US Teslas get free one-month trials of FSD

Tesla's ambitious Full Self-Driving technology, better known as FSD, promises to revolutionize driving – although admittedly these promises date back many years and are yet to materialize. While we wait for that to happen Tesla is letting every owner in the US a chance to experience the system for themselves. If you own a Tesla, you'll soon get a free one-month trial of the FSD software.

The update, known as FSD Beta v12, was repeatedly delayed but finally started to roll out this week. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has called it "mind-blowing" (yet again), boasting major back-end improvements that utilize massive amounts of real-world driving data to train the system.

But is FSD truly life-changing? With Level 2 driver assistance systems, the driver still bears responsibility for driving decisions, despite FSD's promised unmatched capabilities. Many owners find the steep cost of FSD ($12,000 outright, or a $199 monthly subscription) a hurdle too high.

Tesla's solution? Make it easier to try before you buy. This isn't the first time Tesla has offered free FSD trials, but this one's the biggest, aiming to tempt all US owners and not just potential buyers. It seems Tesla isn't giving up until everyone's experienced the technology firsthand.

Why the big push? It seems FSD's adoption rate has been less than stellar. Tesla's even been tasking employees with giving FSD demos with every new car delivery. The free month-long FSD trial kicks off sometime this week. While the initial pitch involved giving FSD a whirl across North America, it seems only US-based Tesla owners get this perk for now.

Tesla previously assured customers that cars made after October 2016 had the necessary capabilities, but this turned out to be false, requiring costly upgrades just to run the system. While it's a long shot, it would be a gesture of goodwill if Tesla included these older vehicles in the trial. After all, they were sold on a self-driving dream.

Via