Tesla is providing a free one-month trial of its “Full Self-Driving” software (which, despite a misleading name, does not allow the car to drive itself) to all owners of cars capable of using it.
CEO Elon Musk made the announcement on his X social media site (formerly known as Twitter). The free trial will roll out as a software update this week.
Full Self-Driving is one of three driver assistance programs Tesla sells.
Related: Self-Driving Cars – Everything You Need to Know
Autopilot is standard on all Tesla models, though it has sometimes been an added-cost option. It includes an intelligent cruise control that matches the car to the speed of the surrounding traffic. A lane-centering function helps keep the vehicle in the center of its lane.
Enhanced Autopilot is a $6,000 option. It adds navigating highway on- and off-ramps and interchanges on top of what Autopilot can do. It also adds a self-parking system and includes a “summon” function that lets owners call the car to them at parking lot speed from nearby.
Full Self-Driving Capability is currently a $12,000 option, though drivers have paid up to $15,000 at times. Tesla says it will read and react to traffic lights and stop signs and steer around some turns with the driver’s “active supervision.”
Tesla considers Full Self-Driving in “beta testing” and requires users to sign a waiver to engage it.
It has been controversial. In 2022, federal safety officials forced a massive recall that reined in some of its more aggressive features. Few in the automotive press conduct any sort of testing of self-driving systems. However, a Consumer Reports study has found Tesla’s automation systems to be just the eighth most effective currently available.
The effort will likely help sell a few subscriptions, though. And TechCrunch notes that, by expanding access, Tesla will collect more data to train its neural nets. “But it also means the software could wind up in the hands of significantly more people who may not pay as close attention to the company’s instructions that drivers need to supervise the software at all times, and be ready to take over if something goes wrong.”
