On Tuesday night, Tesla rolled out the beta version of its new Autopilot FSD (Full Self-Driving) software to a small group of Tesla owners in the U.S.
As its name suggests, Autopilot FSD is supposed to allow a car to drive itself in most road conditions with no human intervention. Specifically, the beta version enables a vehicle to “make lane changes off highway, select forks to follow your navigation route, navigate around other vehicles and objects, and make left and right turns,” according to Tesla’s release notes.
Tesla recently rewrote the entire software stack for FSD features. So the system’s neural network requires a large amount of testing to improve performance. Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted on Tuesday that the beta rollout “will be extremely slow and cautious, as it should.” And Tesla urged drivers to use the system with additional caution. “It may do the wrong thing at the worst time, so you must always keep your hands on the wheel and pay extra attention to the road,” the company said in release notes.
At least two selected Tesla owners have shared their first impressions of FSD on Twitter. Below is a compilation of short videos showing how the software drives a Tesla car at crossroads, next to pedestrians, at roundabouts and in other road conditions.
What the user interface looks like
Make a right turn
Make a left turn
Navigate a roundabout
Yield to other cars and pedestrians
If the beta testing goes well, Tesla plans to expand FSD to all Tesla customers in the U.S. by the end of the year. International rollout may need to wait a bit longer due to country-specific traffic rules and driving habits.
“So many different traffic signs, rules and languages around the world. Not to mention driving on the left side of the road!” Musk tweeted Thursday.
