Gary Zhou 
Tesla’s FSD Beta wide release seems to be moving according to schedule. Considering Elon Musk’s recent comments on Twitter, Tesla owners will soon be able to access FSD Beta, perhaps even without relying on the Safety Score system.
Elon Musk has noted that Tesla is looking to widen the release of FSD Beta V11 before Thanksgiving. The V11 update is notable since it is the first iteration of the company’s advanced driver-assist system that operates using a single software stack. With a single stack, FSD Beta is expected to perform a lot smoother than before.
During the third quarter earnings call last month, Elon Musk noted that Tesla expects to implement a “wide release” of FSD Beta in North America this fourth quarter. It was then no surprise that Tesla owners asked the CEO if his references to a “wide release” of FSD Beta meant that everyone who bought FSD would be able to gain access to the advanced driver assist system, even without qualifying through the Safety Score system.
“By “wide release next month” do you mean to those who currently have beta or to anyone who purchased FSD who won’t have to do safety score,” a Tesla owner asked. Musk’s response was prompt, with the CEO simply stating that it was the “latter.” With this in mind, it appears that Tesla’s FSD Beta fleet would likely see notable growth this Q4 2022 and even more so in the quarters to come.
Tesla’s Safety Score system was introduced earlier this year as a way to screen drivers who wish to gain access to the company’s FSD Beta program. According to Tesla, Safety Scores are an assessment of driving behavior based on five metrics that it calls “Safety Factors,” such as Forward Collision Warnings (FCW) per 1,000 Miles, Hard Braking, Aggressive Turning, Unsafe Following, and Forced Autopilot Disengagement.
The Safety Score system has gained its own fair share of critics, with organizations such as Consumer Reports arguing that the presence of such metrics would lead to unsafe driving. “The problem is that Tesla appears to be using some of the wrong metrics. Without more context, the data Tesla is collecting, and scoring could create bad incentives,” Kelly Funkhouser, head of automated and connected vehicle testing at Consumer Reports said.
