Tesla has granted more US owners access to the company’s infamous Full-Self Driving (FSD) beta.
Owners are able to sign up and join a queue for the Early Access Program (EAP) by pressing a ‘Beta download button’ available on the latest Version 10.1 Tesla software.
They then need to go through and pass a series of driving behaviour tests over seven days before being able to access the beta feature.
Testers receive a score out of 100 depending on their driving behaviour and the score is made up of different criteria including forward collision warnings, hard braking, aggressive turning, unsafe following and forced Autopilot disengagements.
Before all this, Tesla customers are required to purchase the FSD Capability option which costs US$10,000 in the US and $10,100 in Australia.
Tesla in the US is also offering the option through a subscription model starting from US$99 (AU$136) for Tesla vehicles equipped with the discontinued Enhanced Autopilot feature.
A report by Vice indicated members of the EAP are required to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) that persuades them to be careful about what they post about the FSD beta.
“Share on social media responsibility and selectively… consider sharing fewer videos, and only the ones that you think are interesting or worthy of being shared,” the NDA reportedly discloses.
“Do remember that there are a lot of people that want Tesla to fail.”
Testers are known to broadcast everything that the FSD beta does in the form of YouTube videos. In the past there have been a number of videos appearing online that showcase the FSD beta failing.
“Tesla doesn’t want us sharing clips from the videos, just like when it looks good because they know people take it out of context,” said Galileo Russel, a Tesla investor who is a part of the EAP.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk says there has been good feedback from the Version 10 FSD beta tests leading up to the release of the Version 10.1 software.
Australian customers don’t have access to the FSD beta yet.
A Full Self-Driving Capability option is currently available on new Australian Tesla vehicles, which brings semi-autonomous highway driving with lane changing, automatic parking with a summoning feature, as well as traffic light and stop sign recognition.
If Tesla owners don’t pay for this option they still get adaptive cruise control, but miss out on the above features.
All Tesla models, including the Tesla Model S, Model X and Model 3 have the company’s so-called ‘Full Self-Driving computer’ designed to eventually offer hands-free driving when the owner pays for the option.
It’s still uncertain when the full FSD suite will make its way to Australian shores.
CarExpert has reached out to a Tesla spokesperson for comment.
