Tesla Says Unsupervised FSD May Reach Consumer Vehicles as Early as Q2 Next Year

Tesla said fully self-driving capability that does not require human supervision could be introduced to consumer vehicles as early as the second quarter of next year.

Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s vice president in charge of autonomous driving, said on an Oct. 21 conference call that the software used in the Cybercab and the Model Y is the same. He added that Tesla could soon provide customers with the same software through its V15 update. That would mean introducing unsupervised FSD, allowing drivers to stop continuously monitoring road conditions, as with the Cybercab.

A software update alone will not make unsupervised FSD available in every vehicle. Elluswamy said customers would need to register their Model Y in a designated geofenced area and in the vehicle management system. The company appears to plan to test unsupervised FSD first within an operational design domain, or ODD, where the autonomous driving system can operate safely.

If unsupervised FSD is introduced in regular Tesla electric vehicles, users could drive the cars when needed and otherwise put them to work as robotaxis to generate income.

Tesla is also rapidly expanding its robotaxi business. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said the number of Cybercab vehicles in Austin has increased tenfold since the service launched a month ago.

Kim In-yeop, Silicon Valley correspondent, Korea Economic Daily, inside@hankyung.com