What just happened? There have been a few developments relating to Tesla's Full Self Driving (FSD) technology over the last 24 hours. First was the news that Elon Musk wants Tesla employees to show North American customers how to use FSD Beta before completing a delivery. Then it was revealed that Teslas in the US will get a free trial of FSD for one month starting later this week.
In an internal memo seen by Bloomberg, Musk told Tesla employees that it is now a "hard requirement" for staff to install and demonstrate the FSD Beta driver-assistance technology before handing over cars to customers.
Tesla workers have been told to perform a "short test ride" with customers to show off the system. Musk wrote that almost no one realizes how well FSD works. He also acknowledged that the demo process will slow down deliveries.
In another attempt to convince more people to buy the FSD package, Tesla is now offering a free one-month trial of the system for new purchases and existing owners. Teslarati reports that the company has already updated its configurator page for the Tesla Model Y, Model X, and Model S, though the offer doesn't appear on the Model 3 order page.
"All U.S. cars that are capable of FSD will be enabled for a one-month trial this week," Musk said in a post on social media platform X.
All US cars that are capable of FSD will be enabled for a one month trial this week
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 26, 2024
Tesla is currently rolling out version 12 of FSD Beta, which costs $12,000 or a $200-a-month subscription. Researchers estimate that about 14% of Tesla customers bought the FSD package in the third quarter of 2022, down from a record high of 53% in the third quarter of 2019, which likely explains the new promotion push.
Musk previously called FSD Beta v12, which has experienced several delays, "mind-blowing." It includes "end-to-end neural nets," which involves training the network on millions of video clips – the technology had a more limited role in previous versions, with many vehicle responses pre-programmed for specific scenarios.
FSD Beta v12 is still a Level 2 system. According to the SAE levels of driving automation, that means drivers must constantly supervise the support features, pay attention to the road, and be ready to take over at any time.
The EV market is going through a tough period right now as the vehicles' high prices put off many potential buyers. Researchers predict that Tesla will report a decline in year-on-year deliveries for the first quarter.