Tesla has begun hiring what it calls “ADAS Test Operators” outside of North America for what is believed to be the expansion of the Full Self Driving (FSD) Autopilot suite.
This time, according to Tesla’s Europe careers page, it spans across many parts of Europe including Finland, Switzerland, Spain, Norway, Italy, Turkiye, Austria, The Netherlands, Sweden and the UK.
Most importantly for the Australian context, another right-hand-drive market is the UK. A role is being advertised in West Drayton, which is located 26 km west of London.
According to the job description, the ADAS operator will identify improvements and regressions across software iterations. This role could require the flexibility of travelling to domestic and international destinations as necessary, to test vehicles on public roads, test tracks and proving grounds.”
For Autopilot testing the role specifically states that the ADAS operator will survey the local region and design routes with perspective scenarios for Autopilot testing. They will also study and familiarise with the latest Autopilot version and other relevant vehicle features.
This is a big step for Tesla as it expands the testing and a potential release of its FSD software outside of North America.
Recently, Tesla also started producing Model Y vehicles from the US with what it calls Hardware 4 (HW4) which has higher-resolution cameras and a new FSD computer that will further improve what the car sees for FSD on the roads.
It’s unclear if the Model 3 and Model Y vehicles being produced in Shanghai for markets like Australia are seeing the same hardware being fitted in them just yet.
The new hardware is part of Tesla’s constant improvement to its vehicles but at the same time future-proof’s self-driving capabilities.
Cars with the current generation of hardware on the road will also be capable of FSD driving as it’s seen by thousands of FSD users in the US.
It still has a way to go with approvals from authorities in Europe but with the improvements being noticed by drivers on each software version released in the US and new hires in Europe, it’s getting closer to fulfilling Tesla’s autonomous driving vision.
FSD being tested through Los Angeles on Whole Mars Catalog YouTube channel
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.