Tesla Implements New Accident-Avoidance Automation, but Millions of Customers Lack Access
Automatic Collision Evasion requires FSD V14 and a $99/month subscription, restricting access to 15% of Tesla owners while standard lane assist is removed for non-subscribers.
Tesla has introduced a new feature called Automatic Collision Evasion, which can autonomously activate Full Self-Driving (FSD) to avoid imminent collisions. However, the feature is restricted to vehicles running Hardware 4 and FSD V14 that are subscribed to the $99 monthly service, excluding approximately 85% of recent Tesla owners from this capability.
What Happened
According to a report by CleanTechnica, the new system allows the vehicle to take evasive actions, such as swerving, even if the driver has not manually engaged the FSD system. The feature requires the vehicle to be running Hardware 4 and FSD V14, which applies to Teslas built since mid-2023. Additionally, the system only operates if the driver is paying the $99 monthly subscription for FSD and has the feature switched on in the vehicle’s menu.
Why It Matters
The restriction of this safety feature to paying subscribers has significant implications for the broader Tesla fleet. With approximately 5 million Teslas sold since mid-2023 and an estimated 85% of customers not paying for FSD, over 4 million owners do not have access to Automatic Collision Evasion. This move highlights a strategic shift where Tesla is leveraging safety features as a driver for subscription revenue, rather than including them as standard equipment. Furthermore, the report notes that Tesla has removed automatic lane assist from the standard feature set for non-subscribers, a function that was previously standard on all Tesla vehicles since 2012 and is now common in competitors’ base models.
The Bottom Line
While Tesla’s new collision avoidance technology offers advanced safety benefits, its availability is currently gated behind a $99 monthly subscription and specific hardware requirements. This leaves the majority of recent Tesla owners without access to this automation, contrasting with industry trends where basic lane-assist and collision avoidance features are increasingly becoming standard across all vehicle price points.
