Cars are getting smarter.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Friday evening that Tesla's driver-assistance product, Full Self Driving, will remember how someone drives and adjust to match their preferences.
Maybe it will remember a parking spot, or what lanes a person prefers to drive in.
Remembering and adaptation are examples of just how advanced autonomous driving software is getting. Shortly after FSD's wide release, the car wouldn't remember preferences. It had a personality of its own: A teenager with a learner's permit.
The product, which costs Americans $99 a month, has made steady progress, though. And improvements can lead to more FSD subscriptions for Tesla. Tesla's AI-trained driver assistance product ended the first quarter with 1.3 million subscriptions, up from 850,000 a year ago. Tesla's FSD still requires human oversight 100% of the time,
Subscription growth will be one of the key focus areas when Tesla reports second-quarter earnings on Wednesday evening. Wall Street projects earnings per share of 54 cents, up from 40 cents in the second quarter of 2025. Earnings are expected to rise on higher deliveries. Tesla sold about 480,000 cars in the second quarter, up 25% year over year.
More cars can boost earnings, but so can more software subscriptions. Along with earnings, investors will want to hear about Tesla's other AI efforts: Robo-taxis and robots.
Tesla launched a robo-taxi service in Austin, Texas, in June 2025 and has been expanding slowly since then. It is also planning to build AI-trained humanoid robots in Fremont, California, soon.
Shares of the electric vehicle maker were up 0.2% at $381.77 in Monday's premarket, while S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively.
Coming into Monday trading, Tesla stock was down 15% year to date and up 16% over the past 12 months.
Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 20, 2026 07:45 ET (11:45 GMT)
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