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Tesla FSD Should Be Ready for Public Rollout This Year in "Supervised" Form

Tesla’s automated driving system is under scrutiny from regulators and lobby activists, but it appears to make progress nevertheless. During an invite-only conference, Tesla’s chief of Investor Relations, Martin Viecha, said that Tesla FSD would be ready for the broader rollout in the U.S. by the year’s end.
Tesla FSD should be ready for public rollout this year in “supervised” form 8 photos
Photo: @Chazman via twitter
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I wish I had a grand for every occasion Elon Musk promised that the Full Self-Driving suite will be production-ready “by the end of next year.” Next year has become an inside joke for people making fun of Tesla and Elon Musk. Next year we should expect robotaxis to roam the streets, next year we’ll have the Cybertruck, and, of course, the FSD will be ready to take control of our cars starting next year. But despite delays, Elon Musk and Tesla do have a track record of proving skeptics wrong.

Now, Tesla’s automated driving software appears to be almost ready for the wider rollout, as confirmed by Martin Viecha, the head of Investor Relations at Tesla. Viecha provided information about Tesla’s plans for the next five years during an invite-only Goldman Sachs conference. These include battery supply, autonomous driving, manufacturing, and plans for a cheaper Tesla model. Martin Viecha spoke about “supervised” autonomy, which might be a stop-gap between dumb assistance systems and full autonomy.

According to Insider, Viecha thinks the Full Self-Driving system is ready to meet all the Level 4-5 requirements. But the driver would still need to supervise the driving and be responsible for road safety as before. As such, it is not a Level 4 system because the FSD can operate without geofencing, even in areas without map coverage or previous training. And it won’t be a Level 5 either because Tesla does not take responsibility for the FSD software decisions, demanding drivers to remain in control of the vehicle at all times.

Viecha said Tesla will continue to vet drivers based on their driving behavior to achieve this. Those who do not behave responsibly during FSD sessions will lose access to the feature. This is similar to how things work now with the users in the FSD Beta program, who are booted from the program when they accumulate a certain number of computer disengagements. This happens when the FSD software requests driver intervention and the person behind the wheel fails to take control.

Martin Viecha thinks Tesla’s current plan to use mass data collection and AI training is the only way to solve generalized autonomy. Right now, 100,000 beta testers are enrolled in the program, feeding millions of miles driven into Tesla AI computers to analyze. The recent FSD Beta 10.69.2 update is considered a lot better at navigating complex real-world scenarios. However, the software proved overly cautious around pedestrians.
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About the author: Cristian Agatie
Cristian Agatie profile photo

After his childhood dream of becoming a "tractor operator" didn't pan out, Cristian turned to journalism, first in print and later moving to online media. His top interests are electric vehicles and new energy solutions.
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