--- title: "Tesla Officially Starts Rollout of Full Self-Driving Beta" description: "Tesla's full self-driving beta update is officially being rolled out, according to CEO Elon Musk. Learn more about the features of this car." date: "2020-10-21" modified: "2020-10-28" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-officially-starts-rollout-of-full-self-driving-beta" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Self-Driving Vehicles" - "Tesla" tags: - "elon musk" - "Self-driving cars" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Tesla Officially Starts Rollout of Full Self-Driving Beta ![Tesla CEO Elon Musk just announced on Twitter that the electric car company's Full Self-Driving Beta update is officially being rolled out.]() *\Image: Tesla\* ## Limited Beta Tesla CEO Elon Musk [announced on Twitter]() last night that the electric car company's Full Self-Driving beta update is officially being rolled out. "Will be extremely slow and cautious, as it should," Musk added an uncharacteristically serious tone. The update is, according to Musk, a revolutionary rewrite of his car company's controversial self-driving features suite, called Full Self-Driving or FSD. Despite of its name, the $8,000 option hasn't allowed drivers to completely take their hands off the steering wheel — at least yet. ## Quantum Leap In August, Musk [promised]() that the update will be a "quantum leap, because it’s a fundamental architectural rewrite, not an incremental tweak." The feature would allow Teslas to view the world around them not just in two dimensions, he said, [but in four](). In other words, the vehicle will not only sense the three-dimensional world around it, but also predict changes in factors like location, direction, and speed. "I drive the bleeding edge alpha build in my car personally," [Musk wrote]() at the time. "Almost at zero interventions between home & work." ## Making Turns Beyond that, it's still unclear what the beta will entail exactly. It's likely that traffic light and stop sign navigation will now include making turns, as [*Electrek* suggests](). So far, FSD enables vehicles to slow down, stop, and accelerate at intersections. The beta will be "limited to a small number of people who are expert and careful drivers," as Musk wrote in a [recent tweet](). **READ MORE:** [Tesla starts Full Self-Driving Beta rollout, Elon Musk says it ‘will be extremely slow and cautious’]() \[*Electrek*\] **More on the beta:** *[Musk: Tesla Is Rolling Out a Beta of “Full Self-Driving” Next Week]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()