Tesla Executive Director Elon Musk On Sunday he announced a 25% increase in prices for the company’s premium driver assistance system, which is marketed as Full Self-Driving, or FSD. Musk said in a tweet on Twitter that the price would rise to $15,000 from $12,000 on Sept. 5.
today, Tesla Customers charge $12,000 up front for FSD, or $199 per month on a subscription basis.
Musk did not immediately mention an increase in the cost of FSD subscriptions and Tesla did not respond to a request for more information.
All new Tesla vehicles come with a standard driver assistance package called Autopilot, which includes features such as “traffic-aware cruise control” and “auto routing”. These rely on cameras, other sensors, hardware and software to automatically keep the Tesla centered in its lane and moving at the speed of surrounding traffic.
Tesla’s highest-priced driver assistance option, FSD, includes what the company calls “traffic control, stop sign” and “navigation on autopilot” among its features.
These more advanced features are intended to allow Tesla cars to automatically detect and slow down traffic lights; Navigating from the highway on the ramp to the ramp while the turn signals are engaged; Make lane changes and take exits.
Tesla requires drivers to remain alert and ready to take over steering and brakes at any time while using autopilot or FSD. Its technology does not make Tesla cars autonomous.
One feature called Tesla smart summon It allows drivers to use a smartphone and a Tesla mobile app like a remote control to connect to their vehicle from a parking lot and drive slowly, without anyone behind the wheel, to where they are standing.
While some FSD features are also included in a lower-priced option called Enhanced Autopilot, or EAP, only Tesla customers who purchase or subscribe to the premium option can request access to FSD betaa test version of the Tesla system.
FSD Beta users are supposed to get a high “security score” from Tesla to access and maintain the system.
Tesla’s approach has drawn criticism and regulatory scrutiny from both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
However, the company is going ahead and doing a limited release of the latest FSD Beta, for a relatively small group of users, and Musk also tweeted on Sunday.
Earlier, he wrote on Twitter, “There are several major changes to the code, so this will be a very cautious rollout. It will be released on 8/20 to ~1000 Tesla owners, then 10.69.1 next week to accommodate comments and release to about 10K.” client, then 10.69.2 weeks later and released for the remainder of the FSD Beta”.
Owners with access to the FSD Beta can send feedback to the company via their vehicles when the system fails or behaves in a malfunctioning manner. Tesla previously said 100,000 drivers have already installed the FSD Beta.
Tesla plans to make the FSD Beta more popular.
At the 2022 Tesla Shareholders Annual Meeting on August 4Musk said the FSD Beta will be available to anyone who orders it by the end of this year. Here is a quote from the transcript of the meeting for Thomson Financial:
“We’re still very much on track for a large-scale FSD Beta rollout this year in North America. So basically I have to say, FSD will be available to anyone who orders it by the end of this year.”
Among those receiving the limited update this weekend, social media is widely followed influencers who sell Tesla merchandise and run ad-supported videos on YouTube channels where they review the latest Tesla releases and more.
Since 2016, NHTSA has opened 38 collision investigations involving a Tesla vehicle where driver assistance systems including autopilot and more advanced systems were thought to be a factor. 19 deaths were reported as part of those collisions involving Tesla under investigation.
Separately, California’s DMV recently accused Tesla of Deceptive Marketing Practices In terms of features in its vehicles, it is conducting a technical review of Tesla systems including the FSD Beta.
Ashok Iluswamy, Autopilot Program Manager at Tesla, said on Twitter End of this week That “autopilot prevents about 40 accidents/day where drivers mistakenly press the accelerator pedal 100% instead of the brakes.” Tesla generally does not make data about its systems available to outside researchers to confirm its claims.
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