Tesla has started testing its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system on public roads in Japan for the first time, local media outlet Nikkei reported on Tuesday.
The company has introduced a version of the software in China earlier this year and is still awaiting regulatory approval in Europe.
Musk told investors on the company’s most recent earnings call that “half of Tesla owners who could use [the FSD] haven’t tried it even once,” with chief financial officer Vaibhav Taneja adding that “a car being ten times safer should be a motivator.”
According to the Japanese newspaper, the system under testing uses artificial intelligence to handle all driving decisions while human drivers are required only to keep their hands on the wheel for monitoring.
The trials, conducted by Tesla employees, cover both local roads and highways using previously mapped data.
They are intended to validate safety and performance before a wider rollout, with the company targeting the eventual expansion of FSD features for Japanese customers. The beta version being tested is the same one currently available in the US.
Tesla last week highlighted progress with the technology in its home market, announcing that an FSD-equipped vehicle completed a 362-mile (582km) journey from San Francisco to Los Angeles without any driver intervention.
The seven-hour drive, made in a Model Y, required a single charging stop after 242 miles.
A video of the trip was posted on social media platform X with the caption: “7 hour road trips aren’t so bad when your Tesla does all the driving.”
Elon Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, has said the company is preparing to unveil a new version of the FSD system by the end of September “if testing goes well.”
Writing on X earlier this month, he said Tesla was “training a new FSD model with ~10X params and a big improvement to video compression loss,” adding that the update would deliver a “step change improvement.”
The development comes as Tesla prepares to scale up its robotaxi service, which launched in Austin in June with a fleet of modified Model Ys running a version of the FSD system adapted for full autonomy. The company has said it expects to expand the service next month.
Tesla also disclosed in June that its first vehicle “that drives itself from factory end of line all the way to a customer house” was delivered on June 27, a day ahead of schedule. The Model Y travelled from the Texas Gigafactory to the customer’s home entirely under FSD control without anyone inside.
The FSD system is offered in the US for a one-time payment of $8,000 or a $99 monthly subscription.
AloJapan.com