Tesla CEO Elon Musk: All New Deliveries to Get Full Self-Driving Demo
Tesla has long faced questions about the driver monitoring systems it employs to keep people in line when using its advanced assistance systems. Despite that, CEO Elon Musk has mandated that all new Tesla models come with a Full Self-Driving (FSD) Beta demo, seemingly ignoring the scrutiny in favor of selling more services to customers.
The Level 2 system requires the driver’s attention all the time but offers a surprising level of autonomy. While this edict might push more people to pay for the feature, it will also give Tesla much more data to study, which will make FSD better. If the new owners do decide to pay for the tech, it costs $12,000 up front or $200 a month. Though we’ve heard a lot about the feature in the news, Electrek pointed out that the data suggests Tesla could be seeing a less than 20 percent take rate for FSD in North America.
Musk also wants delivery workers to take owners on a short test drive to demonstrate FSD and its capabilities. That’s a departure from the current process, which can take just minutes in some cases, with the Tesla delivery driver pointing owners to the instructional videos in the vehicles’ infotainment system to learn how to use the tech.
This move will likely increase Tesla’s profits, but it will also increase its delivery times. The automaker has aggressive sales and delivery targets, so it seems like anything that would slow the process down would be viewed unfavorably, especially as we near the end of the first quarter of 2024.
[Image: Tesla]
Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.
Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.
More by Chris Teague
Comments
Join the conversation
Nobody is going to engage FSD with me in the car. I will get out, find another way back to the place of origin, and not buy.
FSD is two things: (1) consumer fraud, and (2) poisoning the well for automated driving, which, if developed under the direction of non-psychopathic people, could and should be a substantial safety improvement.
A "self-driving" system that I have to babysit waiting for the corner case where it messes up is more stressful than actual driving.
Gotta admire the guy for doubling down. He must have sold a big chunk of Tesla stock recently.
I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.
The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.
I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.
I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.