Tesla Rolls Out FSD V12 'Beta' To Non-Employee Drivers, Contrary To Elon Musk's Previous Statement

Tesla Inc TSLA is reportedly sending version 12 of its full self-driving (FSD) software to non-employee drivers, nearly two months after first rolling it out to employees.

The EV company’s CEO Elon Musk previously said that v12 would not be beta, hinting that it would make Tesla vehicles entirely autonomous.

What Happened: FSD enthusiast Whole Mars Catalog flagged that he received version 12 in a post on X. However, contrary to Musk’s previous comments on FSD V12, the update is still named ‘Beta.’

V12 started rolling out to employees roughly two months ago in late November. The update has now also started rolling out to non-employee drivers.

Tesla did not immediately respond to Benzinga‘s request for comment.

Why It Matters: Tesla's FSD is presently in beta mode, meaning it is still being tested and requires active driver supervision. In June, Musk said that version 12 would no longer be beta, hinting that it would achieve full autonomy by then, and raising anticipation. He has previously also said that v12 is reserved for when FSD employs an end-to-end neural network.

During the 2023 World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai in July, Musk also said that Tesla is "very close" to achieving full self-driving capability. "I have been wrong about this prediction in the past, but I feel we are closer to it than we ever have been," Musk said.

Photo by Jose Gil on Shutterstock

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