Electric automaker Tesla has posted a new video showcasing FSD’s hands-free drive demonstration in Austin, Texas.
Video highlights
Tesla apparently aims to showcase the technological advancement of the current Software Version 11.4.7.
The electric vehicle giant indicated the FSD suite’s capability to improve by employing data-driven methods.
Simply put, Tesla uses these data to refine the FSD suite by analyzing driver behavior and navigation habits.
Tesla has been employing Neural Networks to collect fleet data that aid in refining the FSD’s functionalities for better accuracy.
“Via our unique fleet learning approach, we are able to collect anonymized data from our vehicles—meaning the neural nets have learned from a few orders of magnitude more driving scenarios than the average human driver (including unusual & weird ones!).”
Tesla
The video lasted more than 5 minutes, with the Tesla Model S driving through some residential areas before going to main roads, demonstrating lane changes and highway merging capabilities.
Does Tesla allow hands-free, Full Self-Driving?
For those unaware, Tesla has yet to fully refine the Full Self-Driving suite to allow users of hands-free driving. However, the Musk-led company lifted that restriction in the new video posted on social media platform X.
To clarify things, Tesla included a disclaimer during the first five seconds of the video.
“This video shows current driving capabilities of FSD Beta, which began deploying around 8-23-2023 as software update version 11.4.7 or later. For demonstrative purposes, the cabin camera monitoring remained active but the hands-on steering wheel requirement was disabled (customers cannot disable this feature). All drivers must remain attentive and be ready to take over at any time.”
Tesla
That said, the activity in the video is currently not available for Tesla owners. The American automaker might have just shared the video to demonstrate the recent improvements in the FSD development.
The nag-free mode will arrive as soon as Tesla releases the “Elon Mode,” which hacker @greentheonly revealed in early 2023.
Government scrutiny
As Teslarati reported, Tesla’s FSD suite has long been facing government scrutiny, particularly the NHTSA. It even investigated the FSD’s potential involvement in accidents of emergency vehicles.
NHTSA sent Tesla a Special Order in August to provide more data about the FSD and its software updates.
Nonetheless, Tesla continues to develop autonomous driving technology to achieve full autonomy without compromising safety.
Tesla’s FSD remains under SAE’s Level 2 Autonomous Driving. Tesla’s recent improvements accelerate its pace towards more advanced autonomous driving.
See Also:
- Tesla CEO discloses a 6-month timeline for FSD integration on HW4-equipped models
- Tesla CEO live streams FSD Beta test drive on X
- Tesla boss to live stream FSD v12 test drive on X “next week”
- Tesla to launch FSD Beta in China amid data security and spying concerns
- Tesla Chief says FSD v12 Alpha build is “mind-blowing”
Tesla previously announced its target to hit full autonomy for its electric vehicles by the end of this year. Chief Musk also claimed that the automaker has already determined the “final piece of the Tesla FSD AI Puzzle,” which is apparently vehicle control. It would be great to see Tesla EVs driving hands-free without constant nags. It will give Tesla a new source of revenue and boost its vehicle sales.
