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In a nutshell: Elon Musk's electric car company has been making some big promises about self-driving tech for years. Now, after launching "Full Self-Driving" in a limited beta back in 2020 stateside, it looks like Tesla is finally getting ready to unleash the system on the roads of Europe and China.
In a post on X/Twitter this week, Tesla announced that the FSD add-on feature is lined up for an international debut in the first quarter of 2025 – at least in those two major markets. But don't get too excited just yet, because that's still "pending regulatory approval" from the relevant authorities. Still, the news was enough to give Tesla's stock price a healthy 6% bump.
To be clear, we're not talking about true autonomous vehicles here. Despite the slightly misleading "Full Self-Driving" branding, Tesla's system still requires an attentive human driver behind the wheel at all times, ready to take over when needed. It's an enhanced version of the company's standard Autopilot system that's already available internationally.
Tesla currently sells an "Enhanced Autopilot" premium upgrade in China, while European customers have access to the base Autopilot features. The upcoming FSD rollout would essentially bring that higher-tier experience to those markets.
– Tesla AI (@Tesla_AI) September 5, 2024Due to popular demand, Tesla AI team release roadmap:
September 2024
- v12.5.2 with ~3x improved miles between necessary interventions
- v12.5.2 on AI3 computer (unified models for AI3 and AI4)
- Actually Smart Summon
- Cybertruck Autopark �"�
- Eye-tracking with sunglasses �*�ï¸Â
-…
Self-driving capabilities have been a central pillar of Musk's mission to position Tesla as an AI-driven mobility company. But hitting the ambitious targets he's set for full autonomy has proven to be a major challenge.
Back in 2016, Musk was already telling investors that Tesla's existing models would be capable of driving themselves before too long. But here we are almost a decade later, and that self-driving utopia has yet to fully materialize. Worse, even as Tesla is still stuck in the incremental improvements phase, some rivals like Waymo have managed to launch commercial robotaxi services in limited areas.
Responding to the announcement, Musk added that right-hand drive markets will "hopefully" get FSD access sometime in late Q1 or early Q2 of next year as well. Again, that's contingent on receiving the regulatory green light.
Beyond expanded availability, the post by Tesla also announced that the next big FSD update is landing in September. It will bring some handy new enhancements like Actually Smart Summon and Cybertruck Autopark and FSD. October will then add unpark, park, and reverse capabilities to FSD.
Masthead credit: Roberto Nickson