Sandy Munro Experiences Tesla’s FSD Beta V9 — “I’m pretty happy with what I see in the way of progress here.”

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YouTuber DirtyTesla, aka Chris, recently picked up Sandy Munro and took him for a ride to show Munro Tesla FSD version 9, which was released earlier this month. To start, though, the video below is a behind-the-scenes look at Sandy Munro Live — Chris got to have a tour of Sandy’s work and the recording area where Sandy recently compared a teardown of a Tesla Model Y with a Ford Mustang Mach-E. Sandy Munro’s take on Tesla FSD version 9 is further down.

Behind The Scenes

Sandy quickly gave him a tour of the studio and showed him the second Model 3 he tore down. Sandy noted that compared to it, the Model Y was definitely an improvement. On a table was a side-by-side comparison of Tesla’s Hardware 3 and Hardware 2.5 chips for the Model 3 and the Model Y. Sandy explained that the Model Y has the new Tesla chips (HW3) on them while the Model 3 has Nvidia chips on them (HW2.5). The Model Y has two chips while the Model 3 has 3.

Sandy thinks the chip in the Plaid Model S will be different again. “I think the one that’s going to be in the Plaid is going to look different than that. I have a suspicion, anyway.”

He moved over to the Model Y frame and pointed out that this was made from a giant chunk where before Tesla would use two pieces. He explained that this vehicle would give the owner a ride that was more stable and didn’t have noise, vibration, or harshness.

Sandy Munro’s Thoughts On FSD Beta V9

Dirty Tesla didn’t show the drive itself and instead asked Sandy what he thought afterward. (Sandy’s video of the drive is further down.)

“This is my second time in a beta vehicle, but this is really, really nice. I was really impressed. It did everything that the beta 7 did. We never tried, like, 160-degree turns in the beta 7 unit that I was in before. This one handled beautifully.

“No issues, no complaints, no nothing. So I’m pretty happy with what I see in the way of progress here. I’ve been a big advocate of self-driving because, quite frankly, I think this is going to save more lives than seatbelts. I really do. This is the right way to go. If the car can take over in a bad situation most people aren’t really prepared for, how can we possibly go wrong? So I’m very excited about it.”

Recap Of The Drive

Dirty Tesla shared a super quick recap of the drive with Munro and noted that it was a lot of fun. “We did a pretty simple drive. We basically went into a neighborhood and came back.”

He noted that Sandy will have his experience on his channel. “The drive was pretty much flawless. Zero disengagements. I had to intervene, I think, one time. I just hit the accelerator because it wasn’t moving through a blinking yellow, but it did very well. We had some sharp left and right turns. Everybody there was incredibly nice, so thank you again to everyone there who was part of the filming and making of the video. They showed me around the whole shop — a lot of fun.”

The Drive From Sandy’s Perspective

The first thing Sandy mentioned once they were inside Chris’s Dirty Tesla was that the screen looked different — it was not like his Model 3’s screen. Sandy, upon finding out that Chris’s Tesla was a Model Y, said:

“This is the only electric vehicle I’ve ever recommended. Period. I based all of that on the fact that it’s got the castings in the back and I knew that this is going to be a much more positive kind of ride than anything you’re going to get. And the Model 3 is good — not bad. But this is the one that I said, ‘You know what? If you’re going to buy an electric car, I’d try and buy this one.'”

The Drive

Once they picked their destinations, Chris explained that it wasn’t ready for parking lots yet, and even Tesla hasn’t advertised that it was ready for parking lots. The vehicle navigated out of the lot and onto the street, stopping at a red light. Sandy asked Chris what has been the most exciting part of being a beta tester for Tesla’s FSD.

“The Beta — it’s just nice to see the progress, and I know you said earlier that I’m one of the lucky few. I’m rooting for it to come to everybody, I really am. I want it to get pushed out, but I want it to be safe. Just seeing the progress and, you know, there’s still a lot to be done. It does make mistakes pretty often.

“I’m sure you’ll see a few in this video, but the progress has been noticeable. I mean, it is getting better. There’s no doubt. I actually track the interventions per mile that I get and they have been going down, especially with this version.”

Sandy noted that the car did move faster than normal speed and Chris explained that he set that up in the settings — it goes 10 mph over. He also pointed out that driving through neighborhoods is more of a challenge for FSD compared to the highway.

“The real big trick here is driving in cramped quarters. So this has done really well I think.”

The next thing Sandy wanted to know is if Chris had experienced anything that was shocking or scary.

“I wouldn’t put it that way, but it definitely makes mistakes, and it is a good idea — I mean, Tesla tells you in the release notes that you always have to pay attention. Keep your hands on the wheel, of course. Sometimes, like that lane change we had back then without a turn signal, it’ll kind of make quick moves like that.

“It’s a lot freer than the public build of Autopilot that’s kind of stuck in its lane. If it thinks it needs to, you know, move on the center line to get out of a bicyclist’s way, it’ll do it. And you have to kind of be prepared for when it does that when it’s not supposed to. So, I wouldn’t say anything has scared me, but yeah, there’s definitely times I take over because it’s getting too close to a wall or maybe too close to some barrels or something like that. But I’ve never been scared by it.

You can watch both videos here and here.


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Johnna Crider

Johnna owns less than one share of $TSLA currently and supports Tesla's mission. She also gardens, collects interesting minerals and can be found on TikTok

Johnna Crider has 1996 posts and counting. See all posts by Johnna Crider