Amidst its ongoing financial struggles, Tesla is reducing
the subscription fee for its Full Self-Driving (FSD) driver-assist software. The
fee has been cut down from $199 a month to $99 a month.
The FSD is Tesla’s level 2 driver-assist system, that the
company describes as FSD (Supervised), emphasizing that the drivers are
required to pay attention to the road and stand ready to take control of the
vehicle. This is because Tesla has been criticized for not incorporating proper
driver monitoring and other safety measures to counter overreliance on the
system.
While the FSD was available as a $99 monthly subscription to owners who already have Autopilot, Tesla now offers Autopilot as standard on all new car purchases, which cancels the need for the price variance. The company has recently also started to promote a one-month free trial of FSD, as a way of attracting more customers to the subscription.
Despite all of what the FSD offers, it is often not considered
as a safe system. While most other automakers’ driver-assist software have limits
when it comes to their use on highways, Tesla enables its customers to engage
FSD on local roads with traffic signals, intersections, and vulnerable road
users. It also controls acceleration and deceleration, makes turns that are sometimes
particularly difficult for automated systems, and is expected to recognize road
signs and traffic signals.
These functions of the FSD, that go beyond the safety limitations
of driver-assist systems, are what concern federal regulators. There are 16
accidents involving Tesla vehicles that Federal regulators are currently assessing,
in which owners using Autopilot crashed into static emergency vehicles. The crashes
have resulted in 15 injuries and one casualty. The most Tesla has done to rectify
the damages, unfortunately, is push more software updates to ensure improved
security. The updates are, however, deemed as inadequate by safety experts.
