Elon Musk hands over a Model Y car to a customer during the opening ceremony of the new Tesla Gigafactory for electric vehicles in Grünheide, Germany, March 22, 2022.
Patrick Purle | Poole | via Reuters
tesla CEO Elon Musk is currently installing the latest version of the company’s premium driver assistance system, sold as “FSD,” or Full Self-Driving, and giving customers instructions on how to use it before completing vehicle deliveries in North America. Employees are required to demonstrate the following:
“Going forward, we will require customers in North America to install and activate FSD V12.3.1 and allow customers to take a short test drive before taking delivery of their vehicle,” Musk wrote in an email to employees on Monday. “Very few people actually understand how well[supervised]FSD actually works. We know it slows down the delivery process, but it’s still a difficult requirement.”
Bloomberg first reported on Musk’s email, which was also seen by CNBC.
All new Tesla cars come with a standard driver assistance system called Autopilot, but the company’s FSD option costs $199 per month for most customers in North America.
Tesla’s FSD system does not turn the car into a self-driving car. According to Tesla’s owner’s manual, drivers must always pay attention to the road when using FSD or FSD Beta and be ready to steer or brake at any time.
FSD owners also have access to the FSD Beta system, which allows them to test and debug new driver assistance features on public roads.
Under pressure from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Tesla has conducted voluntary recalls in recent years to improve the safety of its Autopilot, FSD, and FSD Beta systems.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.
In a separate memo distributed to Tesla employees, Tesla said salaried and hourly workers would sign up for additional shifts to deliver cars to customers in the final days of the first quarter. I’m asking you to.
“Join us and delight your customers with delivery!” the memo read. “While our production capacity allows us to deliver vehicles more evenly throughout the quarter, we continue to need your support to move, prepare, and drive vehicles to our customers through the end of the first quarter. ”
According to a memo seen by CNBC, paid Tesla employees do not receive additional pay if they work delivery shifts, but hourly employees are eligible for additional compensation and typically use their time to sell and deliver. The cost center will be billed.
Tesla is under pressure to avoid a year-over-year drop in first-quarter deliveries. At least one independent researcher, who publishes as “Troy Teslaik,” predicts that Tesla will report just 407,000 deliveries this quarter, down from 422,875 in the same period last year. .
Tesla stock has fallen about 30% since the beginning of the year, closing at $172.63 on Monday.
