Yes, prior to this occurring, we decided that a request requirement is not wide.
Also it's not a release to the fleet (equivalent to wide).
I think normally people think of wide release as release to everyone who is entitled to it.
But whatever. It's not a wide release to the fleet. I think we can all agree on that.
Also you can't get this (presumably) if you have .40, though I guess I don't know that. And presumably that could change with future releases. Side issue.
Hopefully wide release and the same software to everyone occurs by the end of the year, FSD or not. (However single stack is not necessarily a prerequisite for wide release.)
Sorry to respond so slowly, but Turkey Day gave me some time to ponder. Two thoughts on this release:
First, Wikipedia says there were ~ 1.33 fatalities per 100 million miles driven in USA in 2021. (I did not check where they got that stat.) So, if Tesla wanted statistics which showed significantly lower fatalities (with say 95% confidence) with FSD engaged, how many miles would need to have been recorded? Any stat's gurus on this thread? Is it possible they have reached this "milestone"?
Not to overstate the idea, bu If it is proven safer, might releasing it be a sort of moral imperative?
Second, once Tesla decided to release (city street) FSD beta to anyone who bought it, I see no reason not to include it in the production release. Drivers still would have the option to not use it. Just don't buy it, don't enable those features (in each profile) or don't engage autopilot in town. I assume enabling will still require reading and agreeing to the limitations. Anyway, maybe opting in is now redundant.
Regarding the width of the rollout, I see that about a quarter of TeslaFi users already have FSD b. What fraction of Tesla buyers spring for FSD anyway? It would not surprise me, given the pricing, that most who have bought FSD (in the US) it actually already have beta. (I think all FSD is still "beta", including some highway features like auto lane change and navigate on autopilot, though which features are bundled in which purchase options have changed over time.)
Once they include the in-city features of FSD beta into the standard release, those who were kept out because they updated past the last beta release will finally get in, and us beta "testers" will no longer be denied standard updates.
So, all in all, perhaps this "wide release" is not a very big change.
My own next chore is to get my wife to try FSD in town. Or at least let me use it with her in the car - so far it has been a white knuckle ride for her.
I do wonder how useful it will turn out to be for me in it's current state. Robotaxi might be useful, but this ain't no robotaxi. Yet.
SW