Tesla FSD Beta FAQ

July 23, 2022

By Gabe Rodriguez Morrison

FSD Beta visualizations

Not a Tesla App

This article seeks to answer the most frequently asked questions about Tesla's Full-Self Driving Beta Program. It will answer questions about how to get selected for the program, how to improve your safety score and when it will become available for wider release.

How does FSD work?

FSD is Tesla's proprietary self-driving software that is improved by collecting data from Tesla's network of over 100,000 beta testers.

What is FSD Beta?

FSD Beta allows Tesla vehicles to drive autonomously to a destination entered in the car's navigation system. Since this is the Beta program, drivers must remain vigilant and ready to take control at all times.

How many users are there in the FSD Beta Program?

As of July 2022, there are over 100,000 Tesla drivers enrolled in the FSD Beta program in the U.S. and Canada.

How many miles have been driven on FSD Beta?

As of July 2022, Tesla reported that its fleet of customers driving with the FSD Beta software has surpassed 35 million miles driven.

Which countries is FSD Beta available in?

Tesla currently allows FSD Beta for cars in the U.S. and Canada. Tesla plans to launch the program in Europe later this year.

How much does FSD Beta cost?

Tesla's FSD package has consistently increased in price over the years. Most recently in January 2022, Tesla increased the cost from a one-time payment of $10,000 to $12,000.

The software is also available as a monthly subscription for $99 if you have Advanced Autopilot or $199 if you have basic Autopilot.

The subscription price is only available if you have FSD hardware 3.0 or above.

Which models are available for FSD Beta?

If you have purchased FSD capability and have FSD hardware 2.0 or 2.5, you are eligible to receive a complimentary installation of Tesla's FSD computer (hardware 3.0).

A complimentary hardware upgrade to the FSD computer is not available for Full Self-Driving capability subscribers; however, you may be eligible to upgrade for $1,000.00 plus applicable tax, which includes installation.

How do you sign up for FSD Beta?

You must be a FSD user (paid in full or by subscription) and live in a supported region to request access to the Beta program.

You can request by tapping on Controls > Autopilot > “Request Full Self Driving Beta”, and accept the terms and conditions. You will need to meet Safety Score minimums over a certain period before Tesla gives you access to the beta.

You can view your Safety Score in the app and we have seen Tesla add beta testers with a score of 95 and above. However, Tesla does not add additional testers continuously, and it may take a week or months of having a score above 95 before you're given access to the beta.

Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that you will receive the FSD Beta even if you have a high Safety Score as Tesla only adds additional testers when needed.

How does Tesla select users for the FSD Beta Program?

Though requirements change over time and vary depending on region, the current requirements for the Beta test include getting a 95-100 Safety Score over a monitoring period of seven days.

How do I improve my Safety Score?

There are five safety categories that Tesla actively uses to measure the safety score of a driver. Your performance in each category is compared to the median of Tesla's fleet.

These are the five categories in order of weighted average score:

Forced Autopilot Disengagement
Hard Braking
Aggressive Turning
Unsafe Following
Forward Collision Warnings

You can also read more about how to improve your safety score.

When Will FSD be available to all Tesla owners?

According to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, starting in 2022, Tesla FSD will be available to all Americans and Canadians, regardless of their Safety Score.

When Will FSD be available in Europe?

Elon said in early 2022 that Tesla is aiming to release FSD Beta in Europe by the end of the year.

What does a blue car mean in the visualizations?

You can read our article about all FSD visualizations and their meanings to get a better understanding of FSD Beta.

Tesla Increases Price of Model S; Starts Offering Free Lifetime Supercharging

December 14, 2024

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

For the first time in quite a while, Tesla has increased the price of one of its vehicle offerings. The Model S Long Range and the Model S Plaid have both received a hefty price increase. However, not all is bad - as Tesla also added a new benefit for buyers.

Price Increase

The price increase for the Model S is $5,000 - currently only in the United States. This price increase will likely impact other markets, including Canada, in the coming days.

The Model S Long Range now starts at $79,990, while the Model S Plaid now starts at $94,990. The Model S and Model X now have the same starting price. Interestingly, that’s also the same pricing point for the Cybertruck AWD and Cyberbeast Trimotor non-Foundation Series.

The vehicle configuration does not appear to have changed, so the new pricing is simply an increase rather than the addition or removal of features. Tesla previously cut the price of the Model S and Model X by 15% in 2023, so this could simply be an adjustment to ensure that the vehicle pricing stays in line with inflation and other factors.

Free Lifetime Supercharging

For those on the fence about ordering a Model S, Tesla has brought back Free Lifetime Supercharging when you order a new Model S on or after December 13, 2024. As always, Free Lifetime Supercharging is restricted to the buyer’s Tesla account and to that specific vehicle. It cannot be transferred to another vehicle or another owner after ownership transfer. It’s worth noting, that it also doesn’t exclude the owner from receiving Supercharger idle fees or congestion fees. There is currently no end date for this promotion.

There are currently no changes to the Model X, neither a price increase nor the addition of Lifetime Superchargering. However, when Tesla makes changes to one of their premium vehicles, it usually affects the other one as well. So be on the lookout for potential changes to the Model X offering in the coming days.

We’ve seen Tesla value Lifetime Supercharging at $5,000, so this falls in line with the price increase we’re seeing. It’s possible that Tesla will begin to bring back Lifetime Supercharging as a perk for buying into their more premium Model S and Model X cars, or this could be another temporary promotion to get buyers who are on the fence to go ahead and make their purchase while this promotion lasts.

Tesla’s Optimus Robot Learns to Walk Without Vision [VIDEO]

December 13, 2024

By Karan Singh

Optimus Falls - but catches itself!

Not a Tesla App

Tesla recently showed off a demo of Optimus, its humanoid robot, walking around in moderately challenging terrain—not on a flat surface but on dirt and slopes. These things can be difficult for a humanoid robot, especially during the training cycle.

Daily walks help clear your mind pic.twitter.com/dUsW58trS6
— Tesla Optimus (@Tesla_Optimus) December 9, 2024

A Look Behind the Curtain

Most interestingly, Milan Kovac, VP of Engineering for Optimus, clarified what it takes to get Optimus to this stage. Let’s break down what he said.

Optimus is Blind

Optimus is getting seriously good at walking now - it can keep its balance over uneven ground - even while walking blind. Tesla is currently using just the sensors, all powered by a neural net running on the embedded computer.

Essentially, Tesla is building Optimus from the ground up, relying on as much additional data as possible while it trains vision. This is similar to how they train FSD on vehicles, using LiDAR rigs to validate the vision system’s accuracy. While Optimus doesn’t have LiDAR, it relies on all those other sensors on board, many of which will likely become simplified as vision takes over as the primary sensor.

Today, Optimus is walking blind, but it’s able to react almost instantly to changes in the terrain underneath it, even if it falls or slips.

What’s Next?

Next up, Tesla AI will be adding vision to Optimus - helping complete the neural net. Remember, Optimus runs on the same overall AI stack as FSD - in fact, Optimus uses an FSD computer and an offshoot of the FSD stack for vision-based tasks.

Milan mentions they’re planning on adding vision to help the robot plan ahead and improve its walking gait. While the zombie shuffle is iconic and a little bit amusing, getting humanoid robots to walk like humans is actually difficult.

There’s plenty more, too - including better responsiveness to velocity and direction commands and learning to fall and stand back up. Falling while protecting yourself to minimize damage is something natural to humans - but not exactly natural to something like a robot. Training it to do so is essential in keeping the robot, the environment around it, and the people it is interacting with safe.

We’re excited to see what’s coming with Optimus next because it is already getting started in some fashion in Tesla’s factories.