As Tesla, Inc.’s TSLA full-self driving software moves from beta-testing to a supervised version and is made available in the United States for a month-long free trialing, CEO Elon Musk and Tesla executives commented on the software.
What Happened: Tesla influencer Sawyer Merritt on Saturday shared messages from a free-trial user on X, formerly Twitter, in which he was highly positive about the software.
Musk reshared the post on his handle and also commented on another user’s comments about the FSD. The user said beta version 11 veterans were impressed with the changes in version 11 and weighed in on the potential reactions of first-time users, who would never have used the beta versions.
Musk replied, saying, “It’s like magic.”
Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia also shared his experience with the latest version’s testing. “If you want to experience the future, try the latest version of full self driving. My mind was blown. Anyone else enjoying it?” he said on X. Gebbia currently sits on Tesla board and shares a very warm relationship with Musk.
See Also: Everything You Need To Know About Tesla Stock
Why It’s Important: As Tesla struggles with volume growth, analysts have turned their attention toward revenue to ancillary sources and ancillary businesses. Analysts view the high-margin recurring revenue stream from the wider adoption of FSD as positive for the company’s top and bottom lines.
In a recent note, Canaccord Genuity analyst George Gianarikas said, “We have been strong advocates of Tesla’s razor/razorblade approach in seeding the market with vehicles that are software upgradable with a high-margin software — and see this as a potential catalyst for future penetration gains.”
That said, skeptics of the technology say that it has never reached the level of autonomy that is worth its cost. One social-media user said, “I've used it for years and don't much anymore because it still sucks at driving.” Regulators haven’t warmed to the technology either.
Tesla ended Thursday’s session down 2.25% at $175.79, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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