Elon Musk requires ‘FSD’ demo for every prospective Tesla buyer in North America

Tesla
CEO

Elon
Musk
is
now
requiring
employees
to
install
and
show
customers
how
to
use
the
latest
version
of
the
company’s
premium
driver
assistance
system,
which
is
marketed
as “FSD”
or
Full
Self-Driving,
before
completing
a
vehicle
delivery
in
North
America.

“Going
forward,
it
is
mandatory
in
North
America
to
install
and
activate
FSD
V12.3.1
and
take
customers
on
a
short
test
ride
before
handing
over
the
car,”
Musk
wrote
in
an
email
to
staffers
on
Monday. “Almost
no
one
actually
realizes
how
well
(supervised)
FSD
actually
works.
I
know
this
will
slow
down
the
delivery
process,
but
it
is
nonetheless
a
hard
requirement.”

Bloomberg
first
reported
on
Musk’s
email,
which
was
also
viewed
by
CNBC.

While
all
new
Tesla
vehicles
have
a
standard
driver
assistance
system
installed
called
Autopilot,
the
company’s
FSD
option
costs
$199
per
month
for
most
customers
in
North
America.

Tesla’s
FSD
system
does
not
turn
cars
into
autonomous
vehicles.
According
to
the
Tesla
owners’
manuals,
drivers
must
remain
attentive
to
the
road
and
ready
to
steer
or
brake
at
any
time
when
using
FSD
or
FSD
Beta.

Owners
with
FSD
can
also
get
access
to
the
FSD
Beta
system,
which
allows
them
to
test
and
help
debug
newer
driver
assistance
features
on
public
roads.

Under
pressure
from
the
National
Highway
Traffic
Safety
Administration,
Tesla
has
implemented
voluntary
recalls
to
improve
the
safety
of
its
Autopilot,
FSD
and
FSD
Beta
systems
in
recent
years.

Tesla
didn’t
immediately
respond
to
a
request
for
comment.

In
a
separate
memo
distributed
to
staff
at
Tesla,
the
company
is
asking
salaried
and
hourly
workers
to
sign
up
for
additional
shifts
to
deliver
cars
to
customers
in
the
last
days
of
the
first
quarter.

“Join
us
in
delighting
customers
as
they
take
delivery!”
the
memo
said. “While
our
production
capacity
allows
vehicle
deliveries
to
be
distributed
more
uniformly
throughout
the
quarter,
we
still
need
your
support
to
move,
prepare
and
drive
vehicles
to
customers
throughout
the
end
of
Q1.”

Salaried
Tesla
employees
do
not
receive
extra
pay
if
they
work
delivery
shifts,
but
hourly
employees
are
eligible
for
additional
compensation,
generally
billing
their
hours
to
a
sales
and
delivery
cost
center,
according
to
the
memo,
which
CNBC
viewed.

Tesla
is
under
pressure
to
avoid
a
drop
in
year-over-year
deliveries
for
the
first
quarter.
At
least
one
independent
researcher,
who
publishes
as “Troy
Teslike,”
predicts
Tesla
will
report
lower
numbers,
marking
at
least
a
1%
decline
in
deliveries,
from
422,875
a
year
ago.

On
Monday
night,
Musk
said
in
a
post
on
X,
the
social
media
platform
he
owns, “All
US
cars
that
are
capable
of
FSD
will
be
enabled
for
a
one
month
trial
this
week.”

Tesla
shares
have
declined
about
30%
year
to
date,
closing
on
Monday
at
$172.63.