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Tag: FSD

  • Tesla Cannot Use ‘Full Self-Driving’ Name in California

    Tesla Cannot Use ‘Full Self-Driving’ Name in California

    Tesla can no longer use “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) to describe its self-driving software in California, following the passage of a new law.

    Tesla has repeatedly come under fire for its FSD, with the software falling short of customers’ expectations. Despite Tesla’s best efforts, FSD is still a ways off from being fully autonomous and California wants to make sure customers understand that.

    According to Teslarati, California passed a law specifically to ensure Tesla’s description of its software is more realistic, after the Department of Motor Vehicles accused Tesla of “false advertising.”

    Below is an excerpt from the legislation, provided by Teslarati:

    “A dealer or manufacturer shall not sell any new passenger vehicle that is equipped with any partial driving automation feature or provide any software update or other vehicle upgrade that adds any partial driving automation feature, without, at the time of delivering or upgrading the vehicle, providing the buyer or owner with a distinct notice that provides the name of the feature and clearly describes the functions and limitations of the feature.”

    “A manufacturer or dealer shall not name any partial driving automation feature, or describe any partial driving automation feature in marketing materials, using language that implies or would otherwise lead a reasonable person to believe, that the feature allows the vehicle to function as an autonomous vehicle, as defined in Section 38750, or otherwise has functionality not actually included in the feature. A violation of this subdivision shall be considered a misleading advertisement for the purposes of Section 11713.”

  • Tesla Raises Price of Full-Self-Driving Software to $15,000

    Tesla Raises Price of Full-Self-Driving Software to $15,000

    Tesla’s Full-Self-Driving (FSD) software has yet to fully live up to its name, but the company is still raising the price 25% to $15,000.

    Tesla is just one of many automakers racing to develop autonomous driving capabilities, but few others have a CEO that is so open about the company’s goals and timeframes. As TheStreet points out, Musk has famously said his company would roll out fully autonomous driving capabilities by the end of the year.

    In keeping with that goal, the company is deploying the latest FSD beta.

    Musk also says the price will increase 25%, from $12,000 to $15,000 for North American buyers.

  • Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Option Gets $2,000 Price Hike

    Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Option Gets $2,000 Price Hike

    Tesla is raising the price of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) option by $2,000, going from $10,000 to $12,000.

    FSD is Tesla’s autopilot program. Like many automakers, the company is working toward autonomous vehicles, although FSD has had its fair share of problems.

    Despite its issues, in a series of tweets, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the price of FSD would be increasing to $12,000.

    “Tesla FSD price rising to $12k on Jan 17. Just in the US. FSD price will rise as we get closer to FSD production code release.” — Elon Musk (@elonmusk), January 7, 2022

    Judging by the response tweets, the news is not going over well with Tesla’s customers.

    https://twitter.com/GalaxyHeroesGHC/status/1479601304540524548
    https://twitter.com/JxffreyP/status/1479591559263920133
    https://twitter.com/SnazzyQ/status/1479726297853022209
  • Full Self-Driving Bug Leads to Recall of 11,704 Teslas

    Full Self-Driving Bug Leads to Recall of 11,704 Teslas

    Tesla is recalling 11,704 vehicles over its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software, adding to the company’s ongoing problems rolling out autonomous vehicles.

    Tesla has been struggling to make FSD live up to the hype. There have been a number of accidents, and lawmakers are calling on the FTC to investigate Tesla’s FSD claims. The company recently had to roll backa recent beta due to issues with the collision system registering fall positives and slamming on the brakes.

    Tesla has now issued a full recall on 11,704 vehicles, describing the issue as “a software communication disconnect between the two on-board chips.”

    A software communication error may, under a certain sequence of events, result in false forward-collision warnings (FCW) and/or automatic emergency brake (AEB) events.

    The issue can result in the type of collision system false positives people have been reporting.

    If the AEB system unexpectedly activates while driving, the risk of a rear-end collision from a following vehicle may increase. We are not aware of any crashes or injuries related to this condition.

    The recall is certain to deal a blow to Tesla’s FSD efforts and will likely lead to additional calls for investigation.

  • Issues Force Tesla to Roll Back Latest Full Self-Driving Update

    Issues Force Tesla to Roll Back Latest Full Self-Driving Update

    Tesla has rolled back its latest Full Self-Driving (FSD) update following errors.

    FSD is Tesla’s attempt at autonomous driving. Despite the company’s advancements, FSD has had a number of high-profile incidents and accidents. The incidents have led senators to call on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate the company’s claims regarding FSD’s capabilities.

    Some users reported issues with the latest beta, with the system warning of an impending crash, despite the car ahead being at a safe distance. The system would even aggressively apply the brakes, creating the possibility of a high-speed accident.

    CEO Elon Musk announced the rollback on Twitter.

  • Tesla Autopilot’s Latest Crash Involved a Police Car

    Tesla Autopilot’s Latest Crash Involved a Police Car

    When you’re trying to convince the world of your autonomous driving software, it’s a good idea not to hit police cars — as Tesla is learning.

    According to The Associated Press, the Tesla in question hit a Florida Highway Patrol cruiser that was pulled over on the side of the road while the trooper helped a disabled vehicle.

    The trooper whose cruiser was hit shortly before 5 a.m. Saturday had activated his emergency lights and was on the way to the disabled vehicle when the Tesla hit the cruiser’s left side and then collided with the other vehicle.

    Tesla is already under scrutiny for its Autopilot and more advanced Full Self-Driving (FSD) software, with US senators calling for the FTC to investigate the company’s claims. In their letter to FTC chair Lina Khan, the senators words were almost prescient:

    “Tesla’s marketing has repeatedly overstated the capabilities of its vehicles, and these statements increasingly pose a threat to motorists and other users of the road.”

    There’s at least one Florida Highway Patrol trooper that would likely agree with that sentiment.

  • Elon Musk: Tesla’s Full Self-Driving ‘Actually Not Great’

    Elon Musk: Tesla’s Full Self-Driving ‘Actually Not Great’

    Elon Musk has admitted that Tesla’s current Full Self-Driving (FSD) software leaves much to be desired, and offered an explanation why.

    Tesla’s FSD is the company’s attempt to build autonomous vehicles. Unfortunately, the reality hasn’t always lived up to the hype. In fact, Consumer Reports demonstrated that FSD is “easily tricked.” Even US Senators are calling for the Federal Trade Commission to launch an investigation into the company’s claims.

    Elon Musk has acknowledged the current version of FSD not very good, and indicated the reason has to do with using the same stack for both highway and city driving, as opposed to using a different stack for each type.

    Hopefully Musk’s optimism is well-deserved and Tesla’s engineers will be able to make significant improvements to FSD.

  • Autonomous Cars Harder to Develop Than Elon Musk Thought

    Autonomous Cars Harder to Develop Than Elon Musk Thought

    Elon Musk has admitted developing autonomous cars is harder than he thought, as the timeline for the latest software update slips again.

    Like most automakers, Tesla is working hard to crack autonomous driving, widely seen as the next big evolution for the auto industry. The company’s software has been criticized for being ‘easily tricked,’ and there have been several high-profile deaths involving Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD).

    When a user poked fun on Twitter over the latest software update missing its deadline, Musk responded, acknowledging the difficulties involved.

    Musk’s admission underscores the challenges companies are facing in their effort to bring the auto industry into the future.

  • Tesla Electronics Tech Six Years Ahead of Competitors

    Tesla Electronics Tech Six Years Ahead of Competitors

    Tesla may not have nearly the size or market penetration of its more established rivals, but the company is years ahead of them in electronics technology.

    Nikkei Business Publication did a teardown of the Tesla Model 3, giving engineers from competitors the opportunity to examine the electronic components. In particular, the teardown looked at the integrated central control unit, the brains of the car. Tesla created the Full Self-Driving (FSD) Computer, or Hardware 3, after finding there were no existing solutions available.

    According to Nikkei, “one stunned engineer from a major Japanese automaker examined the computer and declared, ‘We cannot do it.’”

    As electric vehicles and self-driving cars become the standard, FSD-type hardware will be in high demand and be one of the single most critical components of such vehicles. As Nikkei highlights, however, industry experts don’t expect the technology to be widely used until 2025, giving Tesla a six-year head start.

    Nikkei’s sources claim companies such as Toyota and VW have the technological ability to roll out similar hardware, but feel indebted to the supply chain they have spent decades building up. That supply chain will be devastated by FSD-style hardware that will greatly simplify the electronic design of vehicles, cutting down the number of components needed.

    Tesla has already been credited with a significant advantage in its battery technology, allowing it to spend roughly $50 per kilowatt hour less than competitors. Now with it having an equally significant advantage in its electronics tech, competitors will have to play catchup on multiple fronts—whether for technical reasons or not.