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 options to obtain the “end-to-end on freeway” driving function, which the corporate says makes use of a “neural web” to navigate all elements of freeway driving.
“Good work,” Tesla CEO (and X proprietor) Elon Musk responded to his AI chief.
The function seems to be in “early entry,” which means it’s solely obtainable to some Cybertruck homeowners who bought the function. It’s unclear when the automaker will launch the function extra broadly. Tesla, which disbanded its public relations crew in 2021, didn’t reply to WIRED’s request for remark.
Tesla homeowners’ manuals keep that the full-self driving function, or “FSD (Supervised)”, ought to solely be used if drivers are taking note of the highway. The function reportedly turns off if it detects that drivers are trying elsewhere. Critics have argued that Tesla’s advertising and marketing incorrectly leads drivers to imagine that FSD can actually drive itself, and that the automaker hasn’t been proactive in stopping driver misuse.
Clients who bought base mannequin Cybertrucks early, at pre-order, paid $7,000 for entry to the driving function, with some ready virtually a yr for it to really be obtainable on their vehicles. Tesla homeowners can now subscribe to the “FSD (Supervised)” function at $99 per 30 days.
One Cybertruck driver reported on X that, primarily based on driving this morning, the function is “working properly.”
The function’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 the truck had severe points with braking, dealing with, and noise.)
The all-electric truck has additionally been topic to a handful of safety recalls, together with one during which the corporate needed to restore or substitute accelerator pedals that had gotten caught.
As extra automakers rush into the electrification race, and Tesla’s big 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 advised traders this summer season.
The US’ highway security regulator, the Nationwide Freeway Visitors Security Administration, has found that Tesla’s Autopilot feature, 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 vehicles with Autopilot. (The automaker mentioned 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 class action lawsuit alleging it misled prospects who bought Teslas after Musk promised the automobiles had the whole lot they wanted to drive autonomously. Eight years later, Tesla has made vital enhancements to its driverless options, and plans to make huge bucks off the function—however nonetheless hasn’t produced self-driving know-how.
That would change this month. Musk has promised that Tesla will unveil a self-driving taxi, known as a “Cybercab,” at an occasion in Southern California on October 10.
