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Review of Full Self-Driving (FSD) in a 2023 Tesla Model S

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I have just finished my free, 1-month test of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Capability in April/May 2024. I bought my first Tesla Model S in 2017 and traded up to a Long-Range Model S late in 2023 when they kept throwing incentives my way. I love driving the Model S both because of the potential environmental impacts, but also because it is a wonderful performance car. I drive on interstates, other 4-lane roads and on city streets, so I do different types of driving and I think that the Model S excels in all modes.

My original Model S had adaptive cruise control, and at the time, I thought that this was the best safety feature ever for driving on interstates, especially in and around cities. It also had Autosteer, although it did not always work that well. Nonetheless, good safety features and I thought that the current version of both adaptive cruise control and Autosteer worked well. The only problem I had with autosteer was on a 4-lane road that had a crown in the middle, so that the mechanism would shut off in the uneven left lane.

I very explicitly used FSD exclusively at times, on all types of roads, with no manual intervention. Overall, driving in FSD with the navigation system set to a specific address was a wonder to behold. The car turns by itself, even onto interstate on/off ramps, accelerates carefully into traffic and adjusts speeds when needed. As it transitions from interstate to city roads, it follows the new speed limits exactly. The parking feature is cool, when needed, and from a lab, proof-of-concept idea, FSD would seem to be a great feature. But,…

Overall, I developed a strong dislike of the system. It most reminded me of being driven by a teen-aged driver, who had just received their learner’s permit and had a parent in the front seat. I used the system for virtually all driving, from crowded city streets to wide-open 4-lane country roads and felt that it wasn’t driving like real people. Getting into traffic from a parking lot or when making routine turns, the car would sit there until no cars or pedestrians were in sight. Sometimes the wait would be excessive, by virtually anyone’s standards, and it was very frustrating. It would accelerate smoothly to the speed limit—it would be a poster child for traffic police, but unnatural in the real world.

Worst of all, it didn’t always work. In driving into a major population area in the Midwest on an interstate, it shut off 3 separate times on a specific road. This road had been improved by replacing degraded surfaces with sections that were separated to allow for expansion and contraction. Very useful for weather in late winter/early spring and the road has remained intact for some years. But FSD didn’t like the bumps between sections and shut down. Keep your hands on the wheel when the car is no longer on auto at 70 mph!

I found driving in FSD mode in the city to be unnatural. It was too perfect and also too methodical—as if performed by a computer! If you live in places like Chicago or Boston, you will not be a “favorite” of other drivers. I concluded that I wouldn’t want to share the road with vehicles with no driver that used the FSD capability, like a robotaxi. If we do allow such vehicles, we will have to build separate lanes or even separate roads to accommodate the different types of driving. Hopefully, some of these faults will improve as AI improves, but it is certainly not ready for prime time at the moment.

Anyone else give the FSD a try? I’d like to read other opinions.
 
I've been using it in various iterations since 2017 much like you. It has gotten so much better than it was, but just the same I have told people it is similar to a brand new driver. When I use it (which is from time to time), I always have to have my foot near the accelerator to nudge it to go when it's taking too long to be comfortable.

It is so much better than in 2017 (it had trouble staying within the road lines on curvy roads haha), but it does have quite a ways to go. Hopefully the new training supercomputer they have speeds up that timeline from previous seven years... It's very close to a point where it can be safely transport you from A to B with no issues (although not WELL, it is safe enough - almost too much at times). To be honest I never expected SAE Level 5 (which is includes ALL environments, even driving in snowstorms, most PEOPLE can't even do that haha). I'd be satisfied with Level 3 personally.

Remember that the qualification they gave is that it'd be safer than the average driver, then think of how bad the average driver is out there, and it's not a high bar to exceed 🤣
 
It attempts to push everyone to the center of the bell curve. Bottom x percent of drivers will think its great, top x percent of drivers will think its terrible.

Zero change management from Tesla doesn't help. Everyone is out there figuring out the workarounds on their own.

For me, it doesn't maintain the set speed, doesn't maintain proper following distances, and is inconsistent in it's decision making. Even with a new driver, you quickly learn if they trend towards a scared driver or an aggressive driver. FSD is a bit of both and you never know what you're going to get.
 
I'm relieved that my M3 FSB trial finally expired; I didn't feel safe using it. It would change lanes for no apparent reason, cut corners, misread lights, randomly disengage, slow down aggressively and accelerate laxidasicaly, and beep at me from time to time for reasons I know not what. I can't believe people pay for this stuff. If this is the future of Tesla Taxi, count me out.
 
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I'm relieved that my M3 FSB trial finally expired; I didn't feel safe using it. It would change lanes for no apparent reason, cut corners, misread lights, randomly disengage, slow down aggressively and accelerate laxidasicaly, and beep at me from time to time for reasons I know not what. I can't believe people pay for this stuff. If this is the future of Tesla Taxi, count me out.
I have to agree! While I was initially impressed by the technology of the vehicle being able to "read" the traffic scene. I found the number of lane changes a bit aggressive, like a teenager trying to impress his girlfriend. To the point that it would likely catch the attention of highway patrol. I haven't changed lanes like that for 40 years. If you live in a major metropolitan area like NY, Chicago, FL, or LA then you see the aggressive driving all day long. Every lane change is another opportunity for an accident, with drivers behind you doing 1.5x the speed limit. Not sure if the 360-degree cameras on Tesla can capture and process the tool who is ten car lengths behind you passing and cutting off cars at 90+ mph. No thank you, I'm not risking having FSD to make those lane changes for me.