Car Vrum

Popularly (and even in the media) a Tesla is a self-driving car. Autopilot is called the package of electronic assistants on the Model S, Model X, Model 3 and Model Y. It is similar to the systems of Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Lexus, for example, but is much more often overestimated by users, research showed. Perhaps that’s because of its misleading name, which suggests much more than the actual system can live up to. In Germany, Tesla is therefore no longer allowed to use the term Autopilot and also Full Self-Driving Capability in advertisements.

Full Self-Driving Capability voor 7500 euro

If you go to the Dutch Tesla website, you will still see the Full Self-Driving option. It costs 7,500 euros and will soon promise “automatic driving on urban streets”. In small letters below it says, “The functions currently available require active driver supervision and do not make the car autonomous.” Last October, Tesla upgraded some 200 cars (mainly owned by Tesla employees) with FSD Beta software. According to Tesla boss Elon Musk, that trial has now been expanded to around 1,000 guinea pigs.

Full Self-Driving Beta is not Full Self-Driving at all

The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) wanted clarification, because you can’t just test a self-driving car on a public road without a permit. In a response, Tesla writes that Autosteer on City Streets has “an SAE Level 2 level of autonomy.” This means that although the car can operate on its own in certain circumstances, the driver must always keep his hands on the wheel and be ready to intervene immediately if something threatens to go wrong.

There are circumstances that the system does not recognize

“City Streets’ ability to detect and respond to objects and actions is limited,” said Tesla. “There are circumstances and events that the system does not recognize and therefore does not respond to.” And yes, it can be seen in this video. Two guys from the YouTube channel AI Addict drive a Tesla Model 3 through Oakland. The car is equipped with Full Self-Driving Beta 8.2. But it is clear that there is still a long way to go in the field of semi-autonomous technology.

Tesla Model 3 nearly causes three accidents

With FSD Beta enabled, the Tesla bumbles through the center of the city. He breaks traffic rules, ends up on the wrong half of the road after bends, is so slow that other drivers start honking, just misses a curb and wall and causes almost three accidents. It is of course clever what FSD Beta can already do, but that the system is far from ready for use on public roads is obvious.

Driver intervenes at every turn

Fortunately, the driver in this video is paying close attention. He intervenes regularly, sometimes forced, because FSD Beta suddenly switches itself off if the system can no longer cope with it. The passenger’s reaction is strange. He thinks everything is clever and impressive, even if the Tesla tried to drill into another car just before that. Fully self-driving cars are still a long way away, that much is clear. And that Tesla is unleashing FSD Beta – a flawed, even dangerous system – on ordinary people is actually crazy for words.