Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, stated that the Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta release should be made available to everyone who bought it by the end of the year as the software continues to be developed and enhanced. This was stated at Tesla's webcast discussing Q3 2022 financials.

The FSD software from Tesla is not an entirely autonomous driving system, despite its name. Currently, a variety of cutting-edge driver aids allow for hands-free driving while still requiring a fully alert driver who is ready to take over at any time.

Musk, on the other hand, appears to be growing increasingly confident in FSD's skills. Musk stated that as advancements are made on a regular basis, "you will almost never have to touch the vehicle controls" while the vehicle is in operation.

He also stated that he expects Tesla will have enough data by next year to persuade authorities that FSD is far safer than a human-driven vehicle.

"We almost are there," Musk said.

At the moment, about 160,000 Tesla owners have access to FSD's capabilities. This figure increased from 100,000 owners in September.

According to Tesla, there have been 35 software releases of FSD. During a Q&A session following its recent AI Day presentation. Paril Jain, Tesla's technical head for Autopilot motion planning, showed how FSD has improved in specific interactions and can make "human-like" decisions.

For example, when a Tesla makes a left turn into an intersection, it can choose a path that avoids colliding with impediments such as people crossing the street.

According to a recent survey, about one in four Tesla Autopilot users said they felt "comfortable" regarding their vehicles as fully autonomous, despite the fact that those technologies officially fall far short of that description.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's survey data offers fresh insights into how users of advanced driver assistance (ADA) technologies truly view the technology. In general, ADA system users were more likely than non-users to engage in non-driving activities like eating or texting while behind the wheel.

If it does, Musk's earlier projections for this expansion would be accurate. However, it's unclear how many people have actually bought the software.

Tesla has constantly increased the cost of adding FSD's beta features to a purchased vehicle since its release. The cost increased to $15,000 in September, roughly double the expense from two years ago. It's unclear whether Tesla plans to hike its pricing again at this time.