Tesla Full Self-Driving (FSD) Beta Testers Share Their Thoughts With Me

Several of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta testers, who have permission from Tesla to share their experiences with FSD online, shared their thoughts with me on testing Tesla’s newest technological advancement. Yesterday, John from Tesla Owners of Silicon Valley was the first to share his experience, and you can read about that here.

Kim Paquette

Kim Paquette chose to test out a roundabout near her home. She tweeted that the car chose the correct lane and took the third exit. She was a bit nervous and almost helped it at one point, but was happy to say that her Tesla navigated the roundabout all on its own.

https://twitter.com/kimpaquette/status/1319663469860356096

Kim shared her thoughts with me about her experience taking on that roundabout. “Well, I knew roundabouts were impossible for old FSD, so since one is right down the road, I figured I’d try it first. The road there is one way and straight, with cars parallel parked on the right side. It was literally right when I turned it on for the first time, so didn’t know what to expect. It seemed a little drunk lol — not staying straight but not hitting anything. Definitely let me know I had to really watch. I wasn’t confident with the roundabout but it actually did it with no problem, other than that slight hesitation.”

https://twitter.com/kimpaquette/status/1319739372665819137

Kim also pointed out something this beta version of FSD wasn’t good at — construction zones. “In general, it’s not good in construction zones — a regression from FSD now, so I turn it off then. It’s very cautious.” She noted that it’s also not that good at taking its turn to go if the other cars seem more aggressive — like at intersections. “Because it’s very cautious,” she said. She also told me that it has completed a total of three 4-way stops and that it did pretty well.

https://twitter.com/kimpaquette/status/1319797903196590080

Tesla Raj

Tesla Raj, who recently shared the video below, shared the following thoughts with me about Tesla’s new FSD capabilities: “So, in general it’s very impressive. It’s an early beta and you have to be cautious and careful, but it doesn’t feel like an early early beta. I didn’t expect it to be this good this early on. … I showed it being careful, mindful of a human who was present as well, and made the turn. It seemed to be thinking and calculating as it was driving. It even corrected itself to be on the right side after it took the exit.”

In the video, Raj and John of Tesla Owners of Silicon Valley drive in John’s Tesla, named Fwaud. In the beginning of the video, Raj points out that on the road the Tesla is driving on, there are no lane markers and there were vehicles parked on the side. “Our Tesla just breezes right through it,” he said.

James Locke

James Locke, who also received the FSD beta release said that it was impressive but that he had to intervene a few times. As a reminder: the tech still requires skilled drivers to fully pay attention and be aware as Tesla continues to improve FSD.

“We are so lucky to have been invited into the Tesla Early Access FSD beta program. Not only that, we are part of a new initiative with Tesla allowing us to share our experiences on social media, which is an amazing opportunity. We got the FSD beta last night and went out for a quick spin near our home, and I truly was blown away with how confident and adaptive this early access build truly is. It had a couple of small mistakes in areas, as warned about by Tesla, but nothing game-changing or unexpected with an early access beta. FSD is truly a revolutionary software development and I cannot wait to see where this goes from here. I suspect we will start seeing more updates, maybe this weekend, and will continue to share changes as we get new revisions.

“If anyone wants to follow along with our videos, they can follow us on Twitter here and here, as we will be posting with both handles. This FSD beta is for city streets, and as we transitioned to the highway, regular Navigation on Autopilot was enabled and the special visualizations for FSD Beta no longer show. Was very impressive how the system transitioned between city and highway driving. Will just mention this again — this is an early access beta of FSD and I’m truly impressed with what the system is already capable of. What it sees with the cameras and shows on the display is amazing. This will truly change the transportation sector and make the roads much safer as it comes to fruition,” said Locke.

Locke had a touch of constructive criticism — an area that Tesla can work to improve on. “Noticed the FSD Beta is unable to signal properly as it transitions into turn lanes, but I suspect that will come as it learns. I would also like to see it accelerate quicker from a red light. It is a little slow and impedes traffic, causing frustration for drivers behind us. Hopefully, Tesla allows the user to choose a faster acceleration but still safe. It’s being super careful on acceleration.”

Kristen (K10)

“It’s powerful. Experiencing the left-hand turn for the first time is amazing. It is very capable of driving uninterrupted for a long period of time,” Kristen told me.

John Again — FSD Beta Smart Summon

John shared another cool video of FSD in action with Smart Summon. He set up a camera inside the car and it shows the Tesla moving as he summons his car to him. In the video, John’s Tesla navigates through the parking lot, and as it approaches other vehicles, you can see the car slow down and come to a complete stop.

Featured image courtesy Kim Paquette