Tesla is entering the next phase of autonomous driving in Europe. A significant development regarding regulation on driver control assistance systems (DCAS) at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) paves the way for Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta program on the continent.
BREAKING NEWS The new UNECE DCAS regulation was adopted a few minutes ago. Once it enters force later this year, Tesla will finally be able to expand its FSD beta to Europe and other parts of the world! 🎉
The information was shared by Scrais on X, who tagged Not a Tesla App. The X user was the first to alert us of DCAS being added to the March meeting agenda in Geneva.
The Dawn of a New Era
Scrais had been listening to the UNECE meeting and posted: "The new UNECE DCAS regulation opens doors for @Tesla's FSD beta in Europe! … With this significant milestone, let's accelerate discussing Tesla's expansion across Europe. The future of mobility awaits.”
It seems the process has accelerated, as the provisions were a late addition to the 192nd session of the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations, which hinted at an accelerated timeline for discussions around autonomous driving technologies in Europe.
The DCAS regulation aims to standardize advanced driver assistance technologies, ensuring safety and reliability while fitting within the SAE level 2 automation category. This aligns perfectly with Tesla’s FSD system, which requires constant driver supervision while providing advanced control of the vehicle through complicated road situations.
What Will FSD be in Europe
Adopting the DCAS regulation is a green light for Tesla to start planning to get FSD beta rolling on the streets in Europe, a process the company has been engaged with for an unknown length of time. A few days ago, a Tesla Model X was spotted in Germany equipped with what appears to be equipment to prepare for autonomous driving.
Tesla FSD Validation Vehicle seen in Munich, Germany 👀
But this won’t happen tomorrow. As we know, it takes time for government regulations to move through. Scrais explained that “the Secretary-General of the United Nations needs to communicate the agreement. Once this happens, we have to wait six months until the regulation enters force. Considering the timeline and required waiting period, late September or early October is realistic.”
Tesla’s FSD beta, under the new DCAS guidelines, will provide clear interfaces and guidelines to keep drivers informed and engaged at all times. This will address concerns about overreliance and misuse of autonomous driving systems. This strategic move could also enable the re-enablement of certain Autopilot features previously restricted in the region.
A special thanks to Scrais for sharing this crucial update, highlighting a hopeful leap forward for Tesla and the automotive industry.
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Tesla has begun to reach out to customers in the United States and is offering demo drives of the Cybertruck on an invite-only basis. @brandonhd on X shared the first invite image, and it looks like it's going out quite quickly to multiple locations that have Cybertrucks on display.
Up until now, display vehicles have been for just that – looking, but no touching. Some Tesla delivery centers and showrooms have also allowed viewers to take a seat inside and open it up, but most are still locked away behind the velvet rope.
It’s exciting to see that Tesla has begun to demo them – and it can only be so long until demo drives open up to everyone.
Advisor-led Demo
This Demo Drive is led by a Tesla Advisor – while you’re driving, the advisor will be in the passenger seat, walking you through the experience. They’ll explain steer-by-wire, off-road controls, and will introduce new-to-Tesla buyers to all the features that are currently available.
The list of locations so far for demo drives appears to be fairly limited, but we will hopefully see demo drives roll out throughout the United States, and eventually Canada too. Here is the current list of city/state locations that have seen demo drive invites.
Actually Smart Summon, the successor to Tesla’s Smart Summon feature, has been confirmed to be coming as soon as next month as per Elon Musk. Colloquially known as “ASS”, Actually Smart Summon is supposed to improve on the regular Smart Summon capabilities, which have historically used ultrasonic sensors (USS) to navigate parking lots.
We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon, and we’re quite excited about what other features will be unlocked once it finally shows up at our doorstep.
Vision-based Improvements
ASS is supposed to bring Smart Summon to vehicles that don’t have USS – using Tesla Vision. Most recently, Tesla has brought Autopark to vehicles without USS, and Vision-based Autopark has been a huge success. It is faster, more reliable, and smoother than the older USS-based solution. It can also park and maneuver in tighter locations.
Today, Smart Summon is sometimes useful at best, usually a party trick, or downright dangerous at worst. It’s excellent and best used in straight lines, where you have a clear line of sight of the vehicle, and can stop it if doesn’t see an obstacle.
I used Smart Summon today, just before writing this article – my 2022 Model Y (with USS) – did manage to show up just fine – in a straight-line location from where I was parked, after exiting the parking spot fairly cleanly. However, I’ve previously used Smart Summon and have had the vehicle turn towards obstacles, such as cart returns or curbs. Overall, it’s a sometimes-useful feature that has a lot of drawbacks right now.
Smart Summon is also restricted to a certain distance – and it's pretty small. The max distance is shorter than most parking lots, being only about 215 ft (65m). If you’re lucky enough to park close, it's very useful to bring your car right to you.
Actually Smart Summon
ASS will bring FSD V12-like capabilities to Smart Summon – the vehicle will primarily use Vision to drive toward you (or the location you’ve indicated). ASS has been supposed to be coming since about September 2022 and has seen many delays – we’re almost at the 2-year point today.
We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon being able to bring the vehicle – safely – right to you. ASS is also one of the key steps towards bringing some other cool features that Elon Musk has previously mentioned – Park Seek and Banish Autopark.
We’re also hopeful that Actually Smart Summon will increase the maximum range a vehicle can be summoned, because the current range is fairly small. Alongside Park Seek and Banish Autopark, we’re closing in on a Robotaxi-based future.
Park Seek and Banish Autopark
When the FSD v12.4 showed up, Elon also mentioned that going forward, vehicles would automatically park themselves when arriving in a parking lot – Park Seek – and that if you got out of the car at the entrance to a business, you could get it to automatically park itself in the parking lot – Banish Autopark. These are two features that are needed for Robotaxi to work – which itself is delayed to October 10th of this year. We’re looking quite forward to them – as in combination with Actually Smart Summon, Tesla has reached the cusp of vehicle autonomy.
A vehicle that arrives, driverless, at the location you’re at, then drives somewhere, parks itself there, and waits for you – is the definition of a Robotaxi.
While we’re likely to have to wait for Banish Autopark and Park Seek just a bit longer, Actually Smart Summon being around the corner is exciting! Gone will be the days of having to run out to your car when you forgot your umbrella – your car will just come right to you instead.
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