Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) Beta feature has been available to US and Canadian owners since 2020 and 2022 respectively. However based on recent additions to Tesla’s owner’s manuals, the program may soon expand outside of North America for the first time.
The additions were spotted in the most recent owner’s manuals in almost all European countries, as well as several Asian countries like Japan and China, by third-party companion service Teslascope, who shared on X (formerly Twitter) that there is a new “Full Self-Driving (beta version)” subsection in the ‘Autopilot’ section of the owner’s manuals in these countries.
This section of the manual goes over the usual disclaimers of using the beta software, like that it may not operate exactly as described and to always be aware and ready to take control of the vehicle at all times. It also talks about what to do before using FSD Beta, and how to use it and what to expect.
The additions are good news to owners in these countries that have spent their hard earned money for a feature that has been non-existent, despite claims from CEO Elon Musk early last year that it could be as close as 2-3 months away, later pushing that to the end of 2022.
As 2023 draws to a close it has still not been released, but based on this development, it could finally be around the corner. The biggest hurdle the company has to overcome before it can finally release the feature is regulatory approval, which of course varies by country, making it more difficult for the company to achieve in one fell swoop.
To obtain that approval in Europe Tesla has been testing FSD Beta with employees for two years. There have also been reports that Tesla has been recruiting and forming a Chinese operations team of around twenty people to get FSD up and running in that country.
