Tesla chief executive Elon Musk has revealed that the electric automaker is expanding the size of its Full Self-Driving program by 10 times, according to The Siasat Daily and The Driven Monday.
Tesla FSD beta currently runs on a version 8.1 software, having been launched in October 2020 to around 1,000 Tesla drivers in California and has been making major improvements ever since.
The software that members of the early access program used has the ability to handle intersections, traffic lights, roundabouts and can also do unprotected left turns. Musk said that an updated version, the 8.2, will be a "step change" beyond that.
"Still be careful, but it's getting mature," The Verge quoted Musk as commenting on Twitter, Friday. He said that Tesla would add a "download beta" button to car displays in the coming days because of "high levels of demand."
The FSD add-on currently has a price tag of $8,000 but Musk has indicated that the price will increase further as new features are added.
Musk has been talking about FSD many times in the last few years, calling it an investment in the future that he expects to become far more valuable once self-driving cars get regulatory approval.
The expansion shows that the Palo Alto, California-based electric vehicle builder is growing confident about the potential of FSDs and could fast-track its development as engineers detect more real-world bugs.
Meanwhile, Tesla has now installed 6,000 Supercharger stations across its key market of China. The milestone was reported by Tesla accessories site, Tesmanian, according to Benzinga.
Last month, Tesla opened a new Supercharger plant just kilometers (miles) away from its Giga Shanghai facility.
With more than 20,000 Superchargers, Tesla now owns and operates the biggest and fast-charging network in the world.
