Enhanced Autopilot adds Lane Change Assist, Navigate on Autopilot (Beta), Autopark, Summon, and Smart Summon. The “Full Self-Driving Capability” also offers a traffic and stop sign assistant (beta) and should also include a city steering assistant “in the near future”. All variants require active monitoring by the driver and are therefore Level 2 systems. In the USA, where the FSD Beta can be tested with active surveillance without hands on the wheel, the system corresponds to Level 2+ investigate Tesla
Full Self-Driving is repeatedly criticized and has been linked to several accidents. In late October, Reuters, citing several anonymous sources, reported that the United States Department of Justice has been investigating Tesla since last year after dozens of crashes, some of them fatal. The autopilot should be the focus of the investigation. During the ordering process, Tesla points out that the feature requires constant monitoring by the driver and in no way makes the vehicle autonomous. This clause could pose challenges for the Justice Department in further action against Tesla. The aim is to determine whether unsubstantiated claims regarding the assistance systems have been made to consumers, investors and supervisory authorities.