Tesla is finally taking its driver assistance software out of its initial testing phase, just days before Elon Musk’s electric vehicle maker is expected to report weak deliveries for the first quarter of 2024.
After years of waiting — and many more years of Tesla toying with driver assistance software, such as Autosteer and Cruise Control — the company unveiled the Full Self-Driving (FSD) Beta program in late 2020. The program, according to Tesla, allows its vehicles to “drive itself almost anywhere with minimal driver intervention,” although it doesn’t make the cars fully self-driving.
The latest update to FSD upgraded it out of “Beta” and into “Supervised,” a largely cosmetic change. What’s different is that much of Tesla’s cautionary language has been removed from the disclaimer shown to drivers before activating the technology, signaling more confidence from the company.
A statement warning drivers that FSD “may do the wrong thing at the worst time” and reminding them to “always keep your hands on the wheel” has been removed. However, the guidelines do remind drivers to “not become complacent” and that the system doesn’t make their cars autonomous.
The update comes as Tesla attempts to drive up the popularity of FSD, which hasn’t been widely adopted by consumers. Just 1,813 cars have upgraded to the latest version of FSD, according to a third-party estimate. Musk has said the $12,000 software would be a moneymaker for Tesla.
Musk last week said Tesla would require employees to install and show customers how to use FSD before finalizing a delivery in North America, in a push to drive up sales. He added that all U.S. cars capable of using the system would have the system enabled for a one-month trial. Tesla has also promised to update FSD every two weeks.
The increased emphasis on FSD is part of Musk’s bid to turn things around for Tesla after a first quarter that one analyst labeled a “nightmare.”
The Austin, Texas-based company is largely expected to miss Wall Street’s expectations for both deliveries and revenue. On Monday, Tesla raised prices along its entire Model Y lineup in China, Europe, and the U.S. The move was announced last month and largely seen as a bid to push consumers to buy a new EV sooner than later.
Analysts from Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley last week trimmed their delivery forecast for Tesla’s first quarter, while a Wells Fargo analyst has called Tesla “a growth company with no growth.” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, a longtime Tesla bull, cut his Tesla price target from $315 per share to $300 per share.
“For Musk this is a fork in the road time to get Tesla through this turbulent period otherwise darker days could be ahead,” Ives said.
On Friday, Tesla said it had produced its six millionth car, despite cutting production in China and a brief shutdown in Germany due to an arson attack. A production line in the company’s Fremont, California, facility is also being updated to handle new Model 3 EVs.
Tesla stock has sunk almost 30% so far this year. As a result, Tesla is no longer one of the top 10 U.S. companies by market capitalization, trailing behind Visa, JPMorgan Chase, and weight-loss drug maker Novo Nordvisk.
For long stretches of the first quarter, it was the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500.