A choose variety of all-electric Tesla Cybertrucks now have the power to drive on US highways hands-free, after the automaker pushed an replace to automobiles this morning. Tesla AI head Ashok Elluswamy wrote on X that Cybertrucks would be the first Tesla automobiles to obtain the “end-to-end on freeway” driving characteristic, which the corporate says makes use of a “neural internet” to navigate all elements of freeway driving.
“Good work,” Tesla CEO (and X proprietor) Elon Musk responded to his AI chief.
The characteristic seems to be in “early entry,” which means it’s obtainable solely to some Cybertruck house owners who bought the characteristic. It’s unclear when the automaker will launch the characteristic extra extensively. Tesla, which disbanded its public relations staff in 2021, didn’t reply to WIRED’s request for remark.
Tesla house owners’ manuals preserve that the full-self-driving characteristic, or “FSD (Supervised),” ought to be used provided that drivers are being attentive to the highway. The characteristic reportedly turns off if it detects that drivers are wanting elsewhere. Critics have argued that Tesla’s advertising incorrectly leads drivers to imagine that FSD can really drive itself and that the automaker hasn’t been proactive in stopping driver misuse.
Clients who bought base mannequin Cybertrucks early, at preorder, paid $7,000 for entry to the driving characteristic, with some ready nearly a yr for it to be obtainable on their vans. Tesla house owners can now subscribe to the FSD (Supervised) characteristic at $99 per 30 days.
One Cybertruck driver reported on X that, based mostly on driving this morning, the characteristic is “working properly.”
The characteristic’s introduction is a few much-needed excellent news for the Cybertruck, which has confronted a rocky introduction into Tesla’s lineup. The car was delayed for years by the Covid-19 pandemic and by engineering points. (A leaked “alpha” briefing on the car, first reported by WIRED, discovered that the truck had severe points with braking, dealing with, and noise.)
The all-electric truck has additionally been topic to a handful of security remembers, together with one by which the corporate needed to restore or exchange accelerator pedals that had gotten caught.
As extra automakers rush into the electrification race, and Tesla’s large lead in electrical automobiles has been eroded by different producers, Musk and firm appear to consider that “self-driving” options enabled by AI will assist Tesla regain its edge. “The worth of Tesla overwhelmingly is autonomy,” Musk informed traders this summer season.
The US highway security regulator, the Nationwide Freeway Visitors Security Administration, has discovered that Tesla’s Autopilot characteristic, an older and fewer subtle model of FSD, didn’t sufficiently stop drivers from misuse—and was concerned in 13 deadly crashes between 2018 and 2023. After a years-long investigation into Autopilot, final yr Tesla recalled 2 million automobiles with Autopilot. (The automaker stated it didn’t agree with the federal government’s conclusions.)
Earlier this yr, Tesla settled a lawsuit introduced by the household of a Northern California man who died whereas utilizing Autopilot on his Mannequin X.
Tesla additionally faces a category motion lawsuit alleging it misled clients who bought Teslas after Musk promised the automobiles had every thing they wanted to drive autonomously. Eight years later, Tesla has made vital enhancements to its driverless options and has plans to make large bucks off the characteristic—however nonetheless hasn’t produced self-driving expertise.
That might change this month. Musk has promised that Tesla will unveil a self-driving taxi, calling it a Cybercab, at an occasion in Southern California on October 10.
