Tesla is currently offering its customers in the US a one-month trial of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology, as announced by CEO Elon Musk and the company’s website. According to emails verified by a Tesla source, Tesla staff are required to provide demonstrations of FSD to new buyers and owners of serviced vehicles. This move comes as Tesla faces pressure on sales and margins due to price competition and softening demand.
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature is an add-on that costs $12,000 and allows vehicles to navigate city streets. However, it’s important to note that Tesla refers to its driver-assisting systems as Autopilot and Full Self-Driving, but emphasizes that these features do not make their vehicles completely autonomous and still require active driver supervision. Despite years of promises from Musk regarding achieving full autonomy, Tesla’s driver assistant software is being closely scrutinized for safety and marketing compliance by regulatory agencies.
This one-month trial will be available for all US cars capable of FSD this week, including new sales of models X, S, and Y. The company’s margins have been impacted by a price war with rivals that began over a year ago and the company has warned of lower sales growth this year as it focuses on production of its next-generation EV, codenamed “Redwood.”
In addition to facing regulatory scrutiny in the US and some European countries, Tesla also had to recall nearly all of its 2 million vehicles on US roads in December to install new safeguards. This action reflects the company’s commitment to addressing safety concerns and improving the performance of its self-driving systems.
