In September 2021, Tesla, a leading Electric auto maker, launched a long-anticipated software update that enables customers to request access to its debatable Full Self-Driving Beta (FSD Beta) software through a button named “request” on the dashboard screen of the car. With this update, customers can now request access, but Tesla will first determine the safety score of a driver.
This update by Tesla has delighted its fans to a great extent; however, has triggered risks regarding the rage of federal vehicle safety authorities who are already inspecting the carmaker for latent as well as predictable safety faults in its driver-assistance system.
Tesla’s new update has resolved many issues regarding safety. Before a driver obtains entry to the FSD Beta software, the carmaker will detect his/her “safety score,” by using 5 standards that evaluate the possibility that his/her driving might cause a collision in the future.
The safety score is presented by making use of the data gathered by sensors fitted into the driver’s car, and takes into consideration all the possible instances of collision threats per thousand miles, dangerous following, ferocious turning, forced autopilot disconnection, and hard braking. A Tesla car’s autopilot mode gets disconnected after giving 3 visual as well as audio alerts, when the car has detected that the driver has put-off his/her hands from the vehicle’ steering wheel and has lost focus.
Tesla Cars with FSD Aren’t Completely Automatic
Tesla’s safety guide does not specify what the company accepts to be an appropriate safety score to obtain access to FSD Beta software, however, it states that most of the drivers will obtain a score of almost 80 out of 100. The software does not turn a Tesla car into a fully autonomous vehicle; the driver should have control on the car all the time.
The carmaker has introduced a monthly subscription pack for FSD in July 2021 for $199 each month, or $99 each month for Tesla holders who have paid for the since-ceased Enhanced Autopilot pack. Jennifer Homendy, an American government official who is the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has stated that Tesla must focus on fundamental safety glitches before advancing FSD, thus calling the carmaker’s use of the term full self-driving deceptive and reckless. The NTSB can perform inspections and make recommendations, but currently has no prosecution authority.
Recently, a well-known Tesla blog posted an article probing whether the carmaker had a decent opportunity after listening to comments by Homendy. Elon Musk, the co-founder and leader of Tesla, replied with a tweet that contained a link to the editable version of the Wikipedia page of Homendy, which includes a section named “Tesla criticism” that connects to news about her latest comments, without commenting anything further. The carmaker has suspended its press conference and seldom responds to media questions.