With Full Self-Driving available on demand, be wary of any and all Teslas

CORRECTION: July 23, 2021, 10 a.m. PT: A previous version of this story suggested that Tesla's Full Self-Driving subscription gave all eligible Tesla owners access to the latest version of the Full Self-Driving beta. It has been updated to reflect the fact that Tesla is still running a smaller beta that gives some, but not all, Tesla drivers with FSD subscriptions access to advanced self-driving features, such as hands-free driving on city streets. Non-beta users in FSD mode still have to hold the steering wheel, and can only engage in Full Self-Driving on main thoroughfares and highways.

Last week, Tesla's Full Self-Driving advanced driving assistance features became available to almost any Tesla owner in the U.S. willing to cough up at least $200.

U.S. drivers make up at least half of the more than 1.4 million Teslas worldwide, so with the cheaper monthly price there's a lot more opportunity to encounter someone with the not-quite-autonomous driving mode engaged. Other drivers likely won't know when a nearby Tesla has Autopilot or FSD is turned on, but if they see one struggling on busy city roads, that might give fellow motorists and pedestrians a clue.

The electric car company released last week a monthly $199 subscription option for open access to the feature that auto-steers, -accelerates, and -brakes, all while the driver looks at the road ahead, ready to take over. Hopefully. Before the subscription, drivers could only add FSD-capable mode for $10,000.

Throughout the FSD beta, which launched in October, only a carefully selected group of early adopters have had access to the full-blown feature. Now anyone who has bought a Tesla vehicle made since 2016 qualifies (or can pay to upgrade) to one day have access to the more powerful, hands-free driving assistant. Hardware limitations on some early Tesla models mean they can't upgrade to use FSD. But the majority of Teslas in the U.S. were produced and bought in the past few years, so if you see a Tesla, it's almost certainly eligible.

Tesla has made it clear that drivers must be paying attention with FSD, Autopilot, or as part of the FSD beta, but there's no driver monitoring system and only a sensor on the steering wheel to enforce proper behavior.

As Consumer Reports published this week, the review publication is "concerned that Tesla is still using its existing owners and their vehicles to beta-test the new features on public roads."

It sure seems like Tesla owners are part of a precarious experiment. During a recorded drive in downtown Chicago, funky street markings and atypical lane dividers threw off the not-so-autonomous system. Other videos have flooded in this week, like one taken in San Francisco that shows the car hitting a bush and almost colliding with another car.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is well aware of Tesla's "advanced driver assistance system" and requires anyone using FSD to stay in control at all times. The regulatory group doesn't consider FSD (or its simplified version, Autopilot) an autonomous system.

But it also doesn't require Tesla (or other carmakers with advanced driving assistance systems like General Motor's Super Cruise) to mark or indicate that the mode is on. When a Waymo or Cruise autonomous vehicle turns the corner, it's clearly marked that it's a self-driving vehicle. With Tesla, not so much. That could be a Model Y with FSD engaged, or not.

Until the NHTSA forces Tesla to make clear that FSD mode is turned on, assume any Tesla could be driving under robot control.