Elon Musk hands over a Model Y to a customer during the opening ceremony of the new Tesla Gigafactory for electric cars in Gruenheide, Germany, March 22, 2022.
Patrick Bliol | pool | Via Reuters
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is now requiring employees to install and show customers how to use the latest version of the company's premium driver assistance system, marketed as “FSD” or Full Self-Driving, before completing delivery of the vehicle in North America.
“Going forward, it is mandatory in North America to install and activate FSD V12.3.1 and take customers on a short test ride before delivering the vehicle,” Musk wrote in an email to employees on Monday. “Almost no one actually realizes how well a (supervised) FSD works. I know this will slow down the delivery process, but it is a difficult requirement nonetheless.”
Bloomberg first reported on Musk's email, which CNBC also saw.
While all new Tesla cars have a standard driver-assistance system called Autopilot, the company's FSD option costs $199 per month for most customers in North America.
Tesla's FSD system does not turn cars into self-driving vehicles. According to Tesla owner's manuals, drivers must remain attentive to the road and ready to steer or brake at any time when using FSD or FSD Beta.
FSD owners also have access to the FSD Beta system, which allows them to test and help debug the latest driver assistance features on public roads.
Under pressure from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Tesla has implemented voluntary recalls to improve the safety of its Autopilot, FSD, and FSD Beta systems in recent years.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a separate memo distributed to employees at Tesla, the company is asking salaried and hourly workers to sign up for additional shifts to deliver cars to customers in the final days of the first quarter.
“Join us in delighting customers as they receive their delivery!” The note said. “Although our production capacity allows for vehicle deliveries to be distributed more consistently throughout this quarter, we still need your support to transport, prepare and drive vehicles to customers throughout the end of the first quarter.”
Tesla's salaried employees do not receive overtime pay if they work delivery shifts, but hourly employees are eligible for additional compensation and generally bill their hours to the sales and delivery cost center, according to the memo, which was seen by CNBC.
Tesla is under pressure to avoid a year-over-year decline in deliveries in the first quarter. At least one independent researcher, who publishes as Troy Teslick, expects Tesla to report just 407,000 deliveries this quarter, which is down from 422,875 last year.
Tesla shares are down about 30% year to date, closing Monday at $172.63.
