Tobias Goebel’s Post

Today, I had an insightful three-mile journey through Melrose and Malden, seeing the self-driving capabilities of my Tesla once again under very real-world conditions. At a four-way intersection, we encountered an emergency vehicle approaching from straight ahead, initially behind two or three cars. As the lights turned green, I anticipated that proceeding would be safe. However, the emergency vehicle began to overtake the cars in front, moving into our lane. Despite the car being in Full Self-Driving (FSD) mode, which can recognize emergency lights and adjust speed slightly with the v11.4.9 version I am currently running, it's not yet equipped to fully understand and react appropriately in such situations. Prioritizing safety and clear passage for the emergency vehicle, I manually applied the brakes to halt, allowing it to pass. I would not be surprised if a situation like this is already being managed fine by the new v12 system that about 5% of Tesla FSD Beta testers are already driving in the US today. ------------------------- A protocol of #myBetaRides (my car driving me with its 8 cameras and the #FSDBeta system onboard). Possible ratings: PERFECT, FINE, POOR, DANGEROUS ------------------------- Sunday, 02/25/2024, 12:00 PM Melrose - Malden, 3.2 miles Visibility: High Light condition: Bright Rain: None Setup: 11.4.9 on HW4 Rating: FINE Critical Disengagements: 1 Non-critical Disengagements: 0 Interventions: 1

Thanks to Elon's new policy at Tesla, Full Self Driving (attended) is now enabled on my Tesla for a free trial this month. My first FSD trips revealed some of the benefits and disadvantages of the current technology. TLDR: it's like a new driver without much common sense but possibly "safe enough". Pros: - Drove first roundtrip with no intervention from my home to destination (12 miles away) - Very aware of vehicles, signs, lights, and pedestrians - Very quick to respond to signal changes - Changes lanes fairly well - Speed limit may be (and will regularly be) overridden via steering wheel dial - Chill, Normal, and Aggressive mode settings Cons: - Second 5-mile trip required 2 interventions - Error 1: Quickly swerved into another lane to avoid an empty paper bag blowing by - Error 2: Steered to the right towards a panhandler walking on a center divide possibly trying to avoid oncoming traffic to my left even though there was a curb on both sides of the designated left turn lane - Excessively slow when using on-ramp (obeying the speed limit instead of common sense) - Early and excessive slowing when using short left turn lanes - Early and excessive slowing when turning into parking lot - Did not correctly use a center turn lane (waited for all clear then skipped the lane rather than going into the suicide lane when available) - Excessive slowing when going over a hill in road (treated it like a speed bump) - Does not pull forward ahead of time to indicate to other drivers intent to turn right when merging into a full line of cars. Stops too far back. - Requires Cabin Camera activation and attention prompts for legal reasons - Does not plan far enough ahead for lane changes - In a 2-lane left with another left in 1/4mile after turn: used the right-hand left lane causing traffic congestion behind after the turn when it changed lanes and preemptively slowed - On the freeway: passed a slightly slower vehicle when exit was 1 mile away #Tesla #FSD

This is great. Our 3 months free trial just expired yesterday, so it’s great timing for us. Tesla activated Full Self Driving for 1 month for all eligible vehicles and pushed out the latest version 12.3.2.1. Full Self Driving (FSD) is very easy to use. The hardest bit is trusting the car to make the right choice. Once you do, it’s both exciting and relaxing to have the car drive. From my experience, the neural network driving stack is the threshold to bring it mainstream. If you haven’t experienced full self driving I recommend you try it out for yourself. http://ts.la/richard56489

Happy Friday! My 1-month free trial of Tesla’s Full Self Driving (FSD) ended in the middle of my road trip to St. Augustine last month. Not wanting to drive home, I signed up for a 1 month extension… With the month coming to an end, I wanted to give a few thoughts: First, it’s awesome.  I’ve been chauffeured to work for the last two months with minimal intervention.  Driving on the highway is stress free as the car weaves through traffic. The system can handle most complex intersections. There have been noticeable improvements over the last two months such has better lane selection, more aggressive left turns on yellow, and less hard braking. Can it do everything? - not quite. These are small topics but still important and I think easy to fix. 1) There is an interior camera which monitors the drivers alertness at all times. FSD often shuts off at night because it thinks I’m blocking the interior camera. I’m not. It’s just too dark. 2) Tesla can navigate complex intersections but often turns the wrong direction out of my driveway. The navigation says left. Right is a dead end. 30% of the time, the Tesla turns right. Again, only a problem at home. 3) FSD often misses the “Minimum” on the highway sign “Minimum Speed 40”. Mostly the car ignores the sign to “keep traffic flow”. But this has led to a few dangerous situations where the car slows from 70 down to 40 MPH in heavy traffic. (Remember keep your distance when following EVs and Motorcycles… both brake quickly) 4) Navigating to street addresses can leave you far away from an office building. A lot of interventions are still needed in parking lots and there is no seamless transition from drive to autopark. 5) FSD hates HOV lanes and often quickly exits.  This could be where the car is smarter than I am… I’ve definitely had several cases where the car was right. I get that I’m complaining about little things on a pretty impressive piece of technology. I would be curious what quirks others have noticed? Or what are the things that have really impressed you?

I just got a self-driving car, and the reviews from my passengers have been pretty consistent: “I can't believe the car was driving itself.” I generally don’t tell my friends ahead of time that the Tesla can drive itself (it's not always obvious because you still have to sit in the driver's seat and intervene if necessary). Without any preconceived notions, I can get their honest opinion. On the other hand, if I make a big deal out of the self-driving capabilities ahead of time, people start to grade every little thing and judge it based on whatever their predictions were. (I would never fake-out my mom on something like that or I’d never hear the end of it.) I think it’s proof that the car basically just drives like any human driver most of the time (the early research shows accident rates among human drivers are 3x higher than Tesla autopilot-assisted drivers.) That said, it’s definitely not perfect. Sometimes it does weird stuff like lurch forward in a jerky manner when waiting for traffic to clear to make a left turn. I’m curious if anyone else has ridden in one of these?

Last weekend's 8-hour drive with my Model Y and Full Self-Driving had me reflecting deeply on the transformative impact of EVs + technology on our quality of life.   1) Spending just $45 to supercharge for a 450-mile journey, at 10 cents per mile, underscored the significant cost savings compared to ICE vehicles. 2) Range anxiety feels like a relic of the past, especially with the reliability of Tesla's superchargers and others continually improving. Even the stops for supercharging provided welcomed breaks to stretch our legs and rejuvenate, mitigating driving fatigue. (Imagine the possibilities with a Lucid – no stops needed for the entire journey!) 3) With FSD Autopilot handling 7 out of 8 hours of driving, including on winding roads like CA-20, the journey was quite enjoyable! I look forward to the release of FSD v12. Remarkably, I felt minimal driving fatigue post-trip, a testament to the seamless EV experience.   These moments reaffirm that we're on the cusp of a profound automotive revolution, where technology and sustainability converge to redefine our driving experiences. #ev #charginginfrastructure #evcharging #autonomousdriving

I've been testing the latest version of Tesla's Full-Self Driving Beta (FSDB). It's pretty amazing to see how far the tech has come in the five years I've accessed it. This latest version update incorporated voice feedback from drivers who, since last year, have been able to record and send over the air ten-second reasons for why they disengaged FSDB. Tesla engineers mined that data to identify and triage problems they have begun fixing—a very cool driver-informed process. Unfortunately, Tesla hasn't solved my biggest FSFB annoyance yet. I have a factory-installed hitch that often carries my bike rack and bikes. When the rack is on, Foxy (my Tesla) thinks a car is tailgating us, like it did today (see picture below. The car pictured following me is my bike). And that makes FSDB Foxy twitchy; she wants to keep changing lanes to get out of the (not)car's way. So, once again, I disengaged FSDB and sent an explanation in hopes that with the next version download, there will be Hitch Mode that will help Foxy relax and stay in her lane. #electricvehicles #ev #innovation #tesla #cleanenergygeneration

The latest version (v12.5) of Tesla’s Full Self Driving is downloading to my car now! Early reports are that it’s evolved from an “Uber driver” level of smoothness to a “limousine chauffeur” level of smoothness. Can’t wait to try it out during my errands today. As I’ve said many times before, having a Tesla is like having the childhood thrill of Christmas morning several times a year because the car keeps getting new features downloaded to it every few weeks. It’s a front row seat to the future. And what a glorious future it is- mobility that offers revolutionary convenience, efficiency, and safety. Viva rEVolution!

My assessment after Tesla's Full Self-Driving Capability trial is that it needs improvement. If FSD is truly AI-driven, it should be able to make decisions faster than the driver. My most significant issues are lane choice and signaling for roundabouts. [Signaling for Roundabouts] Exiting a roundabout is always to the right. I signal after I am in the roundabout unless I am taking the first exit, in which case I signal prior to entering the roundabout. In one instance, I was getting ready to take the third exit, or what would be a left turn if the roundabout didn't exist, and the car signaled left prior to reaching the roundabout. That is confusing, and I would imagine it would also be confusing to other drivers. In another roundabout, the car signaled right for the third exit, which is confusing because I would interpret this to mean that the vehicle would take the first exit. I believe the car should always signal right and only after entering the roundabout. [Lane choice] After exiting Meridian on Main Street, I need to stay in the left lane if I intend to enter the roundabout and keep in the right lane if I plan to turn right. The Tesla defaults to the right lane on exiting Meridian. I believe Tesla's depth of vision is not maximized because I can see the road markings indicating I need to be in the left lane before the Tesla signals and decides to switch lanes. If the vehicle was truly AI-enabled, it should learn from all the previous times I've driven that route. I would also expect it to know that from the behavior of other Tesla drivers. On exiting Meridian, I default to the left lane, and the FSD should do so too. The same goes for getting ready to enter the highway. I can see the road markings and highway signs before the vehicle chooses the correct lane. FSD is impressive. However, I have way too many feature requests for it to be worth a monthly subscription.

Tesla's FSD: Fire Sale or Friendlier Price? Yo, Tesla fam! Just saw they SLASHED the price of their Full Self-Driving (FSD) thing by half. We're talkin' $99/month now, down from a hefty $199. But is this a win for us regular folks, or a sign of something else? Here's the thing: FSD is still kinda like a fancy driver's assistant, not a magic self-driving car. Gotta keep your eyes on the road and be ready to take the wheel (plus, it's not exactly perfect…). So, is the lower price tag making it more tempting? Maybe Tesla's feeling the pinch. Deliveries are down, and maybe they're hoping software subscriptions like FSD will boost their bottom line. But will a cheaper price tag erase safety concerns? That's what everyone, including regulators, wants to know. Speaking of mysteries, Tesla's been giving out free FSD trials lately and rumors are swirling about a robotaxi powered by FSD. Are they trying to win us over or just create a buzz? The plot thickens... So, what's your take? Is Tesla's price cut a genius move or a sign of trouble? Let's chat in the comments! #Tesla #FSD #SelfDrivingCars (Maybe) #ConfusingTimes