Tesla’s $99 self-driving system is amazing but stressful
Tesla recently slashed the price of its self-driving software. What used to cost $200 a month is now just $99.
We decided to test out the upgrade, which can be done in seconds from a smartphone app or the screen inside a Tesla.
This lower price tag means more people will be willing to try it out. In fact, Tesla has been giving customers a free 30-day trial to check it out.
Tesla now calls the experience “Full Self Driving—Supervised,” which is code for keeping your eyes on the road and your hands away from the wheel.
Why? This software is amazing when it works, and it is terrifying and stressful at times.
Once you activate self-driving, a blue line on the in-cabin screen tells you where the car wants to go, and text prompts like “changing out of the fast lane” tell you what the car is thinking.
The car can follow your navigation route, change lanes, make turns and even park itself.
If you hate parallel parking, the $99 a month might be a small price to pay.
Navigating the freeways is pretty simple and the process reminds me a lot of cruise control. In fact, Tesla can often change lanes better than I can. It’s certainly more sure of the process.
But on city streets, the experience can be a bit more stressful. Other cars, poor street markings, and all kinds of turn lanes can confuse the system.
Overall, it works, but it’s erratic and often unpredictable.
Tesla reminds owners that the system does not make their cars autonomous.
“They claim it’s not a self-driving car… and therefore, it is not subject to the self-driving car regulations, so they can pretty much do what they want,” said Dan O’Dowd of The Dawn Project, a campaign to ban Tesla’s self-driving software until it’s safer and more reliable.
O’Dowd advises trying out full self-driving because he believes that once you do, you’ll never want to use it again.
“Be like a hawk. You know it’s going to try to kill you, know it’s going to try to crash into a parked car or cross the yell
ow line or whatever,” said O’Dowd, who has run various tests on the software and posted his findings on YouTube and his website.
Listen to my full interview with Dan O’Dowd this weekend on my radio show.
The bottom line is that you’re either in full control of a car or you’re not. Tesla’s “supervised” in-between state can feel even more stressful than driving.
Still, it’s pretty wild what the car can do on its own, and when it works, it’s an incredible feat of engineering and software. But there’s still more that needs to be done to make this safer, more reliable, and less stressful.
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