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Tesla full self drive here very soon?
Richard Bosselman
July 25, 2025
Fan site suggests hands-free, eyes-on technology is set to start working on our roads - but only under supervision.
APPLICATION in New Zealand of Tesla’s most advanced - and most contentious - semi-autonomous driver assistance technology could be on verge of happening.
Activation of Full Self-Driving, which has been available here since 2017 but never been allowed to be used in its full form on public roads, will not be without restriction.
The version coming is called FSD ‘Supervised’ - and deployment means just that.
This setting requires a person behind the wheel, with hands off but hovering and ready to take control.
The usage will also restrict, at least initially, to NZ market product with latest software.
That could conceivably include the updated Model Y that launched in June, with FSD as a $11400 option.
Intent to apply FSD-S was aired by Thom Drew (below), Tesla's country director for Australia and New Zealand, when he spoke to MotoringNZ.com on June 16, straight after the Model Y media day.
His comment, made during a period of trials in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, was that “we are absolutely planning to bring FSD-S to New Zealand and our team are actively working on this. Stay tuned.”
Now a Tesla fan page, Teslainsider, is saying the system “is on the verge of launching in Australia and New Zealand, marking a significant milestone as these markets would become the first right-hand drive territories to receive the advanced driver assistance technology.”
The site says the company, which has its regional office in Sydney, has confirmed it is in the “final stages of validation” prior to public release, with no regulatory blockers standing in the way of deployment in either country.
The rollout will begin with vehicles equipped with the latest Hardware 4 (HW4) platform before expanding in phases to other compatible vehicles.
In May the regional office shared a video showing how FSD (Supervised) coped with Melbourne's famously complex ‘hook turn’ manouevre at tram intersections.
Teslainsider says that while no specific launch date has been announced, it believes “the recent public demonstrations and Drew's confirmation that regulatory approval is no longer an obstacle suggests that Australian and NZ Tesla owners could soon experience the company's most sophisticated driver assistance technology.”
Despite its name, Full Self-Driving is not a true autonomous technology, as it requires drivers to focus on the road – monitored by an in-car camera watching their eyes – because they are still legally in control of the vehicle.
It is a step beyond the features currently offered to Tesla customers here, which require the driver to keep their hands on the wheel at all times, in addition to their eyes on the road.
These systems, known as Autosteer and Traffic-Aware Cruise Control, are little different to the adaptive cruise and lane-centring systems offered on most new cars.
They are also intended for motorways, rather than all types of roads, as Full Self-Driving is.
FSD has been exclusive to North America for years and only recently availed in China, where the release did not go well and it has also been required to rebrand the tech as ‘Intelligent Assisted Driving’.
NZ customers have been able to purchase FSD since 2017, but the thousands of dollars they have paid for the feature has never been to benefit, as Tesla has kept it inactive. In many cases, too, the system has been non-transferable; so if the initial owner sells the car, FSD does not continue to feature for the new user.
Tesla semi-autonomous systems of all kinds – mostly its earlier Autopilot suite, which includes Autosteer and Traffic-Aware Cruise Control – have come under scrutiny from US regulators following a slew of high-profile crashes.
Assertion about the state of NZ legislation in respect to allowing FSD seems supported by an advisory in respect to autonomous systems posted by Ministry of Transport.
This also suggests that while hands do not have to be on the wheel, a driver nonetheless has to involve.
“AVs were not a consideration when current transport legislation was drafted,” it says.
“Under the legislation a driver does not need to be present for a vehicle to be legally operated on a public road in NZ.
“However, most regulations and relevant international frameworks strongly imply that when a vehicle is in operation, it has a driver.
“Currently, any motor vehicle operating on a public road must comply with existing rules and regulations for the operation of motor vehicles under the Land Transport Act 1998, and other legislation that addresses the safe and secure operation of motor vehicles.”
The quality of FSD’s operability when caveat about need for direct human intervention is ignored has long been under scrutiny elsewhere, notably in the US where it has often found wanting in respect to inconsistent performance and safety concerns.
The big irk has long been that Tesla and Teslarati have had habit of promoting impression it has ingredients to be a fully autonomous driving tool.
Concerns about it being lamentably unable to be that good have been raised for years.
These elevated when Tesla detuned its system by putting total reliance on cameras, which many industry involvers say are much less reliable when not used in association with radar and lidar.
More sophisticated systems with the latter seem to be of greater competence. Very latest types embrace cameras, radars and artificial deep learning software to recognise a vehicle’s surroundings and make complex decisions based on what they ‘see’ to steer a driver safely along a road.
The release of FSD in China kicked off in May with a month-long demonstration of the equipment. This was abandoned after just a week.
The plug was pulled when trialists reportedly accrued fines for disregarding certain road rules, mainly driving in bike lanes and making illegal u-turns.
One hapless owner incurred seven fines on a single trip with FSD.