Tesla has released the new beta version of its Full Self-Driving feature less than two weeks after the initial rollout. According to Elon Musk, the latest OS bump will improve the AI-aided driving experience and that users should notice significantly reduced intervention.
Tesla delivered the software update as Version 2020.40.8.12 and those who took part in FSD's early access program should be ready to access it. From the time that the phased deployment was started in October, the automaker has collected the data required to code in improvements to Tesla's take on autonomous driving, and Musk said the new OS amounts to a smoother experience.
The Tesla CEO boasted that the new FSD beta will cut down the required intervention from drivers by up to 33%.
"This update addressed several issues, resulting in perhaps ~1/3 fewer interventions. Many of the improvements consist of fixing silly bugs vs grand eureka moments. True for most beta releases in my experience," Musk said, and per the report from Electrek.
Still, Tesla has reiterated that when using FSD, users must be ready to take back full control of the electric vehicle as Musk admitted that errors will continue to exist with the feature. The company chief said faults will be part of the AI driving experience but Tesla will endeavor to minimize the likelihood of such mistakes happening.
So, while FSD remains in the evolving stage, beta testers are advised to keep their hands on the wheel and be ready to take charge in case the self-driving feature starts acting up.
Musk also indicated that the latest beta release will be followed by more frequent deployments in the coming weeks. According to Teslarati, the estimates provided by Musk pointed to FSD beta getting out every five to 10 days moving forward.
It is understood that the frequent beta deployment mode is adopted to speed up the process of FSD reaching near-perfect status. As the automaker has stated in the past, the more FSD information delivered to the Tesla server the better the navigational experience will be.
The realistic goal set for FSD is a wide release by the end of 2020 but judging from the social media reports shared by early users in the past few weeks, it seemed unlikely that Tesla will hit the target. At best, FSD is expected to become official but users will still need to be on guard while trying out the AI-driven feature.
Interestingly, Tesla has decided to charge more ahead of FSD's full version release. The price tag is now at $10,000 and the bump appeared to indicate that the complex driving capabilities stuffed with the suit prompted the company to spend more. Tesla is just trying to recover portions of the expenditure so far, analysts said.
