Tesla introduced a beta version of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software in late September 2021, allowing customers to request access with the push of a button. Although the decision has sparked some concerns about the safety of autonomous vehicles, it's a huge step forward for the company and Tesla fans.
FSD Beta is a pre-release version of Tesla's premium FSD software, which can be purchased for a one-time payment of $10,000, or a monthly subscription of $199. However, there is a catch. According to Tesla's website, before a driver receives access to the software, Tesla will calculate their "safety score," which is based on five safety factors.
Tesla Owners Can Now Request Access To Full Self-Driving Beta Pending Eligibility
Tesla reported that the FSD Beta software received seven updates during the final quarter of 2021, and that 60,000 vehicles in the United States are actively testing the software, up from 2,000 in the third quarter of 2021.
In November 2021, Tesla released a Full Self-Driving beta software update for its fleet to test. The Full Self-Driving beta package includes emergency collision avoidance techniques while the car was in "shadow mode", which means the driver was still in charge, but data was being collected for future development. It also improved automated detection of pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcycles, delivering a 20% increase in accuracy.
It's worth noting that FSD Beta is only available to drivers with the highest driving safety ratings, as it requires the driver's undivided attention and the capacity to act at any time.
Drivers Will Be Graded Based On Five Factors For Safety
Tesla employed an insurance calculator that it developed to assign drivers a "safety score" in order to select who should be granted access to the latest 10.2 version of FSD Beta software. This score considers a variety of driving patterns, such as braking, turning, collision alerts and following time, among other things. Those who earned 100 out of 100 available points over the course of a week driving at least 100 miles were invited to download and test the new FSD Beta.
If you find yourself with a score less than 100, there are two ways to enhance it: by achieving greater scores in subsequent drives, or you can wait for your low scores to fall off after 30 days. Your Safety Score is calculated using only the previous 30 days of your driving history. The website Not a Tesla App created a Tesla Safety Score Calculator to help owners.
Tesla Launches A Canada-Specific Safety Score Beta Page
Tesla has developed a Safety Score Beta page for Canada, implying that a wider rollout of FSD Beta in the country is on the way. If Canada's FSD rollout follows the same path as the U.S., drivers will be required to earn a perfect 100 Safety Score for seven days before being allowed to download the software. Tesla will have access to telemetry data during this time and will use its driving behavior calculation to evaluate whether the driver is "good" before releasing the FSD Beta.