Is Tesla's FSD full of it? Full Self-Driving forced into embarrassing rebrand

Tesla has been forced into an embarrassing backdown over a trial of its Full Self-Driving tech in China, with owners of Tesla vehicles reportedly accruing fines for disregarding certain road rules, before the much-hyped – but misleadingly titled – technology was rebranded as Intelligent Assisted Driving.

Tesla's Full Self-Driving tech has been the focus of much scrutiny, with the software being blamed for accidents in the USA, and also coming under fire for not actually allowing for fully autonomous driving.

In the US, a years-long National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigation that concluded in April 2024 found the software had been involved in 13 fatal crashes, and in many more that resulted in injuries.

Read More About Tesla

Hyundai reveals plans to bring Google, Uber and Samsung on board with groundbreaking Pleos car software Is it affordable enough? 2025 Tesla Model Y pricing and specs locked in with surprisingly small price hike as embattled electric car brand fights off XPeng G6, Leapmotor C10 and Geely EX5 Tesla takes important step to making Cybercab real as embattled electric car pioneer faces challenges on nearly every front with the rise of BYD, Geely and Leapmotor

None of that has prevented the brand from marketing and selling the technology, including in Australia, where the tech is sold for $10,100 on top of the purchase price of a vehicle.

This is despite the full suite of technologies not actually being available in our market, with the brand saying it is "pending development and regulatory approval".

The technology is also critical to Tesla's promised Cybercab (pictured) rollout, which is essentially a fully autonomous ride-share fleet which Elon Musk has suggested will go into production in 2026.

But the brand hit a roadblock in China, where owners trialling the technology reportedly incurred fines for driving in bike lanes and making illegal u-turns, before the free trial was scrapped. One hapless owner reportedly incurred seven fines on a single trip with FSD.

2025 Tesla Model Y

The planned month-long trial was scrapped after just one week. But the software has now reappeared, only this time any references to self-driving have been removed, with the software now known as Intelligent Assisted Driving, with Chinese authorities saying the technology only reaches level 2 autonomy.

According to the Society of Automotive Engineers, autonomous vehicles are split into six levels, from zero to six. Critically, levels zero, one and two carry the caveat that "you are driving whenever these driver support features are engaged - even if your feet are off the pedals and you are not steering".

It's not yet known whether the new name for FSD will make its way to other markers, including Australia.