Australia and New Zealand have become the first right-hand drive countries in the world where Tesla Full Self Driving (Supervised) is publicly available.
Forecast last month by Ev Authority to soon come online here, Tesla has now confirmed owners of Model 3 and Model Y EVs fitted with HW4 hardware who have already ordered the Level 2 driver assist system can update their vehicles over the air with the system from this morning (Thursday 18 September 2025).
It has been available as an optional package for some time, currently costing $10,100 for every new Tesla sold in Australia $11,400 in New Zealand. Existing owners without FSD (S) can upgrade by purchasing the package.
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FSD (S) will also soon be available for eligible vehicles via subscription at a cost of $149 per month in Australia and $159 per month in New Zealand.
FSD (S) attempts to drive to destinations by following curves in the road, stopping at and negotiating intersections, making left and right turns, navigating roundabouts, and entering/exiting highways.
It also maintains speed and following distance to the vehicle ahead – if there is one.
FSD (S) is also intended to slow down and stop at traffic lights and stop signs as necessary, and reacts to pedestrians, cyclists, and other vehicles on the road.
Tesla stresses FSD (S) is a hands-on feature that must be used by a fully attentive driver and does not make the vehicle autonomous.
“Drivers must maintain proper control of the vehicle at all times, pay attention and be prepared to take immediate action at any moment,” a Tesla statement announcing the introduction of FSD (S) read.
Tesla FSD (S) is controversial in-part because it relies on 360-degree cameras and AI learning and the cars are not fitted with on radar or LiDAR sensors.
FSD and other Tesla driver assist systems such as Autopilot are under investigation in the USA and in Australia a class action alleges Teslas will phantom brake.
Tesla has gone to pains to detail how closely the driver is being watched to make sure FSD (S) is being monitored. Cabin cameras cannot be disabled.
If the driver repeatedly looks away from the road, such as to look at a smartphone, the touchscreen displays a warning. The warning is dismissed once the driver begins paying attention to the road again.
If the driver repeatedly ignores prompts to apply slight force to the steering wheel or to pay attention, a series of escalated warnings is displayed and, if those warnings are ignored, disables for the rest of the drive and displays an alert message that FSD (S) is unavailable for the current drive.
If the driver does not resume manual steering, the vehicle sounds a continuous chime, turns on the warning flashers, and slows to a complete stop.
Tesla says use of FSD (S) features will be suspended if improper usage is detected. Use of FSD (Supervised) is also suspended when a driver of the vehicle receives five FSD (S) “strikeouts.”
A strikeout is when the FSD (Supervised) system disengages for the remainder of a trip after the driver receives several audio and visual warnings for inattentiveness.
If you’re interested in this technology but not sure about taking the plunge, Tesla says it will soon make FSD (S)-equipped vehicles available for test at locations in both Australia and New Zealand.
Watch out for our first drive assessment of FSD (S) coming soon.
