Tesla Autosteer On City Streets for FSD goes live

Remember that "coming soon" tag you've been seeing for years on Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature called “Autosteer on City Streets”? Well, Elon Musk and his team have decided it's time to shed that tag. The much-anticipated feature has finally made its appearance, in addition to the traffic light and stop sign control that was previously available.

For a long time, this feature had been in the coming soon phase. However, the recent quiet update, spied by the eagle-eyed Sawyer Merritt on some platform mysteriously called X, has propelled Tesla to change its online configurator's description. Now, Tesla boldly claims the Full Self-Driving Capability allows the car "to drive itself almost anywhere with minimal driver intervention and will continuously improve."

BREAKING: @Tesla no longer lists "Autosteer on city streets" as a coming soon feature. It had been listed as "coming soon" for the past 4+ years.

This might seem like a small change, but it's a big one. This indicates that Tesla is getting very confident in FSD's capabilities. pic.twitter.com/NYYNvrBhqp

— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) September 3, 2023

Tesla has also played around with the price tag, possibly to make this feature more palatable to potential buyers. The FSD’s purchase price was slashed in the US by $3,000, bringing it down from $15,000 to a somewhat more digestible $12,000. If you’re a fan of the Model S or Model X, there’s more good news. Both models have seen considerable price reductions, with Tesla sidelining the Standard Range trim level.

However, not everyone across the globe can rejoice. For those residing outside the US and Canada, the waiting game continues. Europe is still keeping an eye on the "Coming soon" tag, while Tesla owners in Mexico miss out on both the Autosteer on City Streets and the traffic light and stop sign control. Perhaps a friendly nudge or a diplomatic tweet might accelerate things?

Every new Tesla vehicle - including the updated Model 3 - gets the Basic Autopilot as a part of the package. This includes the bells and whistles of traffic-aware cruise control and lane-centering or the so-called Autosteer. If you’re feeling fancy and have $6,000 to spare, Enhanced Autopilot can be yours. It offers all the features of Basic Autopilot and throws in some extra goodies like Navigate on Autopilot, Auto Lane Change, Autopark, Summon, and Smart Summon. The Full Self-Driving Capability is the cream of the crop, bundling everything from the Enhanced Autopilot and then sprinkling in the Autosteer on City Streets and Traffic and Stop Sign Control. But, remember, that’s for a cool $12,000 now.

On a side note, the Enhanced Autopilot in Europe costs $4,200 while the FSD requires an additional payment of $8,300 - but the Autosteer on City Streets is still showing as “coming in the future.”

All new Teslas also boast a range of active safety features. Think Automatic Emergency Braking, Forward Collision Warning, Blind Spot Monitoring, and Lane Departure Avoidance, to name a few. Sounds impressive? Sure does, but Tesla ensures that they ground everyone's expectations. A clear disclaimer on their site emphasizes that these vehicles are not truly autonomous. Drivers are reminded to remain attentive and be prepared to seize control at any moment.

Despite the impressive strides in automotive tech, no car, including Teslas, can be considered fully autonomous as per the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). They're currently at Level 2 on a scale that goes up to 5. That’s a long road ahead for the autonomous driving dream.

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