I would be disappointed if I paid for FSD and was not in the Beta program. However, expecting to be in it, is uncalled for. And wining about it will only lead to sorrow.
FSD includes TACC, lane keeping, lane changing, NoA, auto-park, and summon...period. Any other expectations of FSD performance are irrelevant. Driving on City Streets was, is, and may always be, only an aspiration. FSD may never reach public release.
The purpose of the FSD Beta program is to use more and more of the fleet to help identify edge cases, period. Andre and the team need cautious drivers to try out intentionally buggy neural networks. They use the Safety Score as a hurdle to identify a superset of potential testers. Depending on changing needs, a certain quantity of cars are needed at different stages of development.
Wining about, "jumping through hoops" or having to upgrade hardware to be in the pool of potential testers. Or expecting to be included at any stage is missing the point.
This is not about "respect and trust" that Tesla is obligated to give any of us the Beta. Rather it is about being ready (Safety Score), using what ever other criteria THEY may have, so that we may get picked to participate. We need to trust that they are cautious enough. We do not need testers taking the family out for a Sunday FSD Beta drive.
We have been offered the rare opportunity to potentially experience and contribute to one of the most advanced AI efforts ever. If you can't handle driving like grandma and waiting in the meantime, then don't.