Thousands of drivers will be able to try out Tesla's “Full Self-Driving” technology (despite its name, the cars won't be completely self-driving) for free for a month. CEO Elon Musk said the company is rolling out the feature to compatible vehicles through an over-the-air software update.
musk made an announcement X, formerly known as Twitter. Most of Tesla's recently produced cars are compatible with full self-driving technology, but the feature is not enabled unless you pay a fee. However, many older models cannot receive full self-driving.
Similar to free trials on Amazon, local breweries, Netflix, etc., the goal is to get consumers to pay. Someone might try full self-driving for a month, like it, and order it. At the time of writing, this is one of Tesla's most expensive options. It will add $12,000 to the price of the new Model 3, but owners can also subscribe for between $99 and $199 per month via the infotainment system's touchscreen.
As a bonus, beaming full self-driving to drivers across U.S. roads is expected to provide Tesla engineers with a wealth of data to analyze as they incrementally improve the technology. Fully autonomous driving has undergone numerous advances since its launch.
In what appears to be a leaked internal email, Musk said: instructed Before taking delivery of a new car, the brand's dealers will offer buyers a “short test drive” to give buyers an overview of how fully autonomous driving works. “Few people actually understand how well (monitored) FSD actually works,” he wrote. He added that this is a “strict requirement”. The email said the test drive was mandatory across North America, including Mexico and Canada, but Musk's original post on X said only drivers in the U.S. would receive the one-month trial. It was clearly stated. Many veteran owners who suddenly get this feature probably won't be able to take a test drive demo.