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Tesla Pulls FSD Inattentive Drivers From Program After In-Car Camera Monitoring

In the final quarter of 2020, Tesla introduced the Full Self-Driving Beta upgrade to Autopilot, in a move the community welcomed with enthusiasm and industry watchers with more than a fair share of skepticism.
Tesla expands FSD Beta to include 2,000 new drivers, reports no accidents so far 20 photos
Photo: YouTube/Whole Mars Catalog
Tesla Autopilot FSD trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles and backTesla Autopilot FSD trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles and backTesla Autopilot FSD trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles and backTesla Autopilot FSD trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles and backTesla Autopilot FSD trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles and backTesla Autopilot FSD trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles and backTesla Autopilot FSD trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles and backTesla Autopilot FSD trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles and backTesla Autopilot FSD trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles and backTesla Autopilot FSD trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles and backTesla Autopilot FSD trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles and backTesla Autopilot FSD trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles and backTesla Autopilot FSD trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles and backTesla Autopilot FSD trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles and backTesla Autopilot FSD trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles and backTesla Autopilot FSD trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles and backTesla Autopilot FSD trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles and backTesla Autopilot FSD trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles and backTesla Autopilot FSD trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles and back
Having regular Tesla owners test out the FSD suite, also known as Autosteer in City Streets, in real-world scenarios, was irresponsible and set a dangerous precedent, it was said. There would be no way to control these drivers while at the wheel of their own cars, and accidents would be a given. It was a nightmare waiting to happen.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is happy to prove critics wrong on most of these counts. Amid heavy criticism from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) that the Full Self-Driving Beta program is a mess, and a dangerous one at it, Musk reports that it has expanded to include some 2,000 new drivers.

As for those saying that testers could do anything at the wheel and no one at Tesla would hold them accountable, it’s not true. Musk also says on Twitter that some of the older testers have been booted from the program for not paying attention to the road. He hints that this was possible because the in-camera car, the one he said in 2019 would serve to see if “someone messes up your car” as part of a planned robotaxi fleet, was used to monitor drivers.

FSD Beta is offered as an Autopilot upgrade for $10,000. As of the time of press, there have been no accidents, despite the overall feeling that almost everyone else outside of the Tesla universe was rooting for the program to fail. “Next significant release will be in April,” Musk says, showing confidence in the strength of the program. “Going with pure vision. This is the way to real-world AI.”



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About the author: Elena Gorgan
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Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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