Tesla finally releases ‘Full Self-Driving’ feature, Elon Musk says

‘We’re staring very slow and very cautiously because the world is a very complex and messy place’

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) suite had a limited release on 20 October, 2020, and will roll out wider before the end of the year (Tesla)

Tesla has rolled out its “Full Self-Driving” software to a limited number of owners, CEO Elon Musk has revealed.

The Autopilot update aims to allow journeys from one location to another without the need for driver intervention.

During a quarterly earnings call on Wednesday, Musk said that a small number of users in the US received the update on Tuesday.

“We’re starting very slow and very cautiously because the world is a very complex and messy place,” he said.

“We put it out there last night, and then we’ll see how it goes, and then probably release it to more people this weekend or early next week. Then gradually step it up until we hopefully have a wide release by the end of this year.”

When asked on Twitter whether the feature would roll out to Tesla owners worldwide, Musk replied that the software would need to be trained and tested for different road systems while simultaneously meeting varying regulatory standards.

He tweeted: “So many different traffic signs, rules and languages around the world, not to mention driving on left side of road!"

Musk had previously claimed that the update would begin to be introduced in 2019, after revealing that he had successfully tested it driving between his home and office in California.

The FSD feature costs an extra $8,000 to have installed on a Tesla, however it is likely to increase if the latest roll out proves to be a success.

It makes use of the electric cars’ inbuilt cameras and sensors and is trained on the input data from the roughly 930,000 Tesla vehicles already on the road.

“Having on the order of a million cars that are providing feedback, and specifically feedback on strange corner case situations that you just can’t even come up with in simulation - this is a thing that is really valuable,” Musk said.

Tesla reported a fifth consecutive quarter of profits, prompting the firm’s stock to rise by around 3 per cent immediately following the earnings call.