Hang in there. Sounds to me like you should be getting the download soon(?). Continue to put more safe miles on the vehicle, but don't take any unusual steps. Just drive your usual routes and try not to think about it. The whole thing can quickly get confusing and frustrating. As "investors" (up to $10K) we shouldn't have to be subjected to such rigamarole. But until someone wins a class action suit (and I don't necessarily support that action), it is what it is.
As you might expect I have been trying out FSD as I run my little errands around town. (After surviving the FSD Survivor Show gauntlet, it is probably impossible not to be curious and want to test it once you actually receive FSD.) I've found that what many people are saying online is absolutely true--e.g.,
extreme caution is needed due to phantom stops, frequent disengagements, and a continuous need for absolute, total attention paid while driving with the FSD on. It is the
opposite of relaxing and letting the car take over. You have to be a
very attentive and cautious driver. (Hmm. Is this some kind of secret ploy...?)
One thing that surprised me: you know how most of us rail against the typical 25 mph zone? "Who thought of this?" "I can't drive this slow." Blah, blah. But with FSD on I am terrified at 25 mph on average suburban streets. It feels
way too fast. I find myself manually lowering the speed to 20 mph or even less. (Yet 65 mph with FSD on is still fine for me on limited-access freeways.)
What this tells me is that as humans we have incredible built-in and trained skills for seeing and reacting to a multitude of visual and auditory clues. Our brains are amazing. But turn that control over to an automaton (robot), and (for me) all the assurance and relaxation disappears. The jiggling steering wheel, uncertainty at intersections (exibited sometimes by the FSD), and the closeness of all kinds of potential road hazards (vehicles, pedestrians, animals, obstructions) lowers my confidence level to zero. Humans, good; robots, not so good. We are going to have to learn to trust robots. Right now, in my new car; it's not happening.
I guess those lengthy hands-free drive videos on YouTube were either (a) faked or (b) performed using some unknown advanced software version (only available to the Tesla employee-testers at that time, and not available to the general public even now). Because there is
NO way my Tesla (2021 Model X Long Range +) with the latest FSD Beta software could drive "hands-free" more than 1/4-mile, let alone from San Francisco to Santa Barbara. The first round-about or accumulation of fallen leaves in the street causes my FSD (software version is currently 2021.36.8.5) to disengage. How the heck did that one YouTube guy drive hands-free from the back seat?
But don't get me wrong. I am (cautiously) enjoying the experiment and appreciative that at least Tesla is
trying. Whether or not the driving test itself is accurate and fair, I can understand why Tesla felt the need to employ something.
Like in Formula 1 racing, it's probably a "hero or zero" thing. If, in a year or two FSD is greatly improved thanks to the many more tester-miles, we'll all be thankful for this craziness now because our vehicles will have doubled in value. If it doesn't, or if Tesla gets called out and successfully sued for fraud, we'll all be collectively wringing our hands, storming the castle, and demanding Elon's head on a stick.
Welcome to the high-tech world of the 2020s.
