Tesla marks first unsupervised FSD drives with multicolored ambient lighting

Tesla has clocked more than 50,000 miles of driving with the so-called unsupervised FSD system that doesn't require a human input already.

The drives have happened on its factory premises and include the new Model Y and the Cybertruck navigating themselves from the production lines to the delivery parking lots.

The autonomous vehicles apparently use the latest AI4 (Hardware 4.0) set of cameras and computing power to navigate complex road conditions of signs, factory construction, and mechanized or pedestrian traffic, but also to communicate with each other and avoid collisions, too.

Tesla's unsupervised FSD pilot testing program on public roads is fast approaching, set to begin in Austin this June, and the automaker evidently wants to amass as many such miles as possible to fine-tune its algorithms before the big launch.

The unsupervised FSD drives on the factory roads of Giga Texas and Fremont include the new Model Y with a journey of about a mile and a half "on a road shared with pedestrians, cars, semi trucks, construction equipment & more," boasts the Tesla AI team.

The Cybertruck has an even cooler driverless task, as it climbs up a 17% incline to emerge from a dedicated Cybertunnel that goes under one of the highways with the heaviest traffic in the US, and drive off to its designated delivery lot spot.

The videos of the Cybertruck and new Model Y driving on unsupervised FSD with no human in the vehicle reveal what might be another interesting feature of the autonomous system. Tesla has apparently decided to mark its cars driving on FSD with multicolored ambient lighting. It is not yet clear if it did this for promo video soundtrack syncing purposes, or if it will become a permanent fixture for vehicles driving on unsupervised FSD.

In any case, Tesla will likely begin its pilot testing run on public roads with HW4 cars like the Model Y and Cybertruck it owns and operates. They will likely still have Tesla employees inside as a redundancy and to pass regulatory scrutiny faster.

The Tesla AI team currently tries to shoehorn those unsupervised FSD algorithms into older vehicles with a HW3 set of cameras and computer, too. Elon Musk, however, inferred that it might be unable to, and Tesla will have to retrofit legacy cars that owners want to loan to its robotaxi ride-share platform with HW4 kits free of charge. As it stands, Tesla might have to retrofit colored LED interior lighting, too.

The Cybercab, which is envisaged as the backbone of the platform, might be included in the fleet last at some point next year, as Tesla will have a harder time getting the necessary autonomous driving permits for letting a vehicle without pedals or a steering wheel on public roads. To go around the issue, Tesla is currently running Model 3 test mules kitted with the Cybercab set of cameras to gauge how their positioning will handle autonomous driving when out of the factory.

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