Tesla That Are “Full Self-Driving” Can’t Reverse. That Could Soon Change
- Tesla announced that its “Full Self-Driving” system will be able to reverse starting in October.
- In a recent post on X about upcoming features, Tesla announced that FSD will soon have the capability to park itself automatically.
- Tesla’s self-driving initiatives are facing scrutiny as the company prepares to unveil a robotaxi in October.
Elon Musk has been promoting Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) software for years, but it remains a work in progress with significant limitations. For starters, it requires constant driver oversight as it navigates, which means it isn’t truly autonomous. It also still makes some alarming errors.
Additionally, FSD currently lacks the ability to reverse, which seems like a crucial capability for any system claiming to be “Full Self-Driving.” However, Tesla has announced that this is set to change. On Wednesday, the Tesla AI X account shared a roadmap for upcoming feature releases that includes “Reverse in FSD” scheduled for October.
That capability is crucial for Tesla’s ambitious plan to roll out millions of Teslas as driverless taxis in the near future. Robo taxis from Waymo, Alphabet’s autonomous vehicle division, are capable of reversing. In fact, backing up is a routine aspect of daily driving. Just this morning, I backed out of my parking space. During that same trip, I had to reverse a few feet to allow a car in front of me to parallel park. The other day, I misjudged an intersection and had to back up a little to clear a crosswalk.
This is pretty basic stuff that FSD, despite all the hype and ambitious promises surrounding it, still can’t accomplish. Keep in mind that for years, Tesla owners have been spending thousands of dollars to access this prototype feature, hoping it will eventually meet expectations. FSD can certainly perform some impressive tasks, such as navigating a route while being aware of traffic lights, other vehicles, and pedestrians. However, Tesla drivers can’t just take a nap at the wheel, which would be a true indicator of an autonomous system. Drivers are still responsible for everything it does, so even when it’s managing the steering and acceleration, it isn’t legally considered “driving.”
Some additional details from the roadmap: This month, the Cybertruck is set to finally receive FSD capability, almost a year after its initial release. In October, Teslas equipped with FSD will be able to park and un-park themselves automatically. Early next year, FSD is expected to launch in China and Europe, provided that regulators approve it. However, all of this depends on Tesla meeting its deadlines, which the company has a history of missing.
Will Tesla meet these targets as promised? That’s uncertain. Musk claimed that a Tesla would be able to drive from New York to Los Angeles without any driver by 2018.
The timing of this roadmap and the introduction of new features seems intentional.
Tesla is set to unveil its purpose-built robotaxi on October 10. This has placed Tesla’s self-driving initiatives under greater scrutiny than ever before. Therefore, the automaker likely aims to demonstrate that it is making real advancements in autonomous driving rather than just producing empty promises.
