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What happened
Fully autonomous driving is here (sort of), and You’re here (NASDAQ: TSLA) the stock is up 3.4% as of 10:55 a.m. EDT.
At midnight on Friday, the electric vehicle pioneer began sending over-the-air software updates upgrading thousands of Tesla owners who had prepaid for Full Self Driving (FSD) capability to version 9 of beta functionality.
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
It has been a long wait. CEO Elon Musk has vowed that Tesla will be rolling out Version 9 since 2018, immediately creating “over a million cars” with essentially self-driving capability – so it’s clear why this news is getting investors excited. Early reviewers of the new software report that ‘driving visualization’ [has received] a massive improvement “, while the verdict on” actual driving behavior “has yet to be reached.
And many Tesla owners may have to wait a little longer to try FSD.
As industry site Electrek reports, the new version of the software relies on Tesla Vision for its guidance, with driving based on camera readings rather than a mix of cameras and radars. The company warns, however, that the software “can do the wrong thing at the worst time” and that drivers using the feature “should always keep their hands on the wheel and be extra careful on the road.” While monitoring the performance of the software in the real world, Tesla is therefore limiting the deployment to an “early limited access beta” distribution – meaning not everyone who paid for FSD will get it immediately.
Now what
What does this mean for investors? Elon Musk has finally kept his promise. As is often the case, it took a little longer to deliver than was originally promised – but as is often the case, it finally delivered.
Now we have to see if this version was worth the wait. The better the autonomous driving software turns out, the more people – who have so far hesitated to pay $ 10,000 to buy it – will become. And that will mean more money in Tesla’s pocket and more profits for Tesla shareholders.
Indeed, if the rumors that Tesla is considering raising the price of FSD to $ 14,000 prove to be true, the arrival of FSD might be just what is needed to keep Tesla’s stock price on the rise.
This article represents the opinion of the author, who may disagree with the “official” recommendation position of a premium Motley Fool consulting service. We are heterogeneous! Challenging an investment thesis – even one of our own – helps us all to think critically about investing and make decisions that help us become smarter, happier, and richer.
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