Musk Reads: Tesla full self-driving beta detailed

Tesla full self-driving is on the way and The Boring Company’s Las Vegas tunnel will open “maybe in a month or so.” It’s Musk Reads: Tesla Edition #210.

A version of this article appeared in the “Musk Reads” newsletter. Sign up for free here.

Musk quote of the week

“Autopilot team is making great progress. Reality sure is complicated!”

• Read more about Musk’s efforts to get Autopilot running.

Tesla

Tesla is about to release a beta version of its full self-driving system, Musk stated over the past week. Teasing a “general solution” that will beat Waymo’s “highly specialized solution,” Musk wrote on Twitter on October 8 that a limited beta capable of “zero intervention drives” would start reaching drivers “in a few weeks.” On Oct. 12, Musk announced the limited beta would be releasing “Tuesday next week,” suggesting Oct. 20 with a rollout that will be “limited to a small number of people who are expert & careful drivers.”

Of course, long-term Musk Reads fans know that we’ve been here before. Although Musk promised to demonstrate a coast-to-coast autonomous drive before the end of 2017, nearly three years on the company’s system can still only drive in a limited set of circumstances. Musk stated last week the company “barked up” the wrong “tree for way too long,” focusing on a Waymo-like solution that relies on high-resolution maps. Musk claimed the new system “is capable of driving in locations we never seen even once.” Musk teased earlier this year that the company has undergone major changes to the Autopilot system with a new “4D” approach. How well the new system works in practice could become clear in just a week or two.

What’s next for Tesla: Tesla is expected to release a beta of its planned Autopilot upgrades on October 20. Read more.

In other Musk news…

• The Boring Company’s Las Vegas tunnel will open “maybe in a month or so,” Musk claimed this week.
• Waymo is opening its full self-driving car service to the general public in Phoenix, Arizona, the company announced last week. Passengers will use a smartphone app to book the service.
• The entry-level Lucid Air got a price tag this week. The all-electric car will cost $77,400 before tax credit, 406 miles per charge, and won’t reach consumers until 2022.
• Is Tesla planning to release an electric bus? In a now-deleted tweet spotted by Electrek, Musk claimed “we will make a dense Tesla if it matters.” Musk teased a minivan earlier this year.

Musk Reads mailroom

Lee Southern writes:

A HUD on the Y and 3 would be awesome, even with an extra charge. The X and S should be standard.

Stephen Dempsey writes:

Why would you want a head up display on a Tesla? When you are not going to be doing the driving! What would be the point? That’s why the car has games and films etc. By 2030 you probably won’t be allowed to drive a car. With plans to stop fitting a steering wheel. Why would you want to look at a head up display… Pointless!

The feature suggestion submitted to last week’s Musk Reads got a mixed response from readers. Now that Tesla is expected to roll out a full self-driving beta later this month, maybe the interior of the future won’t need a heads-up display. It could, however, be the perfect opportunity to expand the games and entertainment that Musk has suggested people will use more of in the future.

Steve Rioux writes:

Let’s start a movement to bring back the chrome! For the older guys. Write to Elon… I wanted to buy a Y but can only have with chrome delete! Does not make the car look expensive.

It’s a difficult choice! Unfortunately, it looks like Tesla is moving in the opposite direction. Electrek reported in August that the company has applied to remove the chrome from its Model 3 vehicles in China.

Got any comments or queries? Don’t forget to send them over to muskreads@inverse.com.

Photo of the week

Ray Blessin sends us this picture of what was the “first Tesla in Kamloops, BC, Canada, in September 2014. Now? Maybe 50 in a city of 90,000.”

Loving the red-striped garage. Thanks for sharing, Ray!

Got a photo or video you’d like to see featured? Send it over to muskreads@inverse.com!

The ultra-fine print

This has been Musk Reads: Tesla Edition #210, the weekly rundown of essential reading about futurist and entrepreneur Elon Musk. I’m Mike Brown, an innovation journalist for Inverse.

• Email me directly at mike.brown@inverse.com and follow me on Twitter @mikearildbrown.
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• Got any comments or queries? Don’t forget to send them over to muskreads@inverse.com.

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A version of this article appeared in the “Musk Reads” newsletter. Sign up for free here.