Arguably the world’s most controversial car feature and the centrepiece of Tesla’s autonomous driving push, Full Self-Driving (FSD) has finally been confirmed for right-hand drive markets, such as Australia.
Technically called Full Self-Driving (supervised), the technology allows the car to effectively drive without human input – however, the driver must be ready to take over at all times.
This is more than just a safety net. By classifying Full Self-Driving supervised as a ‘Level 2’ semi-autonomous driving system, the vehicle’s driver is still deemed as the one in control, not the car itself, providing a legal loophole which puts the onus on the human in the driver’s seat.
Full Self-Driving supervised isn’t yet available in Australian Tesla vehicles, despite the Model Y and Model 3 already being equipped with the required hardware four (HW4) cameras.
The technology has been able to order locally for $10,100 across the past few years, and customers who’ve already paid that fee will be first in line to have the system activated when it eventually arrives in the near future.
While a 30-day free trial of Full Self-Driving supervised will be available to customers yet to purchase the technology, once it is purchased it can’t be transferred to another Tesla vehicle, if the owner chooses to stay with the brand.
Tesla’s impending launch of Full Self-Driving (in any capacity) in Australia marks the start of a long-awaited chapter.
Initially available in the US as a beta service to a select group of 160,000 users who gathered real-time data for Tesla, the technology became publicly available in late November 2022 to all vehicles capable of running it.
At the time, it was not approved by US road safety regulators to be used unsupervised.
Last year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration – the peak body for road safety in the US – opened a probe into 2.4 million Full Self-Driving equipped Tesla vehicles following four crashes, which included one fatal incident.
Unlike the lesser Autopilot system – akin to adaptive cruise control and lane-keep assist features now widely available – Full Self-Driving hasn’t been blamed for any fatal crashes as yet.
Full Self-Driving is also becoming more commonly found in the US, as Tesla’s new fleet of robotaxis use the technology.
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