Tesla releases free 40-day FSD trial for U.S. owners

Tesla is offering a free dollop of its latest Full Self-Driving software to much of its U.S. owner base, activating an approximately 40-day trial programmed to last through the height of the holiday travel season.

The offer to thousands — enthusiasts are putting the estimate at around 1.5 million compatible vehicles — puts Tesla’s latest release, FSD V14 (also known as FSD Supervised), directly in the drivers’ seats of those who have not paid for it as part of an overall package.

Who gets the trial, and what the free FSD includes

The trial is seemingly aimed at U.S.-based owners with newer Tesla hardware, generally referred to as HW4, though availability has reportedly been varied based on model and software eligibility. Once activated, drivers will have access to next-level driver assistance including:

• City-street driving assistance that handles intersections (not fully self-driving)
• Handling of traffic lights and stop signs
• Automatic driving on city streets
• Lane changing on highways with the flick of a turn signal (coming up in an over-the-air software release)
• Finding a parking spot and automatically parking your car

FSD is a supervised system, contra the marketing. Tesla stresses that drivers are expected to keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road, and be ready to take over at any time. It is not a self-driving system either legally or in terms of the experience it provides, and operates differently depending on road markings, traffic density, and weather.

Why Tesla is pushing FSD now with a wide holiday trial

Timing a wide trial for the most active driving period of the year is shrewd. More miles equals more exposure, and more exposure fuels both word-of-mouth and training data. Tesla has long pitched software as a margin engine, and the company sells FSD via subscription or as a one-time purchase. Providing hands-on preview sessions reduces the mental barrier for owners who would otherwise have to open their wallets without ever so much as trying new features.

It also conforms to a broader sales playbook. Business press has reported on stretches when Tesla was asking employees to show off FSD during deliveries and service appointments, gambling that real-world demos are better than spec sheets at winning over skeptics. A trial now operates at the system level, and applies the measure to an entire eligible fleet at a stroke.

The revenue stakes are significant. Even modest uptake can add up: All else being equal, were just 1% of the trial cohort to pick a subscription, that’s tens of thousands of paying customers; or if they went with a one-time license there would still be a not-insignificant software windfall. To a company that makes its profit off software-led margins, it’s the sort of funnel that can matter more than an ad campaign.

Safety oversight and legal caveats for supervised FSD

Regulatory scrutiny of advanced driver-assistance systems hasn’t waned. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has corroborated Tesla’s assisted driving technology and previously oversaw a recall involving more than 360,000 vehicles to deal with the way they behaved around intersections and other situations. California’s Department of Motor Vehicles has also raised questions about how driver-assistance features are marketed, contending that companies can overstate autonomy.

Independent safety groups have highlighted the human-factors risk in this difference between names and marketing outstripping function. But the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and A.A.A. have also cautioned that drivers could develop excessive confidence in those “partial automation” systems, especially if the system consistently operates without major hitches. Tesla’s own on-screen reminders and steering-wheel checks are meant to prevent complacency, but vigilance is the key ingredient.

What to watch for as owners test the supervised FSD trial

Drivers using the trial can expect confident operation on well-marked roads and more cautious behavior in messy edge cases — construction zones, complex unprotected turns, unusual lane splits, or low visibility. The software can be confounded by faint markings or makeshift signage, and it may brake or slow suddenly when it is unable to anticipate what will happen. Plenty more trade-offs and still more to discuss here.

Hardware matters. The best results are generally seen in vehicles with the newest cameras and computing machinery. Some older configurations may not be eligible for the trial, or they can work differently. Owners should keep the software updated, calibrate cameras if requested to do so as part of a future update, and review Tesla’s in-car tutorials before their first drive.

Global context and availability of the supervised FSD rollout

Although Tesla markets driver-assistance features in several countries, advanced city-street functions are rolled out, market by market, subject to regulations, testing, and training data.

The current trial is U.S.-based, where Tesla logs the most hours training, and more of the assumptions made by the system — signs, lane standards, intersection designs — are in line with what’s in its datasets.

Bottom line for Tesla and drivers after the 40-day FSD trial

For Tesla, a 40-day free trial could be a conversion test at scale (and some V14 press). For drivers, it is a chance to assess whether supervised automation significantly lessens fatigue and driving workload on accustomed routes — and if the trade-off of occasional quirks and necessary vigilance is worth their trouble.

If even a small fraction of those who got the software during the trial opt to keep it, they will confirm Tesla’s bet that hands-on experience remains its most powerful sales tool for a product that is as much about feel as features. As always, the onus is on drivers to do just that — to use it as intended: a helpful tool when it’s firing on all cylinders, but never an excuse for inattentiveness at the wheel.