Tesla Full Self-Driving is getting extra harmful because it get higher

I simply got here again from driving about 200 miles (350 km) utilizing Tesla’s (Supervised) Full Self-Driving, and the system is getting higher, however it’s additionally getting extra harmful because it will get higher.

The chance of complacency is horrifying.

Final weekend, I went on a highway journey that lined about 200 miles from Shawinigan to Quebec Metropolis and again, and I used Tesla’s (Supervised) Full Self-Driving (FSD), v12.5.4.1 to be exact, on nearly your entire journey.

Right here’s the great and the unhealthy, and the truth that the previous is melting into the latter.

The Good

The system is more and more beginning to really feel extra pure. The way in which it handles merging, lane adjustments, and intersections feels much less robotic and extra like a human driver.

The brand new camera-based driver monitoring system is an enormous improve from the steering wheel torque sensor that Tesla has used for years. I solely had one situation with it the place it saved giving me alerts to concentrate to the highway though I used to be doing simply that, and it will definitely shut FSD down for the drive due to it.

However this occurred solely as soon as within the few weeks since I’ve used the newest replace.

For the primary time, I can get good chunks of metropolis driving with none intervention or disengagement. It’s nonetheless removed from excellent, however there’s a notable enchancment.

It stopped to let pedestrians cross the road, it dealt with roundabouts pretty properly, and it drives at extra pure speeds on nation roads (more often than not).

The system is getting good to the purpose that it will possibly induce some harmful complacency. Extra on that later.

As I’ve been saying for years, if Tesla was growing this expertise in a vacuum and never promoting it to the general public as “about to change into unsupervised self-driving”, most individuals can be impressed by it.

The Unhealthy

Over these ~200 miles, I had 5 disengagements, together with a number of that had been getting really harmful. It was seemingly about to run a purple gentle as soon as and a cease one other time.

I say seemingly as a result of it’s getting laborious to inform typically on account of FSD usually approaching intersections with stops and purple visitors lights extra aggressively.

It used to drive nearer to how I’ve been driving my EVs without end, which consists of slowly decelerating utilizing regenerative braking when approaching a cease. However this newest FSD replace usually maintains the next velocity, moving into these intersections and brakes extra aggressively, usually utilizing mechanical brakes.

It is a unusual habits that I don’t like, however I began a minimum of getting the sensation of it, which makes me considerably assured that FSD would blow that purple gentle and cease signal on these two events.

One other disengagement seemed to be on account of solar glare within the entrance cameras. I get extra of that this time of 12 months as I drive extra usually through the sunsets, which occur earlier within the day.

It seems to be an actual drawback with Tesla’s present FSD configuration.

On prime of the disengagement, I had an incalculable variety of interventions. Interventions are when the motive force has to enter a command, however it’s not sufficient to disengage FSD. That’s primarily on account of the truth that I hold having to activate my flip sign to inform the system to return into the appropriate lane after passing.

FSD solely goes again into the appropriate lane after passing if there’s a automotive coming shut behind you within the left lane.

I’ve shared this discovering on X, and I used to be disillusioned by the response I obtained. I suspected that this may very well be on account of American drivers being an necessary a part of the coaching knowledge, and no offense as this is a matter in all places, however American drivers have a tendency to not respect the rules (and legislation in some locations) of the left lane being just for passing on common.

I really feel like this may very well be a simple repair or on the very least, an choice so as to add to the system for individuals who need to be good drivers even when FSD is lively.

I additionally had an intervention the place I needed to press the accelerator pedal to inform FSD to show left on a flashing inexperienced gentle, which it was hesitating to do as I used to be holding up visitors behind me.

Electrek’s Take

The scariest half for me is that FSD is getting good. If I take somebody with no expertise with FSD and take them on a brief 10-15 mile drive, there’s likelihood I get no intervention, they usually come out actually impressed.

It’s the identical with a daily Tesla driver who constantly will get good FSD experiences.

This may construct complacency with the drivers and end in paying much less consideration.

Happily, the brand new driver monitoring system can enormously assist with that because it tracks driver consideration, in contrast to Tesla’s earlier system. Nevertheless, it solely takes a second of not being attentive to get into an accident, and the system permits you that second of inattention.

Moreover, the system is getting so good at dealing with intersections that even if you’re paying consideration, you may find yourself blowing by means of a purple gentle or cease signal, as I’ve talked about above. You may really feel assured that FSD goes to cease, however with its extra aggressive method to the intersection, you let it go though it doesn’t begin braking as quickly as you prefer to it to, after which earlier than you recognize it, it doesn’t brake in any respect.

There’s a four-way cease close to my place on the south shore of Montreal that I’ve pushed by means of many occasions with FSD with out situation and but, FSD v12.5.4 was seemingly about to blow proper previous it the opposite day.

Once more, it’s potential that it was simply braking late, however it was method too late for me to really feel comfy.

Additionally, whereas it’s getting higher, and higher at a extra noticeable tempo these days, the crowdsource knowledge, which is the one knowledge out there as Tesla refuses to launch any, factors to FSD being nonetheless years away from being able to unsupervised self-driving:

Tesla would wish a couple of 1,000x enchancment in miles between disengagement.

I’ve misplaced loads of religion in Tesla getting there on account of issues like the corporate’s current declare that it accomplished its September objectives for FSD, which included a “3x enchancment in miles between vital disengagement” with none proof that this occurred.

Actually, the crowdsource knowledge reveals a regression on that entrance between v12.3 and v12.5.

I worry that Elon Musk’s angle and repeated declare that FSD is unbelievable, mixed with the truth that it truly getting higher and his minions are raving about it, may result in harmful complacency.

Let’s be trustworthy. Accidents with FSD are inevitable, however I believe Tesla may do extra to scale back the chance – primarily by being extra reasonable about what it’s engaging in right here.

It’s growing a extremely spectacular vision-based ADAS system, however it’s nowhere close to on the verge of turning into unsupervised self-driving.