Semi-Autonomous Driving Likely Imminent for Teslas in Australia

Tesla is set to roll out their Full Self-Driving (Supervised) – or FSD (Supervised) – feature in Australia and New Zealand with “no regulatory blockers” preventing its introduction. 

FSD (Supervised) allows Tesla products to operate semi-autonomously, with capabilities including steering, braking, stopping at intersections, traffic lights and stop signs, changing lanes, entering and exiting highways, avoiding objects, following navigation and parking. 

The vehicle is not capable of driving entirely autonomously however, with the driver required to keep their hands on the steering wheel and remain attentive and ready to intervene while the system is in use. 

A post recently shared to the Tesla Australia and New Zealand X account revealed footage of FSD (Supervised) being tested on the streets of Sydney. 

This post was then shared to the LinkedIn account of the company’s Country Director for Australia and New Zealand, Thom Drew. 

“We have been working with local authorities across AU & NZ and there are no regulatory blockers for release. We are running through the final stages of validation prior to public release. Looking to start with HW4 on certain vehicles and then release in phases from there” Drew said in a comment on the post.

HW4 – or Hardware 4 – is the current version of Tesla’s autonomous driving technology, consisting of improved, high resolution cameras and greater computer power compared to its predecessors, HW3. 

HW4 was initially introduced on Tesla Model 3s in Australia in 2023 and later on the Model Y in 2024. 

With regulations seemingly no longer impeding its release, an Australian rollout of Full Self-Driving (Supervised) appears all but imminent. 

While an official Australian rollout date for FSD (Supervised) is yet to be confirmed, speculation suggests that its release could be within a matter of months.