According to the latest timeline, Tesla could be just two weeks away from its wider release of its Full Self-Driving Beta.
The prospect of the software update going to more people is both scary and exciting at the same time.
Last month, Tesla started to release its first Full Self-Driving Beta software update to a limited group of owners to test the feature.
The feature enables autonomous turns on city streets and links to Tesla’s Navigate on Autopilot features, delivering a virtually feature-complete self-driving system except for the fact that drivers need to constantly monitor it and be ready to take control at all times.
It’s the very first version of Tesla’s long-promised self-driving capability that they have been selling for years through their “Full Self-Driving package.”
Currently, it is only being tested in Tesla’s early access program for a limited group of owners, but CEO Elon Musk has been guiding that it will be expanded to the wider fleet by the end of the year.
Now Musk says that Tesla could be ready to do a wider release in about two weeks:
However, the CEO didn’t specify how wide the update is going to be and if it’s only in the US.
Musk also said that Canada could get the new features in December.
Electrek’s Take
This is both exciting and terrifying.
It’s exciting because it was supposed to happen in 2018, 2019, earlier this year.
It’s terrifying because it’s still an early version of the software and accidents are virtually inevitable as more people use it, even if the software proves to be safer than human drivers, as the fleet-wide use reaches millions and eventually billions of miles.
Tesla also needs these billions of miles to prove to authorities that its system is safer than humans in order to be authorized as a truly autonomous driving system without driver monitoring.
That could still take years.
In the meantime, as the automaker pushes the update to more people, it’s important to keep in mind that the cause of many accidents on Autopilot is due to drivers becoming complacent with the highway driver-assist system and not paying attention.
It’s important to always stay attentive and be ready to take control at all times.
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