Tesla on Friday discontinued its driving assistance system, Autopilot, from all its new Model Y and Model 3 vehicles in the U.S. and Canada. The firm stated that the initiative aims to boost the company’s adoption of a more advanced version of its Full-Self Driving (Supervised) technology.
The decision follows a 30-day suspension of its manufacturing and dealer licenses in California last month. In December, the California DMV accused the tech company of engaging in deceptive marketing by overstating the capabilities of its driving assistance system and FSD for years. A judge gave Tesla 60 days to adhere to the rules by discontinuing the Autopilot name.
Tesla’s new cars come standard with Traffic Aware Cruise Control
The driving assistance system included Traffic Aware Cruise Control and Autosteer; however, the company’s online configuration site shows that new cars now come standard only with Traffic Aware Cruise Control. The firm stated that the new capabilities will ensure cars maintain a designated speed while keeping a safe distance from cars ahead. The tech firm has not yet confirmed if current customers will be affected by the change.
Cryptopolitan reported last week that Tesla also revealed plans to stop charging a one-time $8,000 fee for the FSD software starting February 14. The change will enable customers to access FSD through a $99 monthly subscription.
Elon Musk revealed on Thursday that the subscription price will increase as the software’s capabilities improve. Musk is confident that new cars will enable unsupervised driving, despite texting while driving being illegal in almost all U.S. states.
Tesla introduced the first robotaxi versions of its Model Y SUVs on Thursday in Austin, Texas. Musk revealed that the new cars will have no human safety monitoring personnel. He also called for those interested in solving real-world AI to join Tesla AI. The techpreneur argued that solving real-world AI for Optimus will be 100 times harder than cars.
The electric car manufacturer launched its robotaxis in Texas last June, which came with a safety operator in the front passenger seat. Tesla’s AI lead, Ashok Elluswamy, also revealed that not all cars will be fully driverless. Tesla confirmed that the new cars run a more advanced version of its driving software and still follow the firm’s oversight.
Tesla aims to hit 10 million active FSD subscribers by 2035
Musk has consistently maintained that adoption of Full Self-Driving software lags his expectations since the beta version launched in late 2020. The firm’s Chief Financial Officer, Vaibhav Taneja, revealed in October that only 12% of all customers had paid for the software. He also stated that Tesla’s product goal is to hit 10 million active FSD subscriptions by 2035. He said the initiative aims to align with Musk’s requirement to receive the full payout of his new $1 trillion pay package.
Tesla introduced the FSD feature in the early 2010s after partnering with Google’s autonomous-car division to leverage its technology. The car manufacturer made Autopilot standard on all of its vehicles in April 2019.
Tesla has struggled with revealing Autopilot’s capabilities since introducing the software more than a decade ago. The lack of communication and overpromised statements by Tesla led some drivers to become overly confident in the system’s abilities, resulting in hundreds of crashes.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that the company’s EVs have been involved in hundreds of crashes and at least 13 fatalities. The agency argued that Tesla’s weak driver engagement system was not appropriate for Autopilot’s permissive operating capabilities.
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Source: https://www.cryptopolitan.com/tesla-scraps-autopilot-self-driving-software/
