Elon Musk says Tesla is doubling the size of its Beta Full Self-Driving program with an impending new update.
The next one could see the size of the test fleet increase by a factor of 10.
In October 2020, Tesla began pushing a Beta Full Self-Driving version for owners of the “Early Access” program, a group of Tesla owners who test early versions of Tesla’s new features before a broader release for the fleet.
The software update was seen as an important step for Tesla to fulfill its promise to make its vehicles “fully autonomous” through software updates over the air.
Although the update does not result in a truly autonomous vehicle, since the responsibility is still with the driver, which Tesla still needs to stay tuned and ready to take control at all times, it closes the gap with the driver’s direction Tesla’s automatic on-road features and allow Tesla’s driver assistance system to control the vehicle on city streets and through intersections.
Tesla owners using the FSD beta are able to give the car a destination and the vehicle will attempt to drive them there autonomously with the driver keeping their hands on the wheel and ready to take control.
Since the first beta version with early access, Tesla has released several new versions of the beta software and gradually opened the beta version to more owners, but has not yet had a broader version and the release of new versions has declined during the last month or two .
Earlier this week, Musk linked a broader release of the FSD beta to an updated version of the software next month.
Now, the CEO said that the number of Tesla owners testing the Full Self-Driving Beta will double with a new update:
“If you want the Tesla Full Self-Driving Beta to be downloaded to your car, let us know. Doubling the size of the beta program now with 8.2 and probably 10X with 8.3. Still be careful, but it’s maturing. “
Last month, Musk revealed that there are more than 1,000 Tesla owners currently testing the FSD beta.
Tesla uses the test fleet to deliver real-world data to its neural network and improve performance.
The CEO did not elaborate on the timing of these two new versions of the FSD Beta software, but they are likely to come next month, as he mentioned earlier this week.
Over the past few months, Musk has said several times that he feels confident that Tesla will launch a fully autonomous tier 5 system by the end of 2021.
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