Tesla’s Autopilot makes it easy for drivers to enjoy their ride since they don’t have to be in full control of driving. All you have to do is switch on the feature, rest your back, and enjoy the ride. But does this system require no human intervention at all? Tesla advises drivers to change certain things after recent encounters with US auto regulators. To find out these changes and how it affects Tesla car drivers, grab a seat and let’s dive right in!
Tesla makes a significant change to its vehicle’s Autopilot
Elon Musk has just recently announced a significant change concerning Tesla. He announced that Tesla will discontinue selling the Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature. Does that mean Tesla owners will no longer use this feature? No. So instead of selling, this feature will be available as a monthly subscription. But why has Elon decided to make this change? No one seems to know.
However, there have been some investigations surrounding Tesla’s driving system. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration started to look into Tesla vehicles equipped with the FSD feature after multiple reports of traffic issues associated with these cars. These investigations aim to check if this feature might be responsible for the issues Tesla might be experiencing.
Drivers who want the FSD feature now have to pay monthly at a cheaper rate
The shift towards the subscription version of this feature has caused a significant drop in price. Normally, you will have to pay as much as $8,000 to get this feature into your Tesla vehicle. Now, drivers who are interested in using this feature only have to pay $99 monthly. The company continues to remind drivers that the FSD feature is only an assistant and not supposed to take full control of driving. Therefore, drivers using this feature and still intend to subscribe must ensure that any time the feature is being used, it is under their supervision. And also, they must be ready to take control of the driving at any time the feature is being used.
Tesla cars face some investigations from the US auto regulators
The United States auto regulators have given Tesla more time to respond to the investigations around the FSD system. Last year, there were about 50 cases of traffic problems with Tesla cars using the feature, similar to the Tesla Cybertruck issues leading to a ban in the UK. Now, they want to probe more into this system so they can know where the problem lies. They want to know FSD feature can violate traffic rules. Tesla has, however, requested that they be given more time to review their records, and this has led to a five-week extension, making the new deadline to be Feburary 23.
Tesla complains that conditions around the investigations might affect the quality of their review
The investigations surrounding Tesla cars with this feature have been intense. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in December requested consumer complaints about their Tesla. It also requested crash data and lawsuits facing the company. Since then, 62 drivers have made their complaints know and they have also received data regarding several crashes. But to progress, they need data from the company.
Tesla, however, complained that they had over 8,000 cars to review and they would need time to produce accurate data. The company said that the original deadline had caused them to rush these reviews, and this might affect the quality of the data they drop for investigations and influence judgment. Despite extending the date of submission of these data, the regulators didn’t say a thing about the quality of the reviews.
The shift of the FSD feature from sale to subscription will start on the 14th of February. Before then, the company would have reviewed every necessary data and submit them for investigations. Drivers are, however, advised to use this feature under strict supervision to make their daily driving easier, just like this Chinese autonomous EV breaking into the European market.
