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Ever Wondered Why People Use Tesla's FSD Beta? Here's What They Have to Say

Tesla's "Full Self-Driving Beta" advanced driver assistance system has received a lot of stick during the relatively short life it's had so far. While some people think its lifespan has already been longer than it should, others continue to use it, sometimes even on a daily basis. This huge discrepancy begs a question: what is the driving force behind the latter's decision?
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Photo: Mr. Hub / YouTube screenshot
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Just before anyone gets all fired up because we're only discussing the motivations invoked by the FSD users, as if being part of the other camp was the natural thing, that's not at all what we're trying to imply. It's just that there's been so much talk around the negatives of releasing the FSD Beta to the wide public that we're just assuming everyone is well aware of most of them.

Seeing what Tesla says about why you should buy and use the "Full Self-Driving Beta" suite might be a good starting point. The company claims its AI driver is much safer than human drivers and it also eases the strain of commuting, if not even eliminate it completely. So, with that in mind, "convenience" and "safety" should rank among the top answers from FSD users, wouldn't you agree?

Before we go any further, it's worth pointing out that an Internet poll is far from qualifying as a scientific research method, especially when there are only 55 votes in total to choose from, so feel free to take any (or all) of these numbers with whatever quantity of salt you like. However, we feel like what these 55 voters reveal is still quite fascinating (number of voters and results may vary by the time you read this).

The figures come from a post on the Tesla Motors Club forum that asked all the members to choose from one of the nine possible answers to the question "Why do you use FSD Beta?" It's safe to assume people will have various reasons to do it, and the poll all but confirms it.

Much to Tesla's chagrin, though, neither "safety" nor "convenience" score particularly high, with the former garnering seven votes (12.7 percent) and the latter, 13 (23.6 percent). So, if it's not these two, then why do people willingly agree to allow a piece of silicone to drive them around despite the obvious risks of doing so?

Well, are you really that surprised to find out more than half of these people do it just of the kicks? Indeed, the risk element is part of the thrill. That's probably because commuting can be quite boring, so injecting a bit of excitement is a welcome addition. Of the 55 people who took part in the multi-answer poll, 29 chose the "Entertainment, it's fun!" option, suggesting over half of FSD users (52.7 percent, in this case) do it, at least partly, for giggles.

Only two other answers scored higher than this, with one distancing itself as the clear winner. As they often do in charts, we'll start with the runner-up and build up toward the one at the top. So, with 33 votes, which corresponds to a percentage of precisely 60%, comes the following answer: "Altruism, I'm helping Tesla develop technology that will save lives."

This answer stems from the idea that Tesla collects all relevant data from its users running FSD Beta and uses it to make its AI better. The more miles covered, the more situations the computer brain will be exposed to and will subsequently know how to deal with. However, no matter how many emergency vehicles stopped on the road Tesla vehicles meet, for some reason, the AI seems to have a hard time learning it shouldn't crash into them.

If anything, this only makes the FSD Beta seem more human since we all tend to have certain things our brains just refuse to remember. For instance, I still struggle with "eight times seven." Sure, me failing to come up with the right answer in due time has never caused a fatal crash, so...

Alright, it's time to reveal the winner. Drum roll, please. Could it be the "Sunk cost fallacy, I paid for it, so I have to use it"? No, but seven people did go for that option. Is it "Masochism, I enjoy humiliating myself in public"? No, yet four answers went this way too. One respondent even went for the "YouTube, I'm trying to become a Tesla influencer" option. Internet anonymity is bad in most cases, but it also allows people to be more honest, which is how we get answers such as that one.

The reason most people use Tesla's FSD Beta, according to a non-scientific online poll, is the good old thing that killed the cat: curiosity. Well, "Intellectual curiosity", to be more exact, though we're not entirely sure why the author of the poll felt the need to include the "intellectual" part in there too. However, the answer received 45 votes, meaning 81.8 percent of the people who took part simply want to see what it's like.

We can't say we're that surprised by the results, but we do see a problem. The way we look at it, this "curiosity" answer is pertinent if the question was "Why did you get the FSD Beta?", but since the question is "Why do you use it?", curiosity just isn't an answer. Alright, you were intrigued, you gave it a go, you saw what it was all about, but why, if so, do you continue to use it? Are you curious to see what it'll do in the next intersection, and then the next, and the next, and so on? Because, if so, with all due respect to your inquisitive nature, we'd like to ask you to find other ways of satisfying it that don't imply the potential discomfort of other people. Thank you.
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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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