Tesla FSD Beta has officially taken its first steps outside of North America, with the software making its way to cars in Australia, Germany, and Belgium.
Tesla owners are still waiting for the long-promised full self-driving capability, but in some markets, like in Europe, the Pacific, and Asia, owners don’t even have access to FSD Beta.
FSD Beta enables Tesla vehicles to drive autonomously through most driving scenarios – including traffic lights – but under heavy supervision from the driver at all times. It requires frequent driver interventions on top of supervision and, therefore, it is still considered a level 2 driver-assist system.
Tesla launched FSD Beta to some US owners in late 2020, and it has been expanding it to owners across North America over the last three years.
It is now available to any Tesla owner in North America with a vehicle equipped with the FSD computer who either paid for the up to $15,000 FSD package or a $200/month subscription.
CEO Elon Musk has talked about bringing FSD Beta to Europe and Asia soon, and it now looks like it is starting to happen.
Teslascope, which tracks Tesla software updates, detected FSD Beta updates going to cars in Australia, Germany, and Belgium:
This is likely an early release for internal testing ahead of regulatory approval for FSD Beta to come to Tesla customers in those markets.
Unlike competitors who use mapping and geo-fenced approach to self-driving, Tesla is taking a more generalized approach based on AI and vision, but it still needs to adapt its self-driving system to requirements in different markets, like driving rules and different signage.
The automaker also has to have the software approved by regulators in those markets, which has been a problem for some Autopilot features in the past in Europe and China.
Many industry watchers believe that Tesla might be facing an uphill battle to release FSD Beta in those markets, but the few cars getting this update are an encouraging sign.