Tesla Offers Customers Driver-Assist Trial In U.S.

Tesla will offer its U.S. customers a one-month free trial of its driver-assist technology, Full Self-Driving (FSD). The company is trying to offset the slowdown in demand and pressures from price competition.

The driver assistant software, priced at $12,000, has faltered. Due to regulatory and safety issues, Tesla has not achieved full autonomy with its software. “All U.S. cars capable of FSD will be enabled for a one-month trial this week,” Musk said in a post on social media platform X. Tesla staff was also ordered to give demonstrations of FSD to new buyers and existing owners.

Only 14% of Tesla customers bought the package in Q3 2022, down from 53% in Q3 2019. “The combination of substantial price cuts on the vehicles and dramatically lower FSD take rates has severely hurt Tesla’s margins,” said analyst Sam Abuelsamid at Guidehouse Insights. “The mandate to demonstrate FSD as it is today is just the latest in a long-running series of end-of-quarter stunts by Musk intended to boost deliveries and revenues.”

The FSD software does not make its vehicles autonomous and requires active driver supervision. It was also offered at a subscription of $199 a month.