Newly minted trillionaire Elon Musk has upped the ante in his bid to dominate Australia but experts have pushed back saying the country isn’t ready yet.
Elon Musk has doubled down on one of his more controversial moves Down Under.
The Tesla boss and freshly minted trillionaire – the world’s first – has upped the ante in his bid to gain an ever growing share of the Aussie car market
Last month, the Tesla model Y was Australia’s best-selling car, the first EV to claim the crown.
But it now seems Musk wants even more.
Elon Musk is doubling down in Australia.
Picture: AFP
Tesla announced on Friday it would be updating the company’s Fully Self-Driving (Supervised) capability to Version 14.
Over The Air updates will be rolled out for cars with FSD – an advanced driver assistance operating system that enables the car to steer, accelerate, brake, and undertake advanced traffic manoeuvres under active driver supervision.
According to Tesla: “This right-hand-drive version brings upgrades like faster reactions, better handling of emergency vehicles and animals, new speed profiles from Chill to Sloth, and smarter arrival options.
“After months of waiting since v13 launched in September 2025, early users are already testing it while staying attentive as required.
Australia was the sixth country in the world to have FSD when it was introduced last year via v13.
V14 has been a staple of Tesla cars on US roads for some time road, where they have even advanced to v14 lite.
V14 has also been introduced to the Canadian, South Korean and European markeTS. This is the first time it has been rolled out in a right-hand drive environment.
Tesla owners were quick to jump on social media to report the news.
FSD is available as a one off purchase or via monthly subscription.
FSD became an instant “game-changer” when it hit Aussie roads in September.
Tesla owners report using it for around 50 per cent of their driving time, in a nod to where we are heading in terms of fully autonomous driving, which may only be a couple of short years away.
However some experts were keen to warn FSD was “dangerous” and “already too advanced for Australia”.
CYBERCABS SPOTTED
Across the ditch in New Zealand, Tesla’s Cybercabs have been spotted for the first time in this neck of the woods, with a series of pics posted to social media of the unmistakably golden futuristic cars.
Car enthusiasts were quick to point out it could be a sign that Cybercabs would be on the roads in The Shaky Isles and Australia very soon.
Cybercabs spotted in New Zealand.
Tesla confirmed the existence of the Cybercabs in New Zealand and said they were travelling to the Southern Hemisphere Proving Ground in Cardrona, outside of Queenstown for cold-weather testing.
Keen Tesla followers believe Musk’s autonomous Cybercab and its most high profile rival Waymo could be ferrying Aussies around our cities sooner rather than later.
Driverless taxis like Waymo could be on Aussie streets sooner rather than later.
Waymo has already opened a branch in Australia, met with carmakers about potential partnerships and held top secret meetings with NSW Government officials about a local trial of driverless taxis on Sydney streeTS.
